The feasibility of a desirable minimal state

Dwight Lee (1989) argues on utilitarian grounds that the minimal state of classical liberalism cannot be both desirable and feasible: if desirable, it is not attainable; if attainable, it is not desirable. Lee's article provides an intriguing new perspective on the long debate about the optimal size of government. His conclusions, however, do not hold if some of his restrictive assumptions are relaxed. In a more general model, the minimal state can be both desirable and feasible.     

Child-to-Parent Violence in Adolescents: The Perspectives of the Parents,Children, and Professionals in a Sample of Spanish Focus Group Participants

This study explored the characteristics of child-to-parent violence (CPV) in Spain based on the narrations of adolescents who perpetrate this kind of violence, their parents, and the professionals who work in this area. A qualitative design was used. Focus groups were asked about the risk factors associated with CPV, such as exposure to family violence, discipline, and psychological characteristics of the adolescents. Interviews were videotaped, transcribed, and reviewed independently by each investigator to identify and group distinct comments into categories with specific themes. Results suggest that CPV is mainly linked to exposure to marital conflict and family violence, permissive discipline, emotional disengagement in the father-child relationship, and symptoms of emotional stress and substance consumption in the children. Lastly, acts of CPV seem to be an attempt by the children to gain power in the context of family relations in which the parents display their incapacity to establish control. As several family and personal characteristics appear to be involved in CPV, it is recommended that family and individual approaches be considered for treatment.     

Does Observance of Religious Holidays Affect Agricultural Productivity and Household Welfare? Evidence from Rural Ethiopia

This study examines whether traditional customs affect household's welfare by taking the case of the work prohibition related with religion in rural Ethiopia. Although the anecdotal evidence suggests that work prohibition by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, to observe the religious holidays, is one of the reasons for the high poverty incidence in Ethiopia, the estimation results do not show that there is a significant effect of the number of religious holidays observed on agricultural productivity and household welfare. Observance of religious holidays affects crop choice and income source.     

Old wine in new bottles: Re‐publishing African writers

Things Fall Apart. Chinua Achebe, 1986.150pp. £3.50pb

Arrow of God. Chinua Achebe, 1986. 230pp. £3.50pb

A Grain of Wheat. Ngugi wa Thiong'o, 1986. 247pp. £3.95pb

Petals of Blood. Ngugi wa Thiong'o, 1986. 250pp. £3.95pb

God's Bits of Wood. Sembene Ousmane, 1986. 245pp. £3.50pb

Estrangement. Elechi Amadi, 1986. 244pp. £3.95pb

London: Heinemann Educational Books (African Writers Series)

The Beggar's Strike. Aminata Sow Fall, London: Longman (African Classics). 1987.112pp. £2.95pb

The Real Life of Alejandro Mayta. Mario Vargas Llosa (Translated by Alfred MacAdam) New York: Vintage books. 1986. 309pp. $6.95pb

The Penguin Book of Modern Urdu Poetry. Edited by Mahmood Jamal, Harmondsworth: Penguin. 1986. 165pp. £3.95pb     

Historical systems and social systems

Studies in Comparative International Development -