Minimizing inequality in a market economy: implications for Eastern Europe in transition
The central question which this article addresses is: ’How can Eastern European nations minimize inequality as they move in the direction of a market economy?’. The answer that most countries with market economies have devised is: ’Through the creation of a welfare state.’ It is important to emphasize the idea of minimizing inequality rather than eliminating it; no economic or political system has totally eliminated inequality, and none is likely to do so. The most one can hope for is that inequality will be contained sufficiently to prevent the society from becoming a nation of gross
The Welfare State: Still on Solid Ground
The welfare states of North America and Western Europe have seen slower growth and even cutbacks during the 1970s and 1980s. Critics on the Right blame the faulty ideology behind "social engineering." The Left points to the fundamental incompatibility of the welfare ideology with capitalism. I argue that the slowdown in growth is a decision made by the middle of the political spectrum. Conservative and moderate political victories of the period have not given conservatives a mandate for the dismantlement of the welfare state. At the same time, the voters have rejected the Left's extreme view of "substantive equality."
Exopolysaccharide biosynthesis and related enzyme activities of the medicinal fungus, Ganoderma lucidum, grown on lactose in a bioreactor
Exopolysaccharide (EPS) production and biosynthesis were studied in Ganoderma lucidum, a fungus used in traditional Chinese medicine, grown with lactose in a bioreactor. β-Galactosidase activity, which implies the existence of a lactose permease system, was induced by lactose. Lactose feeding also increased α-phosphoglucomutase activity and EPS accumulation but decreased phosphoglucose isomerase activity and lactate concentration in the culture broth. A maximum cell density of 22 g l−1 and EPS at 1.25 g l−1 were obtained in fed-batch bioreactor culture.