is to be regarded as only a necessary first step. Whether new proteins or some other molecules cause the changes in synapses thought to underlie memory, this knowledge of itself will contribute only a beginning to our understanding of the events which account for the functioning of the brain. A determination of the composition of computer components would provide very little information towards unraveling their function.As the experiments proceeded, however, information of a more general nature was being obtained. The identification of different stages of consolidation show how injections of antibiotics can supplement electroconvulsive shock as a way of disrupting the establishment of memory and how it can supplement ablation in destroying memory already laid down in a perma-nent mode. Applied to larger animals the localization of various regions sensitive or insensitive to the action of the drugs should become more definitive. We hope that such experiments will contribute increasingly to the general problem of brain function.
Much public discussion about health care assumes, explicitly or implicitly, that only by denial of potentially beneficial care (called "rationing") can cost containment be achieved. This piece critically examines the various current usages of "rationing," and argues that it is being misapplied. Fur- ther, the call for rationing may be deflecting us from fruitful exploration of non-rationing alternatives to cost control. Two of these are briefly sketched as examples: physician fee controls and practice guidelines. Copyright 1989 by The Policy Studies Organization.
Public policy is not self-generating; it emerges from institutions. Foremost among the institutions charged with monetary and credit policy formation—an area, like fiscal policy, that has not received from political scientists the attention accorded to micro-economic regulation of particular firms or industries—is the Federal Reserve System. The purpose of this paper is to examine the “fit” of the System's formal structure to (1) the policy functions and the informal policy-forming mechanisms of the “Fed,” and (2) the pattern of interests and values affected by monetary policy. Its thesis is that a substantial gap has developed between these elements.A brief sketch of the formal structure of authority and the historical development of System functions is needed to begin with; this is followed by analysis of the formal and the effective roles of each component of the System along with the internalized interest representation at each level. Then the linkage between the Federal Reserve System and general economic policy is explored. Finally, the conclusion summarizes the findings and suggests briefly how formal structure and policy functions might be brought into closer, more effective alignment.
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