Critiques of conventional models for evaluating the utility of organizational human resource policies. Questions the implicit assumption that utilities are invariant across changing labor market conditions, and concludes that omission of these considerations overstates the likely utility of the programs being evaluated. (TE)

Proposes social structural view of poverty rates as a function of local opportunity instead of individual-level focus on who is poor. Defines poverty rates as a function of industrial structure and relative power of labor in a locality. Confirms theoretical model with data from 46 South Carolina counties. (LFL)