November 16, 1992

For Philips Electronics, a single European market means the Dutch company can ship compact disk players from Belgium to Spain without the need for its trucks to stop at customs. For American Express, the unified market means it can sell financial products like mutual funds throughout Europe for the first time. But for farmers, it means new rules, including one that allows the sale of cucumbers only if they meet certain standards for length and curvature. And for other individuals, companies and nations, there is fear that old tensions and old nationalism will still, somehow, dampen the single market's positive economic effects.

The Economy Costs are overwhelming early-retirement programs by states that sought to relieve payroll pressure by letting public employees step down early. Rather than produce savings, the programs threaten to run up hundreds of millions of dollars in unexpected expenses. [ Page A1. ] Gov. Clinton's investment-tax-credit plan is a powerful tool for giving the economy a jolt forward without dangerously expanding the budget deficit, say economists, who predict that the measure will create up to 500,000 jobs by the end of 1993. [ D1. ]

NEW YORK CITY GIVING WORKERS A SAY IN THEIR WORK Can unionized city workers perform as well as private contractors? A new experiment in the New York City Parks Department is trying to answer the question by allowing workers new freedom in planning their own workloads, routes and conditions. For example, three parks workers in the test recently removed a tree in Bensonhurst, a chore that in fatter times had been performed by as many seven people. If the approach proves to be more efficient, the department could then cut back on outside contractors and use the money to rehire some laid-off workers. It could also help break a stereotype that portrays public workers as lazy and inefficient. B3. THE MAYOR'S WRESTLE WITH RACE The Mayor doesn't get it. Why, he bristles, is the same question raised again and again: is he being held to a different standard because he is black? All his public life, David N. Dinkins has been a voice of moderation. He helped avoid violence. Even before he was Mayor, he was called on routinely to answer for every outrageous remark or action by a fellow black. His struggle is one most black public figures have faced, one in which Mr. Dinkins's caution, stubbornness and muted oratory have been both a defense and a handicap. Metro Matters, B3.

If the Census Bureau is right, the number of people aged 85 or older will grow from 3.3 million today to 18.7 million in 2080. But if a Duke University demographer working with the National Institute on Aging is correct, the number of these oldest old in 2080 could actually be 72 million, a figure nearly four times as great as the Census Bureau's projection. This striking disparity involves a fundamental disagreement about the nature of aging.

The investment tax credit proposed by President-elect Bill Clinton is probably the single most powerful tool for giving the economy a jolt forward without dangerously expanding the budget deficit, economists agree. Several economic forecasters interviewed said Mr. Clinton's investment tax credit, probably limited to purchases of equipment, would create 300,000 to 500,000 additional jobs by the end of 1993 while increasing the deficit by just $500 million.