That will reduce the head-count, but will hardly bring needed improvements in productivity and efficiency.

ECONOMIST: Greek finances: The labours of Hercules | The

He estimates that 75% of expense cuts will be head-count reductions.

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The reason for this seemingly dotty result is that the errors from scientific sampling are easier to quantify (and minimise) than those arising from an imperfect head-count.

ECONOMIST: Statistics

The government is now trying to soothe the fears of the German-speaking losers in the country's eastern heartland, such as the tiny half-canton of Appenzell Inner-Rhoden, where 68% of the voters (by head-count, a total of 4, 486 people) said No.

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The public-sector head count has grown by over a tenth in the past decade, and as many as 400, 000 jobs may have to go.

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Sidney Brodsky, chief executive officer of James Gerard Foods, a gourmet food business in Phoenix with roughly 50 employees, says he is considering "weeding out" his weakest performers to reduce his firm's head count to below 50 full-time equivalents.

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