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Keep in mind that if you are knitting an individual piece of a whole garment (say the sleeve of a sweater), the last stich is going to be used up in the seam when you construct the final garment.  So, loose edges will just be bound up inside the garment and no one will see them.

I bought a book about knitting and crocheting that had lots of interesting techniques for the last stich in a row.  One of their suggestions was to slip the last stich on the row rather than using it on the row (knit or purl).  When you start on the next row, knit or purl it in pattern.  The extra yarn that always seems to end up on that last stich is used up as it stretches to become part of the next row and it doesn't LOOK as though it is very loose.

Of course, as with any technique, try it out and see if it works with your current project.  Some of these techniques work well in one pattern and screw up another (in particular, patterns that tend to pull in, like cables, can cause all sorts of problems at the edges).

-RB-

Hello--  Though the question has already been answered, I thought I'd share how I deal with the issue.  It's interesting that there are multiple solutions. 

For the problem of the loose last stitch on every row, I knit or purl the first three stitches of the next row a bit tightly.  This keeps the tension a little more consistent near the edges.  It doesn't entirely solve the problem though.  Simon's suggestion of knitting into the back of the stitch sounds interesting.  I'll have to try it.

I've tried another method for tightening up the final stitch that is cast off. Just like Simon describes, pick up the stitch below the final loop.  Leave that on the right needle, slip the final loop (as if to knit), then knit those two loops together (like the knit at the end of a SSK).  Now you've got two loops, so just pass the first one over the one you just made.  I've only tried this once or twice, so I'll definitely have to try Simon's method and compare.  Honestly, by the time I cast off, I'm usually so excited to be done that I forget and just pull the stitch tightly. 

The last stitch frequently is.  If it's the very last stitch when you cast off, instead of pulling the thread through the final loop, pick-up and knit one stitch down the side.  Pass the now second from the last stitch over, then pull the thread through the final loop.  This should now be tight(er).

It you're having a problem at the end of a row in regular knitting, try knitting into the back of the stitch instead of the front.  This twists and tightens the stitch.

Failing that - don't worry - we all have this problem - it's because there is no following stitch to tighten-up the tension.