Socioeconomic Impacts of Disinvestment on Communities in New York State

Abstract . In order to determine the effect of industrial decline on local tax revenues and to discern the stresses caused by higher demand for social services in a period of government fiscal crisis, the industrial migration activities and local government budgets of New York State from 1962 to 1976 are analyzed. These regression analyses show that: (1) manufacturing decline handicaps the growth of local property tax revenues; (2) when possible, local governments compensate for their lost property tax revenues by raising non-property taxes; displaced workers are likely to seek public assistance; and (4) local welfare expenditures do not correspond to the soaring social service demands. Provided that plant openings seldom re-employ displaced workers, the authors suggest that it is as important for local governments to adopt policies for retaining their current manufacturing plants as to attract new industrial investments.     

Through Thick and Thin? How Self‐determination Drives the Corporate Sustainability Initiatives of Multinational Subsidiaries

Multinational corporation (MNC) subsidiaries implement corporate sustainability initiatives (CSIs) if they are self‐determined to do so (based on intrinsic motivation) or when urged on by circumstances and pressures (based on extrinsic motivation). Such differences in self‐determination are derived from underlying corporate psychological needs for competence, autonomy and relatedness, and are manifested in the governance choices of making, allying or buying CSIs. In this study of oil and gas MNC subsidiaries in the developing country context of Trinidad and Tobago, four distinct types of firm are identified based on their levels of self‐determination and corporate governance tendencies. These groups are identified as trail blazers, marching soldiers, sharp shooters and fire fighters, and their distinctive characteristics are described. These findings are useful to corporate sustainability strategists seeking to select, design and implement CSIs that satisfy MNC headquarter directives but balance subsidiary objectives of maintaining good relations and access to operate in developing countries. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

A Pollution Control Approach to Analysis of the Balanced Budget Amendment

Abstract . Fiscal Pollution (excessive budget deficits), in certain aspects, is like environmental pollution. In both types of pollution some, possibly most individuals would be willing to reduce their own pollution if others would do the same. In the case of fiscal pollution individuals would be willing to give up their special interest demands if others would reciprocate in kind. But as long as individuals are forced to pay for the programs of others there is little incentive to reduce their own demands. Hence, restraints on political behavior such as a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution are needed to contro excessive fiscal pollution.     

Evaluation of inequivalent projections of Hadamard matrices of order 24

Screening designs are useful for situations where a large number of factors (q) is examined but only few (k) of these are expected to be important. It is of practical interest for a given k to know all the inequivalent projections of the design into the k dimensions. In this paper we give all the (combinatorially) inequivalent projections of inequivalent Hadamard matrices of order 24 into k=3,4 and 5 dimensions, as well as their frequencies. Then, we sort these projections according to their generalized resolution, generalized aberration and centered L₂-discrepancy measure of uniformity. Then, we study the hidden projection properties of these designs as they are introduced by Wang and Wu (1995). The hidden projection property suggests that complex aliasing allows some interactions to be estimated without making additional runs.     

Land Pooling for Resubdivision and New Subdivision in Western Australia

Abstract . Land pooling is a technique for the unified subdivision of separate private landholdings in urban-fringe areas. Pooling projects are self-financing and the costs and profits of each project are shared between the participating landowners. It provides local governments with a powerful tool for implementing their municipal land use plans and for ensuring an adequate supply of urban land. Local governments in Western Australia began using land pooling in 1951, first to redesign and service old, undeveloped subdivision estates (development projects), then to install special infrastructure works in new suburban areas, and later for the progressive development of their municipalities. By 1982 a total of 56 pooling projects ranging from 1.5 to 250 hectares had been undertaken in metropolitan Perth. The technique and its use in the state of Western Australia are described and discussed and improvements 3re proposed. A case history of a typical pooling project is presented in the appendix. The West Australian experience shows that land pooling could be adopted to improve urban development and land supply for housing in the U.S.A. and Canada, and in other mixed-economy countries.     

The association between two random elements: A complete characterization and odds ratio models

For random elements X and Y (e.g. vectors) a complete characterization of their association is given in terms of an odds ratio function. The main result establishes for any odds ratio function and any pre-specified marginals the unique existence of a corresponding joint distribution (the joint density is obtained as a limit of an iterative procedure of marginal fittings). Restricting only the odds ratio function but not the marginals leads to semi-parmetric association models for which statistical inference is available for samples drawn conditionally on either X or Y. Log-bilinear association models for random vectors X and Y are introduced which generalize standard (regression) models by removing restrictions on the marginals. In particular, the logistic regression model is recognized as a log-bilinear association model. And the joint distribution of X and Y is shown to be multivariate normal if and only if both marginals are normal and the association is log-bilinear.Acknowledgements The author thanks both referees for their helpful comments which improved the first draft of the paper.     

Efficient Contests

In their seminal contribution, Lazear and Rosen (1981) show that wages based upon rank induce the same efficient effort as incentive‐based reward schemes. They also show that this equivalence result is not robust toward heterogeneity in worker ability, as long as ability is private information because it is not possible to structure contests to simultaneously satisfy self‐selection constraints and first‐best incentives. This paper demonstrates that efficiency can be achieved by a simple modification of the prize scheme in a mixed (heterogenous) contest where contestants learn their type after entry. If contestants know their type before entering the contest, rent extraction becomes an issue. Implications for optimal contest design are also explored. Finally, the relationship between effort maximizing contests and profit maximizing contests are discussed.     

Bartlett correction in the stable second‐order autoregressive model with intercept and trend

This paper derives the Bartlett factors that can be used to obtain higher‐order improvements for testing hypotheses about the autoregressive (AR) parameters in the stable AR(2) model with possible intercept and linear trend. The factors are obtained for testing hypotheses about individual parameters (φ₁ and φ₂) as well as their sum. Moreover, the effect of deterministic terms on the correction factors is found explicitly. All corrections are non‐decreasing in the AR parameters. Furthermore, the Bartlett corrections for φ₁ and φ₂ tend to infinity as φ₂ approaches 1, whereas the correction for φ₁ + φ₂ tends to infinity as φ₁ + φ₂ is close to 1. The effectiveness of these Bartlett corrections in finite samples is evaluated by simulations.     

Alternative functional forms for production,cost and returns to scale functions

We consider generalized production functions, introduced in Zellner and Revankar (1969), for output y=g(f) where g is a monotonic function and f is a homogeneous production function. For various choices of the scale elasticity or returns to scale as a function of output, differential equations are solved to determine the associated forms of the monotonic transformation, g(f). Then by choice of the form of f, the elasticity of substitution, constant or variable, is determined. In this way, we have produced and generalized a number of homothetic production functions, some already in the literature. Also, we have derived and studied their associated cost functions to determine how their shapes are affected by various choices of the scale elasticity and substitution elasticity functions. In general, we require that the returns to scale function be a monotonically decreasing function of output and that associated average cost functions be U- or L-shaped with a unique minimum. We also represent production functions in polar coordinates and show how this representation simplifies study of production functions' properties. Using data for the US transportation equipment industry, maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods are employed to estimate many different generalized production functions and their associated average cost functions. In accord with results in the literature, it is found that the scale elasticities decline with output and that average cost curves are U- or L-shaped with unique minima. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

China's Socioeconomic Progress: The Mainland Revisited Shows Evidence of Advance But Its Overpopulation Is a Big Problem

Abstract . An invitation to lecture at a Chinese university in 1986 afforded the writer and his wife an opportunity to revisit China. They had been there in 1975 while the “Cultural Revolution” was still on and again in 1983. Their first visit covered major modern cities and historical capitals, their second more remote areas and their third the rural areas. They were impressed by the economic progress, especially in 1983-86, even in rural areas which are still lagging behind the cities. The ability of the Chinese to cope with overpopulation aroused their admiration but it was clear that the problem would block or handicap development and modernization efforts for decades to come. China's overpopulation problem is a warning to other developing nations which neglect family planning.     

Personality similarities and differences between Mexican and American business leaders

A study was conducted to investigate personality similarities and differences for a group of 200 business leaders, 100 each from Southern Mexico and the United States. Mexican and American leaders were administered the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) in their native language (Spanish or English). A demographic questionnaire solicited information about age, education, and gender. These variables were used as covariates in some analyses. After controlling for the effects of age, gender, and education level, the authors found that Mexican leaders scored higher than their American counterparts on the warmth, emotional stability, social boldness, and openness to change scales. American leaders scored higher on the abstractedness and self‐reliance scales. On scales related to leadership there were between‐nationality differences on emotional stability, social boldness, abstractedness, and self‐reliance. Additional studies are suggested to illuminate cross‐nationality similarities and differences.     

Modelling Category Inflation with Multiple Inflation Processes: Estimation,Specification and Testing1

Zero‐inflated ordered probit (ZIOP) and middle‐inflated ordered probit (MIOP) models are finding increasing favour in the discrete choice literature. We propose generalizations to these models – which collapse to their ZIOP/MIOP counterparts under a set of simple parameter restrictions – with respect to the inflation process. These generalizations form the basis of a new specification test of the inflation process in ZIOP and MIOP models. Support for our generalization framework is principally demonstrated by revisiting a key ZIOP application from the economics literature, and reinforced by the reassessment of an important MIOP application from political science. Our specification test supports the generalized models over the original ZIOP/MIOP ones, suggesting an important role for it in modelling zero‐ and middle‐inflation processes.     

Are technology gatekeepers renewing clusters? Understanding gatekeepers and their dynamics across cluster life cycles

The cluster literature assumes that technology gatekeepers (TGs) shape a district's learning process and its evolution. However, analysis of the resilience of TGs, and their role across different stages of the cluster life cycle (CLC), is absent. Instead, most of the evidence that has been produced is set at a particular stage of the CLC. This article seeks to use a qualitative case study to understand the dynamics of TGs, and their knowledge creation and diffusion capabilities in the CLC renewal period. This is a stage less studied in the literature. Further, the article explores TG resilience across different stages of the CLC. Our results show that not all TGs are resilient and necessary for cluster renewal. In addition, they are not sufficient for fostering disruptions: their manifest reluctance to destroy the status quo and their network centrality makes necessary the entrance of new firms with new knowledge. TGs are necessary because they facilitate a cluster's transition across stages thanks to their powerful control of the most vital aspect of clusters: networks.     

John Hobson, Thorstein Veblen and the Phenomenon of Imperialism

Abstract . Although Hobson (1858–1940) and Veblen (1857–1929) both wrote extensively on imperialism, a systematic comparison of their views has yet to be undertaken. This is corrected with reference to three issues: their respective condemnation and explanation of, and remedy for, imperialism. The contexts in which they wrote is outlined and it is shown that on the basis of a shared definition of imperialism: (1) they both condemned imperialism on economic and political grounds, although Veblen's hostility was arguably the greater; (2) they both advanced dualistic explanations of imperialism, but whereas Hobson developed more fully and emphasized economic rather than ideological forces, the reverse was the case for Veblen; and (3) they agreed that modern imperialism could be remedied by the establishment of an international system of law and order. Veblen, however, was far less confident that this would solve totally the problem of imperialism and hence argued for the abolition of both capitalism and patriotism. The convergencies and divergencies in their analyses of imperialism may reflect the British liberal and American radical traditions that the politically involved Hobson and the iconoclast Veblen, respectively, operated within. There is a lesson for our time in their views.     

The Optimal Size of a Religious Congregation: An Economic Theory of Clubs Analysis

The economic theory of clubs model is applied to determine the optimal size of a religious congregation. The optimal size is specified to be where total contributions are maximized. This occurs where the marginal benefits of adding a new member (in terms of contributions gained from that new member) equal the marginal costs of that new member (in terms of contributions lost from existing members). Benefits from adding members include enhanced fellowship opportunities and the spreading of fixed costs across a broader base. Costs include the congestion of facilities and a greater tendency to free ride. The model is empirically tested for four denominations. The average Catholic parish is found to be much larger than its optimal size, while the average Episcopalian, Lutheran, and Methodist congregations are all found to be smaller than their optimal size.     

Export Agriculture and the Expansion of Urban Slum Areas

Abstract . Many of the richest people have all or a large part of their accumulated wealth in land, yet the men and women who work the land are usually their country's most poverty-stricken. The landowning elite is very powerful because land has been concentrated in few hands. In the Third World' of less developed countries (LDCs) and in the United States this situation in the last four decades has led to an emphasis on export crops and a restructuring of agriculture to produce them. Brazilis an example of this change, which has led to deforestation and multiplication of the hungry, homeless and alienated, the new “barbarians within the gates.” Comparable developments are seen in the U.S., threatening fiscal and political stability in many countries.     

On approximating the distributions ofFriedman's 75-175-175-1and related statistics

Error bounds depending explicitly on parameters of the problem are given for large-sample approximations to the central and noncentral distributions ofFriedman's [1937]x _r ² statistic,Steel's [1959] statistics for comparingr treatments with a control, andNemenyi's [1963] statistics for pair-wise comparisons among all treatments. These bounds are of ordero(N ^–1/2); an improved bound of ordero (N ^–r/(r+1)) is given forFriedman's statistic in the central case. Applications yield bounds on the actual type 1 and type 2 error probabilities in terms of their normal-theory approximations.Supported in part by ONR Contract N00014-72A-0136-003 from the U.S. Office of Naval Research.     

Public Schools and In-migration in North Carolina Counties, 1975–80

Abstract . The migration model presented in this paper indicates (hat the academic quality of public schools, independent of their racial composition, is an important determinant of in-migration in North Carolina counties. The failure to control for school quality is shown to lead to a significant overestimate of the negative impact of school racial mix. These results accord with the Tiebout Hypothesis and with a growing body of other research which suggests that the distributions of public services and other amenities are the principal determinants of recent migration patterns in the U.S.     

Replicating the Results in ‘A New Model of Trend Inflation’ Using Particle Markov Chain Monte Carlo

An article by Chan et al. ( 2013 ) published in the Journal of Business and Economic Statistics introduces a new model for trend inflation. They allow the trend inflation to evolve according to a bounded random walk. In order to draw the latent states from their respective conditional posteriors, they use accept–reject Metropolis–Hastings procedures. We reproduce their results using particle Markov chain Monte Carlo (PMCMC), which approaches drawing the latent states from a different technical point of view by relying on combining Markov chain Monte Carlo and sequential Monte Carlo methods. To conclude: we are able to reproduce the results of Chan et al. ( 2013 ). Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Disproportionate Black and Hispanic Unemployment in U.S. Metropolitan Areas: The Roles of Racial Inequality, Segregation and Discrimination in Male Joblessness

Abstract . Three common hypotheses about disproportionate Black and Hispanic unemployment among metropolitan males are tested, using data from the 1980 Population and the 1977 Economic Censuses. It is found that Black and Hispanic male unemployment is higher relative to that of Whites where jobs are most suburbanized and the minority population least so. This supports the view that segregation which separates minorities from job location elevates minority unemployment. It is also found that relative levels of Black, but not Hispanic, unemployment correlate positively to the minority percentage in metropolitan populations. This is consistent with the view that potential White gains from discrimination are greater where the Black (but not Hispanic) population is larger. Finally, both Blacks and Hispanics experience more disproportionate unemployment where their percentage of high school graduates is low relative to Whites, though this is less true for areas with larger Black populations. This suggests that job skill differentials also play some role in disproportionate minority unemployment.