Evaluating a Long-Term Livable Communities Strategy in the U.S.

What are the requirements for successful, long-term, livable community strategies in the US? In early 2007, the Institute for Alternative Futures (IAF) was commissioned to offer a forward-looking review of the Livable Communities strategy of AARP, originally, the American Association of Retired Persons (with 37 million members, AARP is the largest non-profit organization in the US) [1]. This article summarizes the process and results of that project. It constitutes a case study in the evaluation of a large organization's plans from a strategic foresight perspective. Findings from this investigation suggest that many large-scale trends in the U.S., including urban sprawl, rising energy costs, climate change, and fiscal challenges are likely to work against efforts to make communities more livable. On the basis of these findings, IAF recommended that the association take a broad approach to livability, developing strategies that counter these negative trends while also improving the lives of older people. AARP is one of the best suited organizations to make such a long-term commitment.     

CLIMATE POLITICS,STRATEGIC BEHAVIOUR,HOLD‐OUTS,FREE RIDERS AND RENT‐SEEKERS

This paper examines recent developments in US climate change policy from a public choice perspective. Policies such as ‘cap and trade’ threaten to impose substantial costs on individuals and businesses, yet their effectiveness at reducing greenhouse gas emissions is questionable. Support for legislation that restricts emissions can partly be explained by the strategic behaviour of various special interests.     

Research on the implications of new technology for manpower and skills: some methodological considerations

This paper examines two approaches to the study of the implications of technological change for manpower and skill requirements. One is based on the development of taxonomies to classify different levels of automation of industrial processes. The other is based on the study of the competitive dynamics within industrial sectors.     

A defense of utilitarian policy processes in corporate and public management

The growing awareness that corporate and public policy forming processes are intensively utilitarian has provoked a variety of criticism. The procedural difficulties of utilitarianism are well known; less well known but potentially more devastating is a set of charges that utilitarian policy processes intrude upon important relationships and societal processes. This paper defends utilitarian methods against these charges.More specifically, two criticisms are singled out for examination. The first is the claim that utilitarian policy processes systematically discriminate against the rights of non-human life and suppress any feelings of sympathy or obligation humans might have for animals or plants. The second is the argument that utilitarianism ultimately circumvents considerations of process which are essential for the development of individual and societal identity.Given these criticisms, the goal of this paper is to defend the role of utilitarian techniques in corporate and public policy processes against such charges. F. Neil Brady is Assistant Professor of Management at the College of Business Administration, San Diego State University. He is the author of Feeling and Understanding: A Moral Psychology for Public Servants, Public Administration Quarterly 7, and Ethical Theory for the Public Administrator: The Management of Competing Interests, American Review of Public Administration 15, pp. 119–126.     

Loan-loss experience and risk-taking behavior at large commercial banks

Net loan chargeoffs and nonperforming loans reflect realized credit risks for banks. These risks arise from either external factors such as depressed economic conditions (e.g., the energy and farm belts of the United States in the 1980s) or internal factors such as poor lending decisions (including fraudulent ones) or both. For large commercial banks in 1987, we find that almost 94 percent of the variation in loss rates within regions was due to banks having different loss rates on the same types of loans. Our regression results indicate that loan-loss rates in 1987 were positively associated with loan rates, volatile funds, and loan volume from the preceding three years. In contrast, banks with adequate capital in the preceding three years tended to have lower loss rates.     

Are small investors naive about incentives?

Security analysts tend to bias stock recommendations upward, particularly if they are affiliated with the underwriter. We analyze how investors account for such distortions. Using the NYSE Trades and Quotations database, we find that large traders adjust their trading response downward. While they exert buy pressure following strong buy recommendations, they display no reaction to buy recommendations and selling pressure following hold recommendations. This “discounting” is even more pronounced when the analyst is affiliated with the underwriter. Small traders, instead, follow recommendations literally. They exert positive pressure following both buy and strong buy recommendations and zero pressure following hold recommendations. We discuss possible explanations for the differences in trading response, including information costs and investor naiveté.     

Customer Rage Episodes: Emotions, Expressions and Behaviors

In this research, we examine customer rage-associated emotions, expressions, and behaviors following service failure. Three independent studies involving 656 respondents and multiple methods are employed to investigate customer rage. Scales for each form of rage emotion, expression, and behavior were developed and used to assess their interrelationships. Results suggest that different forms of customer rage emotions tend to be linked to different types of expressions and behaviors. For example, both Rancorous Rage and Retaliatory Rage emotions tend to increase Verbal expressions (such as raising one's voice, yelling, and making insulting remarks). In contrast, Retaliatory Rage emotion increases Physical expressions (tried to physically harm a service employee, tried to cause damage to property, and threatened to damage property) and Displaced expressions (took anger out on other people nearby, yelled at other people, and took their anger out on other people later on) whereas Rancorous Rage emotion decreases Physical and Displaced expressions. Interestingly, Verbal expressions are linked to passive-aggressive behaviors, such as switching service providers and spreading negative word of mouth while Physical expressions are linked to relatively aggressive behavior, such as a desire for revenge. Implications for scholarly research and retailers are discussed.     

RENT-SEEKING: VALUING TULLOCK'S REJECTS

This paper demonstrates that Gordon Tullock's articles on rent seeking continue to be cited, often far more frequently than the papers which journals chose to publish when they rejected Tullock's submissions.