POLITICAL PROCESS AND THE FORMATION OF ECONOMIC POLICY

Institutional economics has some useful things to say about government policy-forming processes. It focuses attention on the structural components of government institutions which shape the direction of policy formation and its delivery. In this article, the author discusses how institutional models of government decision-making may be adapted to parliamentary systems of government. This approach has some merit because it rescues analysis of government processes from models based on the US constitutional system.     

a taxi for miss doolittle

Why is it so difficult to get a taxi in London? Robin Jenks is confident that without regulation the service would be greatly improved. Is it really necessary for taxi drivers to have ‘The Knowledge’?     

Body support testing and rating

The REF, C, and score are a means to give quantitative values for product performance. Other product variables defined as humidity control factor, shear control factor, differential temperature control factor, product life factor, and cost factor were not addressed as part of this study. Additional variables include delivery, maintenance, and warranties. These components can be added to the score in some weighted manner as they become clinically founded. Interface pressures and shears were not measured for beds that are gatched. Each product tested will have characteristics pertinent to its own design that must be addressed to minimize sacral and coccyx skin breakdown when subjects are in this posture because some pneumatic pads bottom out to give excessive sacral and coccyx pressure while others wrinkle when used in this position. This is of major concern when one considers that the coccyx is more susceptible to pressure than any other bony prominence. There may be some aversion to labeling support product performance because it will allow the purchaser to know what is being bought. This initial study indicates the feasibility of quantitating what all patients require: a valid interface support surface for each specific need. The user can be adequately informed before the purchase as to a product's merits without being influenced by the results of inadequate testing, referrals, or sales media influences. Although cushions, shoes, or other prosthetic/orthotic devices were not part of this study, it is appropriate to rate all these devices in a similar manner by simply comparing pressure relief attained to that desired, expressing the result as a percentage of the worst case, and then labeling the product accordingly. Those subjects with sensation can rate comfort as part of the overall score. For cushions, ischial tuberosity pressure relief can be expressed as a percentage of the maximum attainable relief. Metatarsal head relief during gait as well as during static testing can be measured, and claims can be made for shoes and sneakers. Where impact loads and shear forces are paramount, the score must comprise appropriate parameters. Similarly, amputee distal stump relief as a percentage of worst case could be specified by the fitter. Iliac crest relief as a percentage of worst case can also be specified by the fitter. In all instances the score is not a subjective rating but one that can be measured correctly. All body support products can be given an REF, C value, and score as well as other qualifying values where appropriate instrumentation and sufficient subject sampling is used.     

Success in social marketing

In a series of articles, Philip Kotler, first with Sidney Levy [11], then with Gerald Zaltman [12], and then singularly [8], has significantly broadened the scope of marketing management. Marketing strategy, according to Kotler, is pertinent in numerous areas in addition to its business application. This article is concerned with one particular area for the expanding application of the marketing concept— social marketing.The use of marketing strategy to achieve social objectives produces both similarities and differences to business applications. Comparing these similarities and differences should produce some insight about the potential success of social marketing.     

Finite sample evidence on the performance of stochastic frontier models using panel data

Most stochastic frontier models have focused on estimating average productive efficiency across all firms. The failure to estimate firm-specific effiicency has been regarded as a major limitation of previous stochastic frontier models. In this paper, we measure firm-level efficiency using panel data, and examine its finite sample distribution over a wide range of the parameter and model space. We also investigate the performance of the stochastic frontier approach using three estimators: maximum likelihood, generalized least squares and dummy variables (or the within estimator). Our results indicate that the performance of the stochastic frontier approach is sensitive to the form of the underlying technology and its complexity. The results appear to be quite stable across estimators. The within estimatoris preferred, however, because of weak assumptions and relative computational ease.The refereeing process of this paper was handled through J. van den Broeck.     

Adverse selection in group insurance: The virtues of failing to represent voters

Compared with non-union workers, union workers take more of their compensation in the form of insurance. This may be because unions choose democratically, and democratic choice mitigates adverse selection in group insurance. Relative to individually-purchased insurance, we show that group insurance chosen by an ideal profit-maximizing employer can be worse for every employee, while group insurance chosen democratically can be much better. The reason is that democracy can fail to represent the preferences of almost half the group.Received: January 2003, Accepted: September 2004, JEL Classification: J51, D82, G22     

Sharing my way to success: A case study on developing entrepreneurial ventures using social capital in an OSS community

While Open Source Software (OSS) communities provide opportunities for knowledge creation, we have a limited understanding of how entrepreneurs leverage OSS communities for their entrepreneurial ventures. Using social capital theory in a mixed methods case study, we compare entrepreneur and non-entrepreneur behaviors to investigate how entrepreneurs build social capital within an OSS community. This study shows that entrepreneurs differentiate themselves from non-entrepreneurs by focusing on cognitive and relational capital building activities, which in return makes it possible for them to leverage their social capital to influence and shape the environment in which they are operating. Our findings suggest that entrepreneurs strategically select which activities within the community to expend their limited resources on (e.g., developing code over participating in email conversations) and build their social capital more through their actions than through their words (e.g., showing their commitment to the community through code commits, bug fixes, and documentation). Given the liabilities of newness and smallness as well as other challenges faced by entrepreneurs, applying an open innovation strategy in OSS communities could be one approach where entrepreneurs, by developing and freely revealing their intellectual property to the community, share their way to success via OSS-infused entrepreneurial business ventures.     

A novel approach to legacy donations with long-term benefits supported by numerical illustrations

Philanthropic donors face challenges in matching the causes to which they donate, the time horizon—and thus impact—of their donations, and the charitable vehicles they choose for making contributions. Wealthier donors may elect to create their own foundations and customize their charitable support. Less wealthy donors have limited choices: they may contribute to a nonprofit's current operations or to existing nonprofit endowments. We present a novel approach for making charitable donations, blending aspects of each of these strategies. Our approach has potential long-term financial benefits, allows donors to control their charitable donations in a convenient and easy-to-implement manner, can be established through an existing nonprofit organization, expands opportunities for more donors because it requires a smaller corpus contribution with lower management costs than creating a foundation, provides tax savings in the United States and other countries (e.g., the UK, Canada, and Australia) comparable to other planned giving vehicles, and may be implemented during one's lifetime using donor advised funds or as part of a legacy plan through the donor's estate documents, which is when the long-term benefits accrue.