Response to “The Subprime Crisis and African Americans” by Sandra Phillips

Lucy Reuben’s Response to “The Subprime Crisis and African Americans” by Sandra Phillips includes an overview of the linkages between historical housing disparities and the adverse wealth gap from which the African American community suffers. Reuben discusses how the subprime mortgage crisis has reduced both African American homeownership and African American access to wealth-building for entrepreneurial development. Finally, Reuben offers policy recommendations related to expanding financial literacy and strengthening regulatory oversight.     

幸福哪里找

目前尚不完全清楚，为何我们距离死亡越近越感到幸福。我猜，这主要是由于雄心和预期的压力慢慢减轻。我们不再追逐那些我们永远不会拥有的东西．     

Giving overseas and public policy

Remarkable numbers of people give to overseas development charities. The aim of this paper is to consider how such overseas giving is best modelled and the implications for public policy. Widely used theories of charitable giving, based on warm-glow or the provision of public goods, provide insight but are not fully satisfactory as explanations of giving for the specific purpose of development. Instead, an “identification” approach to individual giving is proposed here that combines the results focus of the public goods formulation with the scale of the warm-glow model. The theoretical model is used to examine the implications for public policy, including the extent to which official aid crowds out private giving and how public policy should take account of private willingness to make charitable transfers overseas.     

Book reviews

Quality & Quantity -     

An experimental examination of the house money effect in a multi-period setting

There is evidence that risk-taking behavior is influenced by prior monetary gains and losses. When endowed with house money, people become more risk taking. This paper is the first to report a house money effect in a dynamic, financial setting. Using an experimental method, we compare market outcomes across sessions that differ in the level of cash endowment (low and high). Our experimental results provide support for a house money effect. Traders’ bids, price predictions, and market prices are influenced by the amount of money that is provided prior to trading. However, dynamic behavior is difficult to interpret due to conflicting influences. JEL Classification C91 · C92 · D80 The views expressed here are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta or the Federal Reserve System.     

Progress along the path: evolving issues in the measurement of genuine saving

More than 10 years since a practical linkage between sustainable development and a measure of national wealth—expanded to include natural and environmental resources—was first posited, the empirical estimation of adjusted net savings, dubbed ‘genuine’ saving, has evolved considerably. In this paper we take stock of both progress achieved and the challenges that remain. We begin by recalling the key points made in Pearce and Atkinson (1993, Ecol Econ 8, 103), which presented the first cross-country estimates of savings rates adjusted to reflect depletion and degradation of the environment. We then briefly summarise the evolution of the theoretical argument linking savings and sustainability. However, the main focus of this paper is an aspect that concerned David Pearce greatly, namely the evolution of the measurement of genuine savings. We identify and consider the empirical evidence with regard to two particular measurement issues: the valuation of exhaustible resources and environmental degradation. Common to the both issues are concerns about measuring changes in national wealth in real world economies.      

Reviews

Regions. ERA 1998: 21st CENTURY REGIONS. London: Economic & regional analysis, 23. Buckingham Gate, London SW1E 6LB, £30 + £1 p&p paper.

Environmental management standards. Krut, R. and Gleckman, H. 1998: ISO 14001: A MISSED OPPORTUNITY FOR SUSTAINABLE GLOBAL INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT. London: Earthscan Publications Ltd, £14.95 paper.

Environmental jobs. Hale, M. and Lachowicz, M. 1998: THE ENVIRONMENT, EMPLOYMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. London: Routledge, £17.99 paper.

Sustainability and regeneration. Carley, M. and Kirk, K. 1998: SUSTAINABLE BY 2020? A STRATEGIC APPROACH TO URBAN REGENERATION FOR BRITAIN'S CITIES. Bristol: The Policy Press, £11.95 paper.

Gambling. Frey, J.H. (ed) 1998: GAMBLING: SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS AND PUBLIC POLICY. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. London: Sage Publications, £14.99 paper.

Informal employment. Williams, C. C. and Windebank, J. 1998: INFORMAL EMPLOYMENT IN THE ADVANCED ECONOMIES: IMPLICATIONS FOR WORK AND WELFARE. London: Routledge, £15.99 paper.

TECS. Jones, M. 1999: NEW INSTITUTIONAL SPACES: TECS AND THE REMAKING OF ECONOMIC GOVERNANCE. London: Regional Studies Association, £27.50 paper.

The New Regional Agenda. Dungey, J. and Newman, I. 1999: THE NEW REGIONAL AGENDA. London: Local Government Information Unit, £15.00 paper.

Mutual aid and self-help. Burne, Danny and Taylor, Marilyn, 1998: MUTUAL AID AND SELF-HELP: COPING STRATEGIES FOR EXCLUDED COMMUNITIES. Bristol: The Policy Press, £10.95.     

人在职场身不由己？

有一个有关撒谎、死亡、逃避工作和愤怒的老妇人的故事。故事的主角名叫史蒂芬·爱尔兰，他为爱尔兰国家队踢足球，但却在几周前错过了一场重要的比赛，因为他深爱的外婆刚刚过世。     

大讨厌鬼理论

首席执行官们未必生来就令人讨厌，但随着自己越来越成功，他们越来越让人厌烦。像政客一样，他们害怕说出任何可能对自己不利的话。因此，他们学会了如何令人厌烦。