Demographic Change and Entrepreneurial Occupations: African Americans in Northern Cities

A bstract . In the early twentieth century, the African American (AA) populations of northern cities grew rapidly, whereas the foreign-born white populations of these cities stabilized. Stanley Lieberson has hypothesized that, in these cities, the resulting shifts in the ethnic composition negatively affected the economic prospects of AAs. The present study shows that the transformation of business enterprise among AAs in the urban North during 1900-1930 is consistent with this hypothesis. Census data and evidence from historical case studies suggest that the above demographic changes affected two trends: 1) a decline in the concentration of AAs in entrepreneurial occupations which served whites and 2) an increase in their concentration in entrepreneurial occupations serving other AAs.     

Scrutinizing local public service provision

Set in the context of an expansion of scrutiny by local authorities of local service provision, this article explores the key challenges ahead for managers and politicians in this area of local governance. Drawing on an evaluation of the development of health scrutiny, it outlines the different types of activities health scrutiny committees are engaging in to fulfil their legislative commitments and suggests lessons for the expansion of external scrutiny.     

Knowing and doing: the value of intelligent application in local government improvement

Little is known about what distinguishes managerial thought and practice in successful councils, as opposed to poorly-performing or failing organizations. Managers in high-performing councils in England were interviewed about their improvement practices. Their responses highlighted the importance of an in-depth understanding of customers, staff and the organizational environment; coupled with an inspiring vision of a better future. A commitment to learning was fundamental, forming the basis for an ‘intelligent application’ model of the improvement process.     

The equilibrium allocation of investment capital in the presence of adverse selection and costly state verification

Summary We consider credit rationing in an environment with adverse selection and costly state verification. The presence of costly state verification permits debt contracts to emerge under conditions that we specify. When debt contracts are observed, so is credit rationing. This rationing occurs even if it is possible for rationed borrowers to bid up expected returns to lenders and hence is voluntary. We also show how the adverse selection and costly state verification problems interact and investigate how improvements in information gathering technology impact on the extent of credit rationing.The views expressed herein are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis or the Federal Reserve System. We have benefitted from comments on an earlier draft of this paper by Franklin Allen, Charlie Calomiris, V. V. Chari, Ed Green, Craig Holden, Jeff Lacker, George Pennachi, Neil Wallace, Anne Villamil, and an anonymous referee and from discussions with Edward Prescott.     

The Social Structure of the Australian Urban Labour Market: 1976–1991

Abstract
The changing social structure of the labour market has both distributional and efficiency implications for Australian society. This article analyses the increase in the employment inequality among Australian urban neighbourhoods (that is, Collectors Districts or CDs) between the 1976 and 1991 censuses. When CDs are ranked by socioeconomic status we find that the employment rate falls by more in the low status areas than in other areas. Given that participation and population growth rates are higher in the high status areas, this phenomenon is likely to be driven by differences in employment levels. Shift share analysis of changes in employment levels shows that the lower demand for workers who live in the low status areas has led to falls in employment in those areas. Therefore the structural shift in the Australian economy has been a major explanation of the differences in employment rate within Australian cities. The results raise questions about the current ability of Australia's economy to adjust to the structural change necessary in an open economy .     

Current research in moral development as a decision support system

This paper argues that human beings possess the rational capabilities necessary to achieve the goal of more just and peaceable social orders, but that our educational institutions are failing in their responsibility to do what in fact can be done to produce graduates who make decisions in ways most likely to achieve this goal.Data compiled by us, consistent with other research, indicates that only a small percentage of the individuals graduating from universities and professional schools have developed the capacity for post-conventional moral reasoning. William Y. Penn, Jr. is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies at St. Edward's University, Austin, TX. He held a chair at the Department of Religion of the Archbishop Hoban High School. His most important publication is: Kohlberg and Business Ethics, Edwin Mellon Press. A Collection of essays on business ethics is forthcoming. Boyd D. Collier is Professor and Head of the Department of Accounting and Finance at the Tarleton State University. Formerly he was Senior Lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin and Dean at the Center of Business Administration at St. Edward's University. His most important publications are: The Valuation of External Diseconomies of Pollution, The Journal of Environmental Planning and Pollution Control, 1973, Accounting for Convertible Bonds Impact on Earnings Per Share, Management Accounting 1979, and Measurement and Environmental Deterioration, University of Texas Bureau of Business Research Monograph No. 34.     

The market value impact of indirect ties within technology alliances

Researchers have typically studied the relationship between technology alliances and market value from a direct tie or dyadic perspective. Yet any given technology alliance is typically embedded in a network of indirect ties created by the alliance partners’ relationships with other firms. We argue that whether an indirect tie enhances or detracts from the market value a firm creates in a technology alliance depends upon factors related to inter-firm competencies at both an alliance- and partner-level of analysis. Empirical analysis of abnormal stock returns reveals support for the hypothesized contingent relationship between indirect ties and value creation within technology alliances. Theoretically, the paper clarifies opposing perspectives in the literature regarding the performance implications of indirect ties and identifies market value as a hitherto unrecognized effect associated with this type of tie. Managerially, the findings improve marketers’ ability to leverage the complex interactions that occur between technology alliances in a value-creating manner.

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Interface of marketing and R&D personnel in the product innovation stream

A questionnaire was sent to over 550 different Canadian firms engaged in R&D activity as of the Fall of 1973. One portion of the questionnaire was designed to provide specific information about marketing involvement in the product development stream in Canadian organizations engaged in R&D. Analysis of the resulting data pertaining to: when marketing personnel are and should be brought into the product innovation stream; what level of marketing management is and should be brought into the product innovation stream; and the degree of influence of marketing personnel in product innovation is presented in this paper.