Estimating the statistical cost curve: an application of the stochastic frontier technique

Estimates of the statistical cost curve are usually derived using the least squares technique, with the implication that the deviations from the fitted relationship are normally distributed. However, a theoretical restriction on the distribution of the disturbances implies that the least squares technique is inappropriate. An alternative specification and estimation technique are considered and applied in a study of the operating costs of British crematoria.     

The impact of the California Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI) on university and professional school admissions and the implications for the California Economy

Using data from the University of California and results from previously published research on the returns to higher education, this article presents a preliminary evaluation of the impact of ending affirmative action in admissions at a large, publicly funded university. At the undergraduate level, eliminating race as a factor in the admissions process will redistribute African Americans, Mexican Americans, and Native Americans away from the most competitive campuses (UC-Berkeley, UCLA, UC-San Diego) towards the less competitive campuses in the California State University system. This redistribution will lower the returns to schooling for those affected groups and could have a negative impact on the educational environment for all students. Affirmative action will, in the short run, reduce the number of African American, Mexican American, and Native American students admitted and, in the long run, will have an adverse effect on the delivery of legal and health care services to those racial and ethnic groups.     

Technical Efficiency under Alternative Regulatory Regimes: Evidence from the Inter-war British Gas Industry

From 1920 until nationalization, privately owned gas companies in Britain were regulated under one of three systems: the maximum price, the sliding scale, or the basic price system. In effect, the industry was the subject of a remarkable experiment in regulation. Hitherto, there has been no empirical analysis of the incentive properties of the regimes applied. This paper attempts such an investigation by using data envelopment analysis to estimate the relative efficiency of a sample of undertakings under each system. Undertakings operating under the basic price system are found to be more efficient which suggests that this form of regulation was most effective in the industry at this time.     

Not every public sector is a field: evidence from the recent overhaul of the English NHS

ABSTRACT

A structural interpretation of institutionalism has become dominant in public management research. Yet, studies tend to assume an institutional-level phenomenon without specifying how an organizational field was identified or whether structural characteristics can indeed be found in the organizational population studied. This lacuna is illustrated by exploring the structural interpretation of the field construct in the case of the recent overhaul of English primary care. Findings demonstrate the need for a more robust application of institutionalism in empirical research. Possible research problems for public management and a future research agenda based on a more relational approach to fields are discussed.     

Audience Segmentation of Kentucky Mothers by Nonparticipation Status in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women,Infants, and Children

We identify women most and least likely to discontinue participation in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. Kentucky WIC program management information system data from 2012 to 2013 was explored through a retrospective cohort study. Audience segmentation identified unique groups with respect to nonparticipation. Presumptive eligibility for Medicaid was the strongest predictor of nonparticipation. Among those who were not presumptively eligible, women who were the only ones in their households enrolled in the program were at higher risk of nonparticipation. Outreach strategies at the point of enrollment or when presumptive eligibility for Medicaid is granted could mitigate further nonparticipation.     

Dual interpersonal comparisons of utility and the welfare economics of income distribution

Interpersonal comparisons can be of utility levels and/or of utility differences. Comparisons of levels can be used to define equity in distributing income. Comparisons of differences can be used to construct an additive Bergson social welfare function over income distributions. When both utility levels and utility differences are compared, one can require the constructed additive Bergson social welfare function to indicate a preference for more equitable income distributions. This restricts the form of both the individual utility functions and the optimal distribution of income. The form of these restrictions depends on whether the levels and differences of the same utility functions are being compared.     

Communication standards and the politics of protectionism: The case of colour television systems

The author discusses the political processes and negotiations involved in the selection of a colour television standard for Europe in the 1960s. The French government's strategy in favour of its own system (SECAM) is examined, as well as the current economic status of the French colour television industry. The article explores the question of the selection and protection by a government of a ‘national champion’ product, and the strategies involved.