bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
(Un)consensual conversations: betweenness, ‘material access’, laughter and reflexivity in research
Authors: Delph‐Janiurek Tom
Published: March 2003

This article addresses the conversational (re)production of research relations, focusing on gender and sexuality in relation to responses, laughter and consensus in interviews. It discusses links to access as an on‐going issue, and to wider issues connected to the production of knowledge.
Public environmental information: understanding requirements and patterns of likely public use
Authors: Haklay Mordechai
Published: March 2003

Public access to environmental information received much attention in the last decade. Recent developments promote access to this information through public telecommunication networks. This paper describes a Web‐based survey that explored the requirements and needs of likely users of public environmental information systems for London: educated middle‐class members of the public, with high interest in environmental issues and computer literacy. The survey demonstrated current information consumption patterns and the reasons to gather and use such information.
Linking censuses through time: problems and solutions
Authors: Martin David , Dorling Danny , Mitchell Richard
Published: March 2003

This paper reviews the difficulties encountered when attempting to study social change by comparing data from successive censuses, and describes a system designed to provide integrated online access to data from the 1971, 1981 and 1991 Censuses in Great Britain at .
Is a Risk Index Approach to Unemployment Possible?
Authors: Le Anh T. , Miller Paul W.
Published: March 2003

This paper examines the ways that productivity, personal characteristics such as birthplace and gender, structural factors and labour market history impact on the distribution of the burden of unemployment. It is shown that labour market history is a major explanator of unemployment outcomes in the Australian labour market. The results from the empirical analyses of unemployment outcomes are used to identify individuals at risk of being unemployed. When individuals classified as at risk of being unemployed are followed through time, it is found that they spend considerable time looking for work and have short working spells. This suggests a risk index approach may have considerable merit as a way of identifying the relative difficulty individuals experience in the labour market.
Cross‐National Variation in the Labour Market Participation of Married Women in Australia, Canada and the United States of America
Authors: Brusentsev Vera
Published: March 2003

This study examines cross‐national variation in the labour force participation of married women in Australia, Canada and the USA. Initially, a basic model of labour force participation is presented using data from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS). In addition two applications of the estimates follow: a simulation and a decomposition of the differential. The results of these applications confirm that variation in the probability of participation for married women can be explained by both country‐specific characteristics and the differences in the responses to those characteristics.
Exchange Rate Hysteresis: The Effects of Overshooting and Short‐Termism
Authors: McCausland W David
Published: March 2003

The present paper addresses two questions. First, how does exchange rate overshooting affect hysteresis in trade and competitiveness? Second, how does ‘short‐termism’ alter the magnitude of such hysteresis effects? The paper models the dynamic processes of hysteresis in trade and competitiveness in terms of the presence of discrete, asymmetric lump‐sum costs of entry, in response to unanticipated foreign policy shocks. The paper produces some important new insights into the role of short run adjustment processes in understanding persistence effects in key macroeconomic indicators.
Internet Economics and Policy: An Australian Perspective
Authors: Madden Gary , Coble–Neal Grant
Published: March 2003

Publicly available information indicates that the demand and supply of Internet and Internet–related services are continuing to expand at a rapid pace. Since 1997 the number of Internet service providers (facilities–based and resellers) has increased by nearly 40 per cent; the number of points–of–presence per Internet service provider has increased by five times; the number of hosts connected to the Internet has more than quadrupled; and Internet traffic has increased from six to 10 times. The emergence of electronic commerce (e–commerce), driven by this rapid adoption of Internet services and continual technological innovation, is likely to have profound economic and social impacts on Australian society. This paper provides a detailed analysis of the impact of the Internet and e–commerce, ranging from the changes in the market structure of the telecommunications industry, its role in changing the organisation of traditional markets, the emergence of new markets, and the structural shifts to employment, productivity and trade. The paper also analyses contemporary Australian regulatory responses.
Impact of the Mutual Obligation Initiative on the Exit Behaviour of Unemployment Benefit Recipients: The Threat of Additional Activities
Authors: Richardson Linda L.
Published: March 2003

The Mutual Obligation Initiative requires young unemployment benefit recipients, who have received payments for 6 months, to undertake an activity, in addition to continuing to look for work, in return for those payments. The fact that eligibility for the Mutual Obligation Initiative is determined by age is exploited to evaluate the impact of this program on exit rates from benefit receipt as a natural experiment. Administrative data from the Department of Family and Community Services provides some evidence that individuals subject to the Mutual Obligation Initiative had higher exit rates immediately prior to imposition of the additional activity requirement.
Closer Economic Relations with East Asia?
Authors: Lloyd P.J.
Published: March 2003

This paper examines Australia’s economic links with East Asia and the policy implications of these links. The main issue is whether Australia should join the regional trading arrangements with East Asian countries that have been proposed. It examines the factors which determine the share of East Asia in Australian exports. One of these, the country bias factor, is threatened by proposed regional trading arrangements which might exclude Australia. After considering the costs of exclusion, the paper concludes that Australia should consider developing new bilateral or regional trade arrangements with countries in East Asia.
Review article: Silt and the future development of China's Yellow River
Authors: Chengrui Mei , Dregne Harold E.
Published: March 2003

Silt loading is a critical problem in the use of the Yellow River for irrigation, domestic, and industrial water supplies. Nearly all of the silt comes in runoff from the immense and highly erodible Loess Plateau. Salinity has a secondary but widespread effect on irrigation development and groundwater quality. Engineering structures and expanded irrigation have reduced the silt load in the lower reach of the river by half over the last 50 years. Still, the level of the river bed continues to rise higher above the surrounding North China Plain. Millions of rural and urban lives are threatened by the possibility that an embankment will break and unleash a horrendous flood, as had happened numerous times prior to 1949. Earthquakes could cause similar castrophes. Increased populations in cities, expansion of irrigated land, and rapid industrialization have brought about locally severe water shortages. This, in turn, has led to surface and groundwater pollution by salt and heavy metals, lowering of groundwater levels, land subsidence, and salt water intrusion from the Bo Sea. Interbasin water transfers from the Yangtze River in the south to relieve water shortages in the north have been proposed for decades but remain controversial. The high cost of dams, canals, tunnels, pumping, and water control systems needed for the transfer has been a major objection. Other factors have been the adverse environmental impact in both the Yellow and Yangtze river watersheds of transfers and, importantly, the questionable need of the transfers if water conservation practices were used widely and effectively.
Monitoring land use change in the Badia transition zone in Jordan using aerial photography and satellite imagery
Authors: Al‐Bakri J.T. , Taylor J.C. , Brewer T.R.
Published: March 2003

Detection of land use change makes a valuable contribution to the planning and monitoring of drylands. Land use changes at four sites within the Badia transition zone of Jordan were investigated and quantified over the period from 1953 to 1992 using black and white aerial photographs and SPOT PAN satellite imagery digitally merged with Landsat TM. Land use interpretation was checked in the field, and analysed using a Geographical Information System (GIS). Results indicated that land use changes have altered the character of the selected study sites. The important land use changes were from rangeland to rain‐fed cultivation, irrigated fields and urban settlements. The increased agricultural activity was reflected in the land use maps through the 39‐year period with the appearance of irrigated fields between 1978 and 1992. The land use changes are mainly attributed to the high population growth rate in Jordan and in the Badia, socio‐economic change amongst Beduoin and farmers, the land tenure system and to a minor extent environmental factors.
Farmers and fallowing: agricultural change in Kigezi District, Uganda
Authors: Carswell Grace
Published: March 2003

Focusing on the area of Kigezi, in south‐western Uganda, this article examines land use change over a 50‐year period. It shows that Kigezi, an area long considered to be suffering the effects of overpopulation, has never suffered the environmental catastrophes that have long been predicted. Instead, research suggests that farmers have successfully managed their land and maintained productivity.
Political performance and types of democracy: Findings from comparative studies
Authors: Schmidt Manfred G.
Published: March 2003

Abstract. This essay explores the relationships between political performance profiles and major types of democracy from a comparative perspective. The article focuses attention mainly on the political performance of majoritarian and non‐majoritarian government, democracies with small and large numbers of veto players, hybrid regimes, presidentialism and parliamentary government, referendum democracy and representative government, and established as apposed to partial democracies. The findings point to relatively robust and significant patterns of relationships between performance and type of democracy. Types of democracy are important constraints and represent at the same time enabling conditions of policy choices. However, a caveat must be added: types of democracy do not determine policy choices and they also do not determine the outcome of these choices.
Opinion change and voting behaviour in referendums
Authors: Leduc Lawrence
Published: March 2003

Abstract. Voters in a referendum obtain information and derive voting cues from a variety of sources. Some of these, such as political parties or ideological orientations, are similar to those also found to be influential in elections. Others can be quite different. In some referendums, the issue may be entirely new and unfamiliar to many voters, initiating a ‘learning’ or ‘cue–taking’ process specific to the campaign itself. In referendum campaigns, parties may be internally divided and sometimes send conflicting signals to their electorates. As a result, voting behaviour in referendums often exhibits greater volatility than is found in elections. In the ten papers included in this Special Issue of EJPR, we focus on the process of opinion formation and change which occurred in a number of European, North American and Australia/New Zealand referendums held under a variety of different institutional and political conditions. In this essay, I argue that there are three distinctive patterns of opinion formation and reversal that tend to occur in referendum campaigns, each of which has significant consequences both for voting choice and for referendum outcomes.
Elite division and voter confusion: Australia's republic referendum in 1999
Authors: Higley John , McAllister Ian
Published: March 2003

Abstract. Although a majority of Australian voters favour the introduction of a republic, in the November 1999 referendum a majority of them nevertheless voted to retain the monarchy. This article explains the background to this apparently perverse outcome. The central problem was asking the Australian electorate to make a complex, technical choice about the system of government, in the absence of clear partisan cues. As a result, republicans were divided on the method of election for the head of state, effectively resulting in three separate groups of voters favouring change. Using survey data collected just after the referendum, four hypotheses are tested to explain the result. The most important influence on voting was views about whether or not to sever the link with Britain, followed by the positive and negative aspects of the proposed change, and the cues presented by the leaders of the respective YES and NO campaigns. The interaction between these factors enabled political elites opposed to change to manipulate the result in their favour.
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Purchase of Nongroup Health Insurance: The Roles of Community and Family‐Level Factors
Authors: Saver Barry G. , Doescher Mark P. , Symons J. Morel , Wright George E. , Andrilla C. Holly
Published: March 2003

Objective To evaluate the influence of community‐ and family‐level factors on racial/ethnic disparities in the uptake of nongroup (individual) health insurance.

Data Sources Responses to the 1996–1997 Community Tracking Study Household Survey plus community‐level descriptors from several sources including census data, the Area Resource File, and community and migrant health center Medicare cost reports.

Study Design Logistic regression was used to compare families in which at least one person had nongroup health insurance to families without nongroup insurance in which at least one person was uninsured. Sequential models were constructed examining family‐ and community‐level factors.

Results Twenty‐three percent of families with otherwise‐uninsured persons purchased nongroup insurance, ranging from 11% to 41% among the 60 communities sampled. Disadvantaged minority group members, especially Spanish‐speaking Hispanics, had half or less the odds of whites of purchasing nongroup insurance. Education had a weaker association with purchasing nongroup insurance among minority group members than among whites. Community‐level factors had minimal effect on disparities in uptake, although greater housing segregation was associated with lower uptake among blacks.

Conclusions Minority group members are much less likely to purchase nongroup insurance than whites. Family income and community factors do not explain this gap. Programs aimed at stimulating voluntary insurance purchase will continue to underenroll disadvantaged minorities if nonfinancial barriers to acquiring insurance coverage, including the interplay between race/ethnicity and education, are not better understood and addressed.
Factors That Influence Line Managers' Perceptions of Hospital Performance Data
Authors: Ginsburg Liane Soberman
Published: March 2003

Objective. To design and test a model of the factors that influence frontline and midlevel managers' perceptions of usefulness of comparative reports of hospital performance.

Study Setting. A total of 344 frontline and midlevel managers with responsibility for stroke and medical cardiac patients in 89 acute care hospitals in the Canadian province of Ontario.

Study Design. Fifty‐nine percent of managers responded to a mail survey regarding managers' familiarity with a comparative report of hospital performance, ratings of the report's data quality, relevance and complexity, improvement culture of the organization, and perceptions of usefulness of the report.

Extraction Methods. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to assess the dimensionality of performance data characteristics and improvement culture. Antecedents of perceived usefulness and the role of improvement culture as a moderator were tested using hierarchical regression analyses.

Principal Findings. Both data characteristics variables including data quality, relevance, and report complexity, as well as organizational factors including dissemination intensity and improvement culture, explain significant amounts of variance in perceptions of usefulness of comparative reports of hospital performance. The total R2 for the full hierarchical regression model=.691. Improvement culture moderates the relationship between data relevance and perceived usefulness.

Conclusions. Organizations and those who fund and design performance reports need to recognize that both report characteristics and organizational context play an important role in determining line managers' response to and ability to use these types of data.
Primary Care Service Areas: A New Tool for the Evaluation of Primary Care Services
Authors: Goodman David C. , Mick Stephen S. , Bott David , Stukel Therese , Chang Chiang‐hua , Marth Nancy , Poage Jim , Carretta Henry J.
Published: March 2003

Objective. To develop and characterize utilization‐based service areas for the United States which reflect the travel of Medicare beneficiaries to primary care clinicians.

Data Source/Study Setting. The 1996–1997 Part B and 1996 Outpatient File primary care claims for fee‐for‐service Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older. The 1995 Medicaid claims from six states (1995) and commercial claims from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (1996).

Study Design. A patient origin study was conducted to assign 1999 U.S. zip codes to Primary Care Service Areas on the basis of the plurality of beneficiaries' preference for primary care clinicians. Adjustments were made to establish geographic contiguity and minimum population and service localization. Generality of areas to younger populations was tested with Medicaid and commercial claims.

Data Collection/Extraction Methods. Part B primary care claims were selected on the basis of provider specialty, place of service, and CPT code. Selection of Outpatient File claims used provider number, type of facility/service, and revenue center codes.

Principal Findings. The study delineated 6,102 Primary Care Service Areas with a median population of 17,276 (range 1,005–1,253,240). Overall, 63 percent of the Medicare beneficiaries sought the plurality of their primary care from within area clinicians. Service localization compared to Medicaid (six states) and commercial primary care utilization (Michigan) was comparable but not identical.

Conclusions. Primary Care Service Areas are a new tool for the measurement of primary care resources, utilization, and associated outcomes. Policymakers at all jurisdictional levels as well as researchers will have a standardized system of geographical units through which to assess access to, supply, use, organization, and financing of primary care services.
Changes in Hospital Competitive Strategy: A New Medical Arms Race?
Authors: Devers Kelly J. , Brewster Linda R. , Casalino Lawrence P.
Published: March 2003

Objective To describe changes in hospitals' competitive strategies, specifically the relative emphasis placed on strategies for competing along price and nonprice (i.e., service, amenities, perceived quality) dimensions, and the reasons for any observed shifts.

Methods This study uses data gathered through the Community Tracking Study site visits, a longitudinal study of a nationally representative sample of 12 U.S. communities. Research teams visited each of these communities every two years since 1996 and conducted between 50 to 90 semistructured interviews. Additional information on hospital competition and strategy was gathered from secondary data.

Principal Findings We found that hospitals' strategic emphasis changed significantly between 1996–1997 and 2000–2001. In the mid‐1990s, hospitals primarily competed on price through “wholesale” strategies (i.e., providing services attractive to managed care plans). By 2000–2001, nonprice competition was becoming increasingly important and hospitals were reviving “retail” strategies (i.e., providing services attractive to individual physicians and the patients they serve). Three major factors explain this shift in hospital strategy: less than anticipated selective contracting and capitated payment; the freeing up of hospital resources previously devoted to horizontal and vertical integration strategies; and, the emergence and growth of new competitors.

Conclusion Renewed emphasis on nonprice competition and retail strategies, and the service mimicking and one‐upmanship that result, suggest that a new medical arms race is emerging. However, there are important differences between the medical arms race today and the one that occurred in the 1970s and early 1980s: the hospital market is more concentrated and price competition remains relatively important. The development of a new medical arms race has significant research and policy implications.
Expanding the Andersen Model: The Role of Psychosocial Factors in Long‐Term Care Use
Authors: Bradley Elizabeth H , McGraw Sarah A , Curry Leslie , Buckser Alison , King Kinda L , Kasl Stanislav V , Andersen Ronald
Published: March 2003

Objective. To examine a prevailing conceptual model of health services use (Andersen 1995) and to suggest modifications that may enhance its explanatory power when applied to empirical studies of race/ethnicity and long‐term care.

Study Setting. Twelve focus groups of African‐American (five groups) and white (seven groups) individuals, aged 65 and older, residing in Connecticut during 2000.

Study Design. Using qualitative analysis, data were coded and analyzed in NUD‐IST 4 software to facilitate the reporting of recurrent themes, supporting quotations, and links among the themes for developing the conceptual framework. Specific analysis was conducted to assess distinctions in common themes between African‐American and white focus groups.

Data Collection. Data were collected using a standardized discussion guide, augmented by prompts for clarification. Audio taped sessions were transcribed and independently coded by investigators and crosschecked to enhance coding validity. An audit trail was maintained to document analytic decisions during data analysis and interpretation.

Principal Findings. Psychosocial factors (e.g., attitudes and knowledge, social norms, and perceived control) are identified as determinants of service use, thereby expanding the Andersen model (1995). African‐American and white focus group members differed in their reported accessibility of information about long‐term care, social norms concerning caregiving expectations and burden, and concerns of privacy and self‐determination.

Conclusions. More comprehensive identification of psychosocial factors may enhance our understanding of the complex role of race/ethnicity in long‐term care use as well as the effectiveness of policies and programs designed to address disparities in long‐term care service use among minority and nonminority groups.
Trust in the Medical Profession: Conceptual and Measurement Issues
Authors: Hall Mark A , Camacho Fabian , Dugan Elizabeth , Balkrishnan Rajesh
Published: March 2003

Objective. To develop and test a multi‐item measure for general trust in physicians, in contrast with trust in a specific physician.

Data Sources. Random national telephone survey of 502 adult subjects with a regular physician and source of payment.

Study Design. Based on a multidimensional conceptual model, a large pool of candidate items was generated, tested, and revised using focus groups, expert reviewers, and pilot testing. The scale was analyzed for its factor structure, internal consistency, construct validity, and other psychometric properties.

Principal Findings. The resulting 11‐item scale measuring trust in physicians generally is consistent with most aspects of the conceptual model except that it does not include the dimension of confidentiality. This scale has a single‐factor structure, good internal consistency (alpha=.89), and good response variability (range=11–54; mean=33.5; SD=6.9). This scale is related to satisfaction with care, trust in one's physician, following doctors' recommendations, having no prior disputes with physicians, not having sought second opinions, and not having changed doctors. No association was found with race/ethnicity. While general trust and interpersonal trust are qualitatively similar, they are only moderately correlated with each other and general trust is substantially lower.

Conclusions. Emerging research on patients' trust has focused on interpersonal trust in a specific, known physician. Trust in physicians in general is also important and differs significantly from interpersonal physician trust. General physician trust potentially has a strong influence on important behaviors and attitudes, and on the formation of interpersonal physician trust.
An Approach to Forecasting Health Expenditures, with Application to the U.S. Medicare System
Authors: Lee Ronald , Miller Timothy
Published: March 2003

Objective. To quantify uncertainty in forecasts of health expenditures.

Study Design. Stochastic time series models are estimated for historical variations in fertility, mortality, and health spending per capita in the United States, and used to generate stochastic simulations of the growth of Medicare expenditures. Individual health spending is modeled to depend on the number of years until death.

Data Sources/Study Setting. A simple accounting model is developed for forecasting health expenditures, using the U.S. Medicare system as an example.

Principal Findings. Medicare expenditures are projected to rise from 2.2 percent of GDP (gross domestic product) to about 8 percent of GDP by 2075. This increase is due in equal measure to increasing health spending per beneficiary and to population aging. The traditional projection method constructs high, medium, and low scenarios to assess uncertainty, an approach that has many problems. Using stochastic forecasting, we find a 95 percent probability that Medicare spending in 2075 will fall between 4 percent and 18 percent of GDP, indicating a wide band of uncertainty. Although there is substantial uncertainty about future mortality decline, it contributed little to uncertainty about future Medicare spending, since lower mortality both raises the number of elderly, tending to raise spending, and is associated with improved health of the elderly, tending to reduce spending. Uncertainty about fertility, by contrast, leads to great uncertainty about the future size of the labor force, and therefore adds importantly to uncertainty about the health‐share of GDP. In the shorter term, the major source of uncertainty is health spending per capita.

Conclusions. History is a valuable guide for quantifying our uncertainty about future health expenditures. The probabilistic model we present has several advantages over the high–low scenario approach to forecasting. It indicates great uncertainty about future Medicare expenditures relative to GDP.
Plan Characteristics and SSI Enrollees' Access to and Quality of Care in Four TennCare MCOs
Authors: Hill Steven C , Wooldridge Judith
Published: March 2003

Objective. To assess hypotheses about which managed care organization (MCO) characteristics affect access to care and quality of care—including access to specialists, providers' knowledge about disability, and coordination of care—for people with disabilities.

Data Sources/Study Setting. Survey of blind/disabled Supplemental Security Income (SSI) enrollees in four MCOs serving TennCare, Tennessee's Medicaid managed care program, in Memphis, conducted from 1998 through spring 1999.

Study Design. We compared enrollee reports of access and quality across the four MCOs using regression methods, and we use case study methods to assess whether patterns both within and across MCOs are consistent with the hypotheses.

Data Collection. We conducted computer‐assisted telephone surveys and used regression analysis to compare access and quality controlling for enrollee characteristics.

Principal Findings. Although the four MCOs' characteristics varied, access to providers, coordination of care, and access to some services were generally similar across MCOs. Enrollees in one plan, the only MCO with a larger provider network and that paid physicians on a fee‐for‐service basis, reported their providers were more knowledgeable, and they had more secondary preventive care visits. Differences found in access to specialists and delays in approving care appear to be unrelated to characteristics reported by the MCOs, but instead may be related to how tightly utilization is reviewed.

Conclusions. Plan networks, financial incentives, utilization management methods, and state requirements are important areas for further study, and, in the meantime, ongoing monitoring of SSI enrollees in each MCO may be important for detecting problems and successes.
Using Medicare Data to Estimate the Prevalence of Breast Cancer Screening in Older Women: Comparison of Different Methods to Identify Screening Mammograms
Authors: Randolph Whitney M , Mahnken Jonathan D , Goodwin James S , Freeman Jean L
Published: March 2003

Objectives. To compare different methods for defining screening mammograms with Medicare claims and their impact on estimates of breast cancer screening rates.

Methods. Medicare outpatient facility and physician claims for 61,962 women in 1993 and 59,652 women in 1998 were reviewed for evidence of receipt of screening mammography. We compared the estimates of screening mammography use derived from CPT (Current Procedure Terminology) codes to categorize mammograms as screening or diagnostic versus using an algorithm that uses CPT codes plus breast‐related diagnoses in the prior two years. We also compared estimates obtained from review of physician claims alone, facility claims alone, or the combination of the two sources of claims.

Results. Use of physician claims alone produced estimates of screening rates similar to rates calculated from use of both physician and outpatient (facility) claims. In 1993, the CPT code for screening mammography underestimated the rate of screening compared to estimates generated by using the algorithm (8.3 percent versus 18.0 percent prevalence, p<0.001). By 1998, the screening prevalence rate generated from using the CPT code for screening mammography more closely approximated the rate generated by the algorithm (23.0 percent versus 25.1 percent). By all methods of estimating screening mammography with Medicare claims, its prevalence increased substantially between 1993 and 1998.

Conclusion. Providers increased their use of the screening mammography code in their charges to Medicare during the 1990s. This has improved the claims' ability to distinguish screening from diagnostic mammograms, but screening rates computed with claims continue to fall below those generated from self‐reports of mammography use among general populations of older women.
The Political Economy of Silvio Gesell: A Century of Activism
Authors: Onken Werner
Published: March 2003

Silvio Gesell (1862–1930) pioneered a version of the market economy that was about competitive entrepreneurship but not about capitalism. The financial interests of the hoarders of scarce bank financing and those leveraged with speculative land dealings were to be sacrificed for the greater good of a nation of free and enterprising men and women. Gesell was a radical reformer and quite a famous one, having received more than a respectful mention in John Maynard Keynes' The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money. Keynes dubbed Gesell a non‐Marxian socialist. Gesell founded the Free Economy school, which is undergoing a renaissance today in Eastern Europe as a possible model for a redesigned transition economy.
Crossing the Boundary of Economics and Sociology: The Case of Vilfredo Pareto
Authors: Aspers Patrik
Published: March 2003

The aim of the paper is to present the economic sociology of Vilfredo Pareto. We argue that Pareto represents a mode of thinking that has not been used in economic sociology and barely considered in the other branches of sociology. We reject the habitual bifurcation of Pareto into “the economist” and “the sociologist.” Pareto stresses the non‐logical parts of human life, and he provides empirical examples of this in his writing. He was occupied with the dynamics in society as a result mainly of non‐logical actions. We show how one may speak of a distinctly Paretian economic sociology, which primarily has its origin in his theoretical discussions. We also show that Pareto conducted empirical studies drawing from his version of economic sociology. Included is finally a presentation, as well as a discussion of Pareto's idea of rentiers and speculators, which is followed up by a more general discussion of economic types in the market.
On the Mythology of the Keynesian Multiplier: Unmasking the Myth and the Inadequacies of Some Earlier Criticisms
Authors: Ahiakpor James C. W.
Published: March 2003

Keynes’s multiplier story invites acceptance by building on the fact that people typically consume only a fraction of their income and that such purchases are incomes for sellers. By misrepresenting the classical definition of saving and the meaning of Say’s Law, Keynes laid the grounds for extolling the virtues of consumption spending as determining income and employment growth. But the mythology of the multiplier story becomes clear when we ask, “From where do people find the means to purchase consumption goods, other than production?” The inadequacies of several earlier criticisms stem from their failure to focus on this fundamental point.
Social Inequality and the Sociology of Life Style: Material and Cultural Aspects of Social Stratification
Authors: Bögenhold Dieter
Published: March 2003

The rising importance of dimensions such as age, gender, nationality, ethnicity, political attitudes, and multiple choices to organize the notion of “life course” has made the older class concept appear obsolete to the research sociologist. My thesis is that the current expanding discussions of life styles are not necessarily a substitute but a valuable supplement to social stratification theory. Life style research can contribute to the question of the relevance of the class concept. The result of my investigation shows that life style research, when connected to the writings of Thorstein Veblen, Georg Simmel, and Max Weber, can enrich research in the social sciences.
John R. Commons's “Five Big Years”: 1899–1904
Authors: Gonce Richard A.
Published: March 2003

Economics should be built upon a sociological foundation, believed John R. Commons. While pursuing this conviction his chair in sociology was terminated in 1899. From then until 1904, exiled from academia, he investigated afield for the U.S. Industrial Commission and the U.S. Bureau of Labor and participated in the National Civic Federation, amassing first–hand knowledge of conflict resolution arranged by capitalists’“combinations” and by labor unions’ bargaining with employers. These experiences inspired ideas concerning sociology and economics and beliefs that public policy should turn away from antitrust law and instead attempt to create counterbalancing power in the economic system. He published his ideas in various journals and magazines, and in nearly three dozen unsigned editorials in The Independent. This essay critically examines his thought during this period that he brought with him when he began the work based in Wisconsin that would carry him to fame.
Are Patriots Bigots? An Inquiry into the Vices of In‐Group Pride
Authors: De Figueiredo Rui J. P. , Elkins Zachary
Published: March 2003

One view in the study of intergroup conflict is that pride implies prejudice. However, an increasing number of scholars have come to view in‐group pride more benignly, suggesting that such pride can be accompanied by a full range of feelings toward the out‐group. In this article, we focus on a substantively interesting case of in‐group/out‐group attitudes—national pride and hostility toward immigrants. We explore the relationship in two fundamental ways: first by examining the prejudice associated with various dimensions of pride, and second by embedding these relationships in a comprehensive model of prejudice. We find that national pride is most validly measured with two dimensions—patriotism and nationalism—two dimensions that have very different relationships with prejudice. While nationalists have a strong predilection for hostility toward immigrants, patriots show no more prejudice than does the average citizen.
Canadian consumption and portfolio shares
Authors: Normandin Michel , St–Amour Pascal
Published: March 2003

In this paper we gauge consumption and portfolio shares, rather than the traditional pricing implications. We study both aggregated (financial, tangible, and human) and disaggregated (deposits, stocks, insurance, and pensions) assets. The empirical shares are computed from recent aggregate Canadian data. The theoretical shares are constructed from a flexible specification of both investors’ preferences and investment opportunities. Our results reveal that the theoretical shares statistically match observed consumption and aggregated assets, but not disaggregated assets. Also, our findings for corporate stocks are consistent with the empirical asset returns literature. Finally, our findings for other assets highlight several new striking features. JEL classification: G11

Consommation et parts de porte feuille au Canada. Cette recherche analyse la consommation et les parts de portefeuille, plutôt que les prix des actifs. Nous étudions les actifs agrégés (i.e., financiers, tangibles et humains) ainsi que désagrégés (i.e., dépôts, actions et caisses de retraite et assurance). Les parts empiriques sont calculées pour des données agrégées canadiennes récentes. Les parts théoriques sont construites à partir d’un modèle flexible en ce qui a trait aux préférences et aux possibilités d’investissement. Nos résultats démontrent que les parts théoriques reproduisent la consommation et les parts agrégées, mais pas les parts désagrégées. Aussi, nos résultats sont cohérents avec ceux de la littérature empirique sur les rendements. Nos résultats concernant les autres actifs identifient d’autres aspects caractéristiques.
Uncertainty, arbitrage and intra–industry trade
Authors: Dasgupta Sudipto , Ray Tridip , Wong Kit Pong
Published: March 2003

When firms in the same industry located in different regions or countries experience shocks to production costs in their respective industries that are imperfectly correlated, arbitrage opportunities automatically lead to trade. Trade can either stabilize or destabilize the price faced by producers in a given country. Producers’ surplus is affected, owing to the ‘variance–covariance’ effect, while consumers’ surplus is more directly affected through the variance of the product price. We examine how consumers’ surplus, producers’ surplus, and social welfare are affected when the regions switch from autarky to free trade in the presence of industry and region–specific cost shocks. JEL Classification: F10, D80

Incertitude, arbitrage et commerce intra–industrie. Quand les entreprises d’une même industrie localisées dans diverses régions ou différents pays font face à des chocs, qui ne sont pas parfaitement co–reliés, dans leurs coûts de production, les possibilités d’arbitrage entraînent automatiquement un accroissement du commerce. Ce commerce inter–régional ou international peut soit stabiliser ou déstabiliser les prix auxquels les producteurs font face dans un pays donné. Le surplus aux producteurs est directement affecté via l’effet de «variance–covariance», alors que le surplus aux consommateurs est plus directement affecté via la variance du prix du produit. Ce mémoire examine comment le surplus aux producteurs, le surplus aux consommateurs, et le niveau de bien–être social sont affectés quand les régions passent de l’autarcie au libre échange dans le cas où existent des chocs dans les coûts qui sont spécifiques à l’industrie et à la région.
Social Capital and Mental Distress in an Impoverished Community
Authors: Mitchell Carey Usher , LaGory Mark
Published: March 2003

According to recent investigations of social capital, this social resource represents a key ingredient in a community’s capacity to respond to environmental challenges and promote change. This article investigates the significance of social capital for the health and well‐being of inner‐city residents using data collected from a sample of household decisionmakers residing in a high‐poverty, racially segregated urban neighborhood in a mid‐sized southern city (N=222). A psychosocial resources model of distress is employed to explore the role of social capital as a critical social resource mediating the impact of poverty‐related economic and environmental stressors on residents’ mental health. Regression analyses show no mediating effect of social capital on the relationships between economic and environmental stressors and mental health. While bridging social capital displays a small inverse relationship with distress, bonding social capital is actually positively related to mental distress. Bonding social capital appears to increase individuals’ levels of mental distress in this impoverished community. On the other hand, a psychological resource, mastery, plays a significant role in mediating the harmful effects of poverty. These findings suggest the need for some modification of recent claims that social capital is a critical resource promoting individual and community well‐being. Apparently, in high‐poverty, high‐minority, inner‐city communities, active participation in the local area comes at some cost to the individual. This article demonstrates the importance of doing further research on the social capital of inner‐city areas.
The Sociology of Space: A Use–Centered View
Authors: Gans Herbert J.
Published: March 2003

The revival of spatial sociology justifies a renewed exploration of the various connections between “space” and “society.” I argue that sociologists must avoid both the reification of space and studies that mainly demonstrate that all social life exists in space. Instead, researchers should focus on the causal relations between space and society: (1) on the few but important ways in which natural space affects social life and collectivities; and (2) on the innumerable ways in which these collectivities turn natural space into social space and shape its uses. Treating use, users, and effects as primary concepts, the paper discusses a variety of topics in spatial sociology to illustrate my causal point and to suggest research and other questions that deserve answers.
Initial Margin Requirements, Volatility, and the Individual Investor: Insights from Japan
Authors: Kim Kenneth A. , Oppenheimer Henry R.
Published: March 2003

Initial margin requirements represent: (1) a cost impediment to the wealth constrained investor and (2) a potential way of mitigating excessive volatility. However, prior empirical research finds that margins are not an effective tool in reducing volatility. We consider the possibility that margins primarily affect certain stocks and investors. Specifically, we test whether margins affect individuals who, as a group, we believe to be the investors most affected when margin requirements change. Our initial empirical tests, however, do not support this contention.
Winners and Losers as Financial Service Providers Converge: Evidence from the Financial Modernization Act of 1999
Authors: Hendershott Robert J. , Lee Darrell E. , Tompkins James G.
Published: March 2003

The Financial Modernization Act of 1999 dramatically increased insurers’ and investment banks’ authority to provide an array of financial services and allowed commercial banks to offer investment banking and insurance services. In this paper we examine the market response to this legislation. We find a strong positive response among insurance companies and investment banks, and no significant response among commercial banks. Larger institutions in all three financial sectors earn higher abnormal returns. Additionally, better performing banks earn higher abnormal returns. Our results suggest that allowing financial convergence can add value through synergies and that large players are needed to exploit the scope economies.
Price Limits and Margin Requirements in Futures Markets
Authors: Chen Haiwei
Published: March 2003

This paper investigates the hypothesis that futures exchanges could use daily price limits as a substitute for higher margin requirements. The empirical results show that the size of margin is negatively correlated with the presence of price limits. Evidence points to the portfolio adjustment costs theory as an explanation of the benefits from price limits. The empirical results cast doubt on the notion that price limits should be abolished. The results also confirm that exchanges have set margin requirements according to economic theories.
Does Price Discreteness Affect the Increase in Return Volatility Following Stock Splits?
Authors: French Dan W. , Foster, III Taylor W.
Published: March 2003

Stock return volatility tends to increase significantly following stock splits. One potential cause of this is the trading of stocks in discrete price intervals called ticks. This study provides a direct test of price discreteness as a determinant of this phenomenon by examining variance increases before and after the 1997 date when the exchanges reduced the tick size from 1/8 to 1/16. Results generally show that the post‐split variance increase was unaffected by the reduction in tick size even after controlling for other factors. AMEX stocks proved the exception, with slightly lower variance increases following the tick size reduction.
Latino/a Theology: Doing Theology Latinamente
Authors: Gonzales Michelle
Published: March 2003

Latino/a Theology is rising among theologians of Latin American descent in the United States. This article describes five characteristics: 1) it is specific to the cultural context of marginalized Hispanic history; 2) it focuses on the theme of mestizaje/mulatez, the biological and cultural mixing of European Spanish with Africans and indigenous Americans; 3) it derives from popular religion; 4) it deals with everyday life, lo cotidiano; 5) like liberation theology, it emphasizes praxis.
Reconciliation and Forgiveness in an Unjust Society
Authors: Moyo Ambrose
Published: March 2003

Justification by faith necessarily leads to justice in society. IN post–apartheid South Africa, reconciliation has required truth telling plus confession and, most importantly, land redistribution. Failure at land redistribution in Zimbabwe has reduced the effectiveness of the post–colonial reconciliation program and perpetuated previous injustice.
Confirmation: The Stewardship of Baptism
Authors: Schmalenberger Jerry L.
Published: March 2003

What is confirmation ministry? Confirmation has changed from being understood as a sacrament, marking the time at which a person receives his or her first communion, to a rite, a ritual in which the baptized is reminded of his or her baptismal vows and initiated into the community of discipleship. This articles explores confirmation as the stewardship of baptism among Batak Christians and Asian Lutherans.