bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Anal acoustic reflectometry: a new technique for assessing anal sphincter function
Authors: Mitchell P. J. , Klarskov N. , Hosker G , Lose G. , Kiff E. S.
Published: January 2010

Objective  Anal acoustic reflectometry (AAR) is a new technique that offers an assessment of anal sphincter function by the measurement of additional parameters not available with conventional manometry. The aim of this study is to describe the technique, methodology and initial pilot study results.

Method  Wideband sounds (100 Hz to 16 kHz) are transmitted into a thin polyurethane bag placed within the anal canal. Calculation of cross‐sectional area from reflected sound waves, over a range of pressures (0–200 cm H2O) during inflation/deflation of the bag, results in five physiological parameters of anal canal function. Five patients [three continent (two female) and two incontinent (both female)] were assessed with AAR and anal manometry.

Results  Anal acoustic reflectometry parameters were reduced in incontinent when compared with continent patients. Resting Opening Pressures (cmH2O) were 27 and 16 in patients with faecal incontinence (FI) vs 44 and 72 in continent patients; Resting Opening Elastance (cmH2O/mm2) was 0.88 and 1.08 in FI patients vs 1.65 and 1.34 in continent patients. The Resting Opening Pressure of a similarly aged continent male (55 cmH2O) was greater than three of the females. During assessment of voluntary contraction (one FI female vs one continent female), Squeeze Opening Pressure (cmH2O) was 31 vs 100 and Elastance (cmH2O/mm2) 0.61 vs 2.07.

Conclusion  Anal acoustic reflectometry appears to be promising technique. Further work is in place to clarify whether it will be useful in clinical assessment of incontinent patients.
The prevalence of retinopathy in men with Type 2 diabetes and obstructive sleep apnoea
Authors: West S. D. , Groves D. C. , Lipinski H. J. , Nicoll D. J. , Mason R. H. , Scanlon P. H. , Stradling J. R.
Published: January 2010

Diabet. Med. 27, 423–430 (2010)

Aims  To clarify the relationship between obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and diabetic retinopathy.

Research design and methods  A cohort of 240 men from primary and secondary care previously participated in a study on the prevalence of OSA in Type 2 diabetes and provided anthropometric information, details of their diabetes, had glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) measured and overnight oximetry performed. They were re‐contacted for permission to review their routine screening clinical retinal photographs, which were then scored by a trained grader, providing detailed retinopathy, maculopathy and photocoagulation scores.

Results  One hundred and eighteen men both consented and had retinal photographs available to review. Of these, 24% had OSA, with mean ± sd 4% oxygen saturation (SaO2) dips/h of 20.9 ± 16.6 vs. 2.8 ± 2.1 in the non‐OSA group. As expected, the OSA group had a significantly higher mean body mass index of 31.9 ± 5.2 vs. 28.5 ± 5.1 kg/m2 and neck size 44.5 ± 3.6 vs. 41.9 ± 2.5 cm, but the two groups did not differ significantly in age, diabetes duration, diabetes treatment, HbA1c, smoking history or proportion with known hypertension. Retinopathy and maculopathy scores were significantly worse in the OSA group (P < 0.0001). Multiple regression analysis showed only OSA (R2 = 0.19, P < 0.0001) and HbA1c (R2 = 0.04, P = 0.03) to be significant independent predictors of retinopathy. OSA was the only independent significant predictor of the total microaneurysm score (R2 = 0.21, P = 0.004), a detailed retinopathy subclassification. OSA was the only independent significant predictor of maculopathy (R2 = 0.3, P < 0.001).

Conclusion  In men with Type 2 diabetes, there is a strong association between retinopathy and OSA, independent of conventional retinopathy risk factors.
Suspended insulin infusion during overnight closed‐loop glucose control in children and adolescents with Type 1 diabetes
Authors: Elleri D. , Allen J. M. , Nodale M. , Wilinska M. E. , Acerini C. L. , Dunger D. B. , Hovorka R.
Published: January 2010

Diabet. Med. 27, 480–484 (2010)

Aims  We assessed an extended interruption of subcutaneous insulin delivery during overnight closed‐loop glucose control in children and adolescents with Type 1 diabetes (T1D).

Methods  In seven young subjects with T1D [age 14.2 ± 2.1 years, diabetes duration 6.9 ± 4.0 years, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) 8.0 ± 1.5%, body mass index (BMI) 21.4 ± 4.0 kg/m2, total daily insulin dose 0.9 ± 0.2 units/kg/day; mean ± sd) participating in overnight closed‐loop glucose control studies, insulin delivery was interrupted for at least 90 min on the basis of predicted hypoglycaemia, low prevailing glucose levels or a too‐steep decline in glucose levels.

Results  Insulin delivery was interrupted for 165 (105, 210) min [median, interquartile range (IQR)]. Plasma glucose was 6.2 ± 3.2 mmol/l at the time of interruption and 5.5 ± 2.0 mmol/l 105 min later (P = 0.15, paired t‐test). Plasma glucose declined during the first hour of the interruption at a rate of 0.02 ± 0.03 mmol/l per min and reached a nadir of 5.2 ± 2.7 mmol/l; 105 min after the interruption, plasma glucose was increasing at a rate of 0.01 ± 0.03 mmol/l per min. When insulin delivery restarted, plasma glucose was 6.4 ± 2.2 mmol/l and peaked at 7.9 ± 2.1 mmol/l in 60 min (P = 0.01). Physiological levels of plasma insulin were measured throughout with a nadir of 119 ± 78 pmol/l.

Conclusions  A prolonged interruption of insulin delivery during overnight closed‐loop glucose control to prevent hypoglycaemia was not associated with an increased risk of hyperglycaemia in young people with T1D.
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS AND SOCIAL SECURITY
Authors: CHEN YUNG‐PING
Published: January 2010

Future growth in employee benefits has a significant linkage with the long‐range actuarial position of Social Security (OASDI). Earlier research by this author explained the sensitivity of the projected long‐range OASDI deficit to the assumption about the rate of growth of fringe benefits. 1 This paper summarizes, updates, and extends the discussion of the implications of fringe‐benefit growth to include distributional effects
PROVIDING INCOME SECURITY TO THE ELDERLY: THE ROLE OF PROGRAMS OTHER THAN SOCIAL SECURITY
Authors: Schieber Sylvester J.
Published: January 2010

Social Security retirement benefits have had a dramatic effect on the elderly's economic well‐being over the last four decades. Many other facets of federal law have also enhanced the elderly's income security and should not be overlooked, however. Today, the elderly receive income from an amalgam of publicly and privately organized programs and individual provisions. The primary goal of these programs is to provide adequate income to the elderly. While all the major components of this loosely configured system, as we know it now, have evolved in the last 45 years, they have not developed at the same rate. It is important to understand this point because the relative role of the various income sources for future groups of the elderly will be somewhat different than for current ones
INFORMATION EXTERNALITIES IN OIL AND GAS LEASING
Authors: LElTZlNGER JEFFREY J. , STIGLITZ JOSEPH E.
Published: January 2010

This paper discusses the theory and measurement of information externalities in oil and gas leasing. A study of leases issued in the Gulf of Mexico reveals significant positive information externalities resulting from prior development of adjoining leases. According to a recent court decision, these effects provide an added consideration in the determination of a “fair and equitable” division of revenues from federal tracts adjoining state lands, as required by the 1978 amendments to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act
THE IMPACT OF INFLATION ON NEW HOUSE PRICES
Authors: DIAMOND DOUGLAS B.
Published: January 2010

It is often stated that real house prices respond to inflation in ways similar to assets infixed supply, such as gold or antiques. This paper proposes that, instead, house prices are determined primarily by the cost of producing new houses. Thus, inflation affects price mainly through input markets and through expansion in housing starts. This proposition is supported in an examination of annual changes in house prices between 1965 and 1982 in 12 sub regions of the United States
DISINFLATION AND HOUSING INVESTMENT: A REVISIOIIIST ANALYSIS
Authors: TUCCILLO JOHN A.
Published: January 2010

The pattern of housing investment through the Seventies was a product of high and variable rates of inflation, a financing system that was segmented from other capital markets and restricted in scope, and a tax system that abetted the demand for housing relative to other investments. In the early Eighties, each of these elements changed. Financial reform brought the housing name system into tune with the rest of the financial sector, and tax cuts increased the demand for forms of investment other than housing. Most important, the rate of inflation slowed dramatically, falling below 4 percent in both 1982 and 1983. The result of all these occurrences was fairly predictable: A decline in the demand for housing as an investment. However, this declining demand has been offset by two factors. The first is the drop in nominal interest rates that accompanied declining inflation. This increased the “affordability” of homing. Second, large numbers of households entered prime home‐buying years and spurred demand for housing as shelter. The current situation is a housing market driven more by consumption demand than by investment demand
DO FEDERAL DEFICITS REALLY MATTER?
Authors: BARTH JAMES R. , IDEN GEORGE , RUSSEK FRANK S.
Published: January 2010

This paper reviews competing views regarding interest rates and other economic effects of federal deficits. It discusses the findings of several empirical studies that have analyzed these relationships. The main points ofthe paper are that: (a) the con‐cept of the deficit is ambiguous because not all deficits have the same economic effects, and (b) by slightly modifying existing studies, one is able to produce empirical evidence showing that deficits or debt do indeed raise interest rates and otherwise affect economic activity in ways consistent with the conven‐tional view.
HEALTH‐CARE COMPETITION: INTRODUCTION
Authors: VOGEL RONALD J.
Published: January 2010

Medicare expenditures increased 497 percent, federal medicaid expenditures 484 percent, and state and local medicaid expenditures 458 percent between 1970 and 1981. Private health‐insurance premiums increased 329 percent, while patient direct payments rose 214 percent.1 Although these results include quantity and price changes, Waldo and Gibson (1982) show that “price inflation has been a major factor in the increase in health‐care spending.” Moreover, health‐care expenditures exceeded 10 percent of GNP (10.5 percent) for the first time in 1982 (Office of the Secretary 1983); the comparable figure in 1960 was 5.3 percent of GNP.

This rapid growth in price and quantity (“expenditures” or “costs”in the nontechnical literature) has raised a cry across the land for cost containment or increased competition in the health‐care sector. Curiously, when one searches for a definition of “competition” in the same nontechnical literature, it is not immediately obvious what the word means.
TAXING HEALTH INSURANCE: HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH?
Authors: PHELPS CHARLES E.
Published: January 2010

The Reagan administration has again proposed in 1984 to limit the tax exemption on health‐insurance premiums. Objectives of the proposal are to curtail rising health costs by reducing insurance coverage—and hence medical‐care use—and to raise revenues to offset the large federal deficit. The change would have little effect on either dimension. Most likely, consumer response would reduce dental, drug, and eyeglass insurance, but would leave coverage for hospital and doctor care—the most bothersome health‐cost sectors—essentially unaffected. Larger tax changes which are structured differently possibly could reduce health costs dramatically and raise up to $27 billion a year in new tax revenues.
COMPETITIVE POTENTIAL OF HOSPITALS AND THEIR NEIGHBORS
Authors: LUFT HAROLD S. , MAERKI SUSAN C.
Published: January 2010

Despite many proposals to encourage health‐care competition, some underlying assumptions about providers—both physicians and hospitals—have not been examined. This paper attempts to measure the potential for hospital competition by asking a very simple question: What proportion of United States hospitals have neighboring hospitals within reasonable commuting distance?

Distances between short‐term general hospitals can be calculated by using geographic coordinates for their addresses. According to data from 48 states and 6,520 hospitals, 47 percent of hospitals have no neighbors within 5 miles, and 77 percent have fewer than five neighbors within 5 miles. At a 15‐mile radius, the numbers drop to 23 percent and 62 percent, respectively.

These results imply that the potential for competitive hospital markets might not exist in large portions of the country. National strategies are likely to be most effective in the few dense hospital markets located primarily in the Northeast and Pacific states.
THE OPPORTUNITY COSTS OF REDWOOD NATIONAL PARK: COMMENT AND ELABORATION
Authors: LOOMIS JOHN , WALSH RICHARD , MCKEAN JOHN
Published: January 2010

In a recent issue of this journal, Walker (1984) emphasized the need for good economic analysis in public evaluation of national park expansions. We support this but would like to show that a possible reason the economic analysis referred to in Walker's paper was ignored may be the very narrow way in which his analysis was performed. In particular, the opportunity cost per visitor day of Redwood National Park may have been overstated by a factor of 10 by implying the sole benefits of the park expansion were associated with only 10 percent of the park's use days. More importantly, substantial literature on off‐site economic benefits arising from preservation of natural environments is completely ignored. Since the legal purpose of the national parks is not solely related to recreation, this omission reflects a large error in the analysis. This paper's purpose is to apply sensitivity analysis to the opportunity costs per visitor day and illustrate some policy analysis tools commonly used by natural‐resource economists, in and out of government, for evaluating the economic efficiency benefits of preserving unique natural environments. Applying these tools indicates the cost of Redwood National Park may have been as low as 90 cents per household in the United States.
REPLY TO LOOMIS, WALSH, AND McKEAN
Authors: WALKER JOHN L.
Published: January 2010

In commenting on my article “… The Opportunity Cost of the Redwood National Park” (Walker 1984), Loomis, Walsh, and McKean (1984) argue that I gave inadequate consideration to concepts of option, existence, and bequest values for wilderness areas. I am familiar with these concepts, and I believe I gave them the attention they deserve.
A COMPARISON OF FERTILITY ADAPTATION BETWEEN MEXICAN IMMIGRANTS TO THE U.S. AND INTERNAL MIGRANTS IN MEXICO
Authors: LEE BUN SONG , POL LOUIS
Published: January 2010

This paper compares fertility levels of Mexican internal migrants with United States immigrants from Mexico, in an attempt to shed light on the issues of selection and adaptation in immigration literature. The data show that U.S. immigrants from Mexico have similar levels of fertility to those of urban‐urban migrants in Mexico. Though somewhat speculative, the analyses suggest that some fertility adaptation does take place. New directions for research which would be of a less speculative nature are discussed.
PREDATORY PRICING: THE CASE OF THE RETAIL GASOLINE MARKET
Authors: BARRON JOHN M. , LOEWENSTEIN MARK A. , UMBECK JOHN R.
Published: January 2010

Allegations of predatory pricing by large refiners have been made repeatedly by dealers' representatives, who have advocated retail divorcement as a solution. The states of Maryland and Connecticut and the District of Columbia have passed strong divorcement laws, while a host of other state legislatures have considered such laws. Using a special set of price data on refiner‐operated stations, and on their competitors in Maryland, this paper tests the hypothesis that refiners have preyed on dealers. The findings, which do not support the hypothesis, deny the validity of the predatory‐pricing allegations.
MONEY MARKETS AGAINST GOVERNMENTS: TWO CENTURIES OF A SPECTACULAR GAME
Authors: SEGAL HARVEY H.
Published: January 2010

Monetary history is the chronicle of an unending conflict between the goals of the state and the interests of the individual. In using the power of money creation to gain control over economic resources, governments violate the interests of individuals, more subtly to be sure, but in a manner not essentially different from the foraging of an invading army. Resistance to the exactions of the state has taken two forms in modern times: the writings and counter‐speculations of three great economists—Richard Cantillon, Henry Thornton, and David Ricardo—and more recently through the operations of the money markets. What is remarkable is that this contest between the state and the individual has been staged and restaged without significant variation for more than 200 years. As Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
POLITICS AND THE FEDERAL RESERVE
Authors: AUERBACH ROBERT D.
Published: January 2010

Evidence presented here supports a two‐part hypothesis that (1) the Federal Reserve is a powerful political entity, not independent of politics, and (2) it preserves its political power by carrying out the monetary policy desired by the President of the United States. This evidence includes the historical record from the Truman to Reagan administrations, politicization of Federal Reserve research, and political lobbying by the Federal Reserve. Formerly secret minutes of the regional Federal Reserve Banks' boards of directors meetings provide source material. The conclusion suggests a more efficient method of translating political signals and a rule for more predictable monetary policy.
A MANDATE OF PRICE STABILITY FOR THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
Authors: HETZEL ROBERT L.
Published: January 2010

In recent years, the rules‐versus‐discretion debate over monetary policy has taken on new life. In the 1960s, this debate focused on the relative merits of nonactivist policies versus activist stabilization policies. When rational expectations arguments emerged in the 1970s, the debate broadened into three categories: activist policies characterized by rules, activist policies characterized by discretion, and nonactivist policies characterized by rules.

This paper presents arguments for a particular example of the latter of these policies…specifically, a monetary policy which accords preeminence to achieving price‐level stability. Central to these arguments is a comparison of this hypothetical policy with the actual monetary policy pursued by the Federal Reserve System, which is a type of activist policy characterized by discretion. The comparison suggests that actual monetary policy is more constrained than is generally realized. A rule mandating that the Federal Reserve accord preeminence to achieving price‐level stability, then, should not be regarded as a policy which would significantly increase constraints on monetary policy. Instead, such a rule should be regarded as replacing implicit, poorly understood constraints with explicit constraints.
SOME INTERNATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN APPROACHES TO INDUSTRIAL POLICY
Authors: GOLD BELA
Published: January 2010

This paper reviews some general objectives and means of implementing industrial policy, and then focuses on what seem to be the key issues. Next, various patterns and results of industrial policy experiences in Japan and several Western European countries are reviewed and contrasted with the more limited U.S. industrial policy efforts. Finally, the discussion turns to key determinants of international competitiveness and limited ways in which U.S. governmental policies could make constructive contributions.
INDUSTRIAL POLICY IN LESS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
Authors: TOWER EDWARD
Published: January 2010

The idea of industrial policy is to cure perceived market failures of various sorts. This also has been the meat of development economics for decades. Moreover, strong similarities exist between the specific goals of industrial policy advocates for developed countries and goals of governments in less developed countries. Both groups seek to pick industrial winners, deal with externalities, improve the balance of trade, and attract high‐tech industries. Given that markets appear not to operate as well in developing countries as in their developed counterparts, we would expect industrial policy to work particularly well in LDCs since many important market failures should be relatively easy to identify and the gains from correcting them should be great. Moreover, because LDCs tend to intervene more than their developed counterparts, we would expect them to exhibit particularly strong effects of this intervention. Thus, the experiences of LDCs constitute a well endowed laboratory to study the effects of industrial policies in practice, and to yield lessons relevant for both industrial and developing countries. This paper explores these experiences, and closes with some lessons for the design of sensible industrial strategy.
AGRICULTURAL POLICY AT THE CROSSROADS—AGAIN
Authors: CARTER HAROLD O.
Published: January 2010

American agriculture is suffering from severe structural adjustments and from its worst financial depression since landmark price and income policies were legislated more than half a century ago. As much as one‐third of the $220 billion in agricultural debt is now delinquent, nonaccrual, or subject to renegotiation. Land values have fallen precipitously in the past few years. Farm foreclosures are near 1930 Depression levels. The congressional debate over programs that could determine the course of U.S. agriculture for the remainder of the century began in the summer of 1985.
PAY EQUITY AND COMPARABLE WORTH
Authors: RAISIAN JOHN , WARD MICHAEL R. , WELCH FINIS
Published: January 2010

An important and emerging public policy consideration… generally called equal pay for comparable worth…has received great attention from those who influence or report public policy initiatives. The comparable worth movement is directed at pay equity issues, primarily between men and women. The source of controversy surrounding comparable worth concerns the mechanism for determining wages in the economy…either an unrestricted market process or a subjective valuation process by designated “pay equity experts.” Although the pay and allocation mechanisms and their side effects are controversial, other important questions concern the actual method of equity determination to be used in implementing comparable worth. This paper analyzes, from a general public policy perspective, many of the issues and much of the evidence surrounding comparable worth initiatives.
SOME REFLECTIONS ON COMPARABLE WORTH
Authors: CAMERON TRUDY ANN
Published: January 2010

Despite its somewhat impudent tone, this paper examines a major controversy. “Comparable worth” has its proponents and detractors, but as in most debates, neither side fully appreciates the maintained hypotheses of the other. From an economic point of view, the disagreement seems to boil down to differences of opinion about whether the “excessive supply” of women to “women's jobs” is a result of their different utility functions or of their different constraints. There also has been a serious confusion of the “normative” with the “positive,” some oversight of the potentially large regulatory costs that would accompany comparable worth legislation, and a tendency to consider only the partial‐equilibrium consequences of these measures. Each of these considerations is examined in detail, with the conclusion that while comparable worth measures might alleviate some inequities in the short term, the long‐term consequences could seriously aggravate the very problem the policy was intended to solve.
COMPARABLE WORTH: SOME ISSUES FOR CONSIDERATION
Authors: MEGDAL SHARON BERNSTEIN
Published: January 2010

The comparable worth approach is a radical departure from market determination of wages. This paper considers some economic issues pertinent to the comparable worth dialogue and focuses on implications of comparable worth legislation at the state and local levels. We show that current sex differentials in wages could reflect voluntary labor supply choices and/or discrimination. We also discuss the reverberations of comparable worth and note that some women in an occupation targeted with a wage increase could be made worse off as a result of employer cutbacks. We discuss why state or local officials may be hesitant to adopt comparable worth and also offer possible explanations for their being receptive to it. The intent throughout is to provide a balanced discussion that will aid individuals in taking an educated stand on the issue.
COMPETITIVE CONSIDERATIONS IN CABLE TELEVISION FRANCHISING
Authors: OWEN BRUCE M. , GREENHALGH PETER R.
Published: January 2010

Franchising and renewing of franchises for cable television systems is an important urban policy issue. Of particular interest is whether franchise authorities ought to grant more than one franchise to provide cable service in a given area. This paper reports results of an empirical investigation into the cost structure of large, modern, urban cable systems. We find modest economies of scale in dimensions relevant to the feasibility of direct competition. The economies are not so large as to rule out the possibility that competition…whether direct or potential…can be an important disciplinary force in the marketplace.
CHINA IN TRANSITION: WHERE IS SHE HEADING NOW?
Authors: CHEUNG STEVEN N. S.
Published: January 2010

With assistance from government officials and friends in the People's Republic of China, and from others, the author has been able to gather rare information on developments in that country. Five years ago, he predicted that China would move toward a system akin to one with private property rights, that development of the labor market would precede that of the property market, and that state enterprises wielding relatively strong monopoly powers would be the last to yield. Dramatic changes since then have made those predictions remarkably accurate…faulted only by an underestimate of the speed of change. Continued investigation of events inside China suggests that, while the undercurrent for change remains strong, economic reform in China is likely to progress at a considerably slower pace in the future.
BANK CAPITAL FORBEARANCE AND PUBLIC POLICY
Authors: KAUFMAN GEORGE G.
Published: January 2010

Recently, the bank regulatory agencies have adopted capital forbearance programs to permit some troubled agriculture and energy banks to operate temporarily with capital levels below the regulatory minimum requirement. In a world with federal deposit insurance and a lender of last resort, bank capital is no longer viewed by all depositors as the primary protector of their funds. Thus, they reduce their market discipline. Bank owners/ managers are likely to respond by increasing their risk exposure in an attempt to regain profitability. If they win, they keep all the gains; if they lose, the losses are passed on to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). A preferred policy is to require these banks to raise additional capital at this time or to be sold. Capital forbearance is forbearance of incumbent bank management/owners, not of bank customers.
THE DEFECTIVE DESIGN OF FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE
Authors: SCOTT KENNETH E.
Published: January 2010

Deposit insurance funds, especially the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, are currently in visible trouble. Two central defects of the existing deposit insurance system are identified: (1) mispricing of the insurance premiums and (2) incentives for both the industry and the insurance agencies to postpone recognizing and realizing losses.

Insurance premiums are mispriced because they are assessed at the same rate for all institutions, which creates a bias for banks to take greater risks. Practical difficulties of setting an appropriate risk‐based premium for each bank are real but not necessarily insurmountable. In particular, the sale by the bank of unsecured and uninsured debt could provide a market measure of default risk, under a given failure rule.

The choice of a failure rule is also a critical matter. Current failure rules are poorly defined and permit insolvent institutions to continue in operation. Specifying a market value test of insolvency in the statutes would be helpful, but it would have to be supported by market‐value accounting requirements and stronger pressures on banking authorities not to defer action.
CHANGING PENSION POLICY AND THE AGING OF AMERICA
Authors: ANDREWS EMILY S.
Published: January 2010

The recently enacted Tax Reform Act of 1986 contains a number of pension policy provisions including faster vesting for private‐sector, single‐employer pension plans and imposing tax penalties on preretirement pension plan distributions that are not saved until retirement age. Since pensions are a long‐term commitment, the impact of pension policy changes may not be fully realized for a number of years. For that reason, the effects of the Tax Reform Act's pension provisions are investigated using both short‐run and long‐run simulation models. Faster vesting would immediately entitle an additional 1.9 million pension plan participants to pension benefits at retirement. This increase would not, however, be translated directly into significant gains in pension recipiency for workers currently in their 50s. Nevertheless, by the time the baby boom generation retires, faster vesting and lump‐sum penalties could provide more retirees with pensions and increase the standard of living of pension recipients.
THE EMERGENCE OF COPYING TECHNOLOGIES: WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?
Authors: NOVOS IAN E. , WALDMAN MICHAEL
Published: January 2010

The past few decades have seen dramatic advancements in the technology of copying and the diffusion of copying technology to the general public. This paper surveys some of the recent academic literature dealing with this issue. We focus on (i) the effect of varying the extent of property rights enforcement by the government, and (ii) possible responses by producers of originals to consumers' ability to produce copies. The traditional view is that as the government increases property rights enforcement, there is a decrease in the social welfare loss due to underproduction and an increase in the social welfare loss due to under‐utilization. In the first half of the paper, we show how the analyses contained in a number of recent studies throw doubt on this traditional viewpoint. In particular, varying the extent of property rights enforcement has effects that the traditional analysis ignores. As a result, the social welfare losses mentioned above can move in ways not recognized previously. The conclusion is that, contrary to what is sometimes suggested, choosing an optimal level of property rights enforcement by the government should not be viewed as a simple trade‐off between these two social welfare losses. In the second half of the paper, we discuss possible market responses to consumers' ability to produce copies. Among other responses, we consider the role of price discrimination and complementary products when copying is possible.
SOME PUZZLING BEHAVIOR BY OWNERS OF INTELLECTUAL PRODUCTS: AN ANALYSIS
Authors: LIEBOWITZ S. J.
Published: January 2010

Creators of intellectual properties frequently seem to prefer “rental,” or sale with restricted rights, over outright sale of the intellectual properties. Surprisingly, these individuals also seem to prefer legislative provisions forcing them to restrict purchasers' rights rather than allowing this result to be achieved through voluntary negotiations. In this paper, I examine two examples of this behavior: the sale of syndication rights for television programs and the separation of broadcast rights from synchronization rights for music in television broadcasts. The desire to restrict purchasers' rights is explained in two ways. First, I appeal to recent developments in utility theory, namely, regret theory. Second, I show that sales of intangible goods such as intellectual properties are less closely related to use than are sales of tangible goods, and that restricting rights is an attempt to enhance such a linkage. I give several explanations for using legislative solutions, although I acknowledge that further research is needed on both questions before definitive answers can be given.
PROTECTION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS: RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT DECISIONS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
Authors: ROZEK RICHARD P.
Published: January 2010

Determining the appropriate degree of protection to provide intellectual property in the United States and abroad is an important public policy issue. This paper addresses the role of intellectual property protection in the firm's decision on the level of investment in research and development. It also focuses on the stimulus that such protection provides for economic growth in both developed and developing countries. The main conclusion is that the benefits of designing and enforcing a mechanism for strong protection of intellectual property generally exceed the costs.
WHO WANTED COLLECTIVE BARGAINING IN THE FIRST PLACE?
Authors: ULMAN LLOYD
Published: January 2010

This paper considers certain international differences in organizational and bargaining costs using an extended model of industrial relations sketched at the outset. In this model, the prevailing preferences of a nation's workers vis‐a‐vis radical alternatives to capitalism, collective bargaining, and nonunion industrial relations constitute a critical determinant of employer recognition of collective bargaining (or resistance thereto) and of the structure, scope and economic performance of collective bargaining. The analysis also suggests that various economic and political developments during the postwar era might have combined to devalue the social role of traditional collective bargaining and to generate renewed interest in alternative systems of determining labor income.
THE CHOICE BETWEEN LEGITIMATE AND ILLEGITIMATE WORK: MICRO STUDY OF INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR
Authors: PHILLIPS LLAD , VOTEY HAROLD L.
Published: January 2010

This study postulates that youths remain in the labor force so long as the number of weeks they have employment exceeds the number they consider as minimally acceptable. Such a threshold level of weeks worked can be related to the notion of a reservation wage. Prior employment or experience raises expectations and should increase the threshold. Other factors, such as illegal opportunities to earn income, may also raise the threshold. If the actual fraction of weeks a youth works exceeds this threshold, then we expect that youth to be employed during the following period. We compare data for individuals of both sexes, age 16 or 17 years, from the Youth Cohort of the National Longitudinal Survey regarding the behavior of those who dropped out of school, those in the process of dropping out of school, and those remaining in school. Involvement in crime decreases the likelihood of future employment–most for dropouts and least for those remaining in school.
CRIMES BY YOUTH: DETERRENCE AND MORAL COMPLIANCE WITH THE LAW
Authors: PHILLIPS LLAD , VOTEY HAROLD L.
Published: January 2010

We use a decision theory framework to evaluate the extent to which crimes by youth are explained by the “economic model of crime.” We expand the model from the usual formulation including deterrence effects to investigate the impact of earned income and income supplements on individuals' crime participation. Additionally, we evaluate variables representing the forces of moral compliance and family attitudes. We find that moral compliance has a moderating effect on the decision to commit crimes, even by persistently criminal individuals.
DRIFTING APART: CANADIAN AND U.S. LABOR MARKETS
Authors: GRUBEL HERBERT G.
Published: January 2010

Canadian and U.S. unemployment rates moved together within a narrow margin from 1961 to the mid‐1970s. Since then, Canadian rates have exceeded U.S. rates by large margins—at times as much as 3 percentage points. Throughout this period, interest rates in the two countries have been nearly identical. Aggregate demand stimulation by government deficits has been greater in Canada than in the U.S., and the trade surplus in Canada has added to demand while the trade deficit in the U.S. has subtracted from demand. Therefore, it seems that conventional Keynesian arguments cannot explain the recent differences in unemployment rates.

Differences in labor market developments, however, can do so. During a period when real wages rose 35 percent in Canada, they fell 5 percent in the U.S. Since the recession of 1981, U.S. wages have dropped while Canadian wages have remained constant. Differences in labor productivity do not account for these developments. A strong case exists for the argument that the different paths of unemployment rates are due to different paths of real wage developments.

It is argued that the causes for these differences in labor market conditions are associated with substantial growth and decreases in unionization rates in Canada and the U.S., respectively. In addition, the unemployment insurance system in Canada is shown to be considerably more generous than that in the U.S.
ECONOMICS OF THE CANADIAN BISHOPS
Authors: BLOCK WALTER
Published: January 2010

The author welcomes the bishops' statement as an expression of the uniquely moral aspect of the Canadian unemployment crisis. The statement is dramatic, compassionate and deeply ethical in its concern for the Canadian economy and its people—especially for the poor, the afflicted, and the oppressed. However, the bishops' public policy recommendations are ill‐advised and incompatible with the attainment of their very worthwhile goals. By relying on a quasi‐Marxist economic analysis, the bishops misconstrue the role and effects of inflation, price controls, technological progress, welfare, and the labor union movement. To achieve economic progress, including a cure for unemployment, a move toward freer markets is needed—not more government intervention.
BASIC JUSTICE AND MACROPOLICY
Authors: BODDY RAFORD
Published: January 2010

In their Pastoral Letter on Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy, the bishops stress that basic justice requires work with adequate pay for all who seek it. This essay sets forth a domestic macropolicy centered on government employment consistent with the bishops' positions on basic justice.
ROLE OF THE INTERNATIONAL GOLD STANDARD IN PROPAGATING THE GREAT DEPRESSION
Authors: HAMILTON JAMES D.
Published: January 2010

I do not claim in this paper that the international gold standard was a principal cause of the Great Depression. Instead, I explore the events that allowed the world to slip deeper into depression despite the gold standard. The volatility of international short‐term capital flows surely contributed greatly to the Depression. I argue that this volatility was exacerbated—rather than ameliorated—by the international gold standard. The reason is that despite governments' legal assurances that they are committed to a gold standard, speculators never perceive the terms of gold parity as immutable. This statement holds with increasing force when one observes the precarious status of government debts and international finance during the 1920s. This reality renders a gold standard vulnerable to precisely the type of volatility in international capital markets that made the 1931 downturn more severe.
DID INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC FORCES CAUSE THE GREAT DEPRESSION?
Authors: EICHENGREEN BARRY
Published: January 2010

This paper reviews and assesses international explanations for the depth and duration of the Great Depression. Many of the conclusions are negative. The U.S. Smoot‐Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 came too late to account for the 1929 downturn and fails to explain the severity of the contraction in the U.S. The competitive devaluations of the 1930s redistributed the Depression's effects across countries but did not worsen it overall. The deflationary consequences of the liquidation of foreign exchange reserves were minor. Domestic central bank policies and their failure to be coordinated internationally must bear the major responsibility for the Depression.
COSTS AND BENEFITS OF EXCHANGE RATE STABILITY: CANADA'S INTERWAR EXPERIENCE
Authors: BORDO MICHAEL D. , REDISH ANGELA
Published: January 2010

In January 1929, the Canadian government suspended gold exports and implemented a floating exchange rate regime that endured until the onset of World War II. In sharp contrast to the experience of other countries that left the gold standard, Canada's deflation and declining economic activity continued until 1933. This paper examines why the Canadian government chose to follow a restrictive monetary policy and how that policy affected the Canadian exchange rate. We show that the chosen policy was rational—given the government's assumptions and objectives—and that it was consistent with fiscal policy. In so doing, we argue that the government's commitment to monetary stability was credible. We show that one can explain the Canadian exchange rate's behavior by a simple expectations‐based model of exchange rate determination, given external events and the government's monetary policy.
MACROECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE 1986 OIL PRICE DECLINE
Authors: TATOM JOHN A.
Published: January 2010

The oil price decline during 1986 sparked a renewed debate over how oil price changes affect the economy and whether the effects of oil price declines are equal and opposite those of oil price increases. This article reviews theoretical and more casual arguments concerning this issue and describes some tests rejecting the hypothesis that the effects of oil price declines are asymmetric to those of oil price increases.
ORIGINS OF THE TORT REFORM MOVEMENT
Authors: WARD JOHN O.
Published: January 2010

The tort reform movement in the United States reached its peak during 1986, when 39 states passed legislation to limit court awards. The explosion of litigation and jury awards in the US. frequently was stated as the cause for the liability insurance crisis. This paper explores the origins of the tort reform crisis. It concludes that the crisis was produced by the natural instability of the liability insurance industry and by the impact of technology on specific coverage lines.
RENT SEEKING AND TAX REFORM
Authors: TULLOCK GORDON
Published: January 2010

Tax reform can either increase or reduce the amount of rent seeking, depending essentially on what is done. If tax reform involved eliminating special treatment of special groups and using the money saved either to lower the general tax rate or to discontinue government activities that most people would be better off without, then it would reduce the amount of rent seeking. Savings may, however, be used to reduce the degree of generally beneficial government activity. This is rather apt to increase the amount of rent seeking in the long run.
MONETARY POLICY ACTIVISM UNDER MANAGED‐FLOATING EXCHANGE RATES: A CROSS‐COUNTRY COMPARISON
Authors: GOLDSTEIN HENRY N. , HAYNES STEPHEN E.
Published: January 2010

This paper assesses the degree and pattern of monetary policy activism in the United States, Canada, West Germany, the United Kingdom, and Japan during the recent period in which managed‐floating exchange rates prevailed. Floating exchange rates enhance the potency of a discretionary monetary policy. Yet central banks in these countries shifted toward less discretionary monetary targeting during the late 1970s in response to rising inflationary pressures and expectations. But whether such targeting actually reduced policy activism is unclear since targets were expressed in wide ranges and often were missed. Following 1981, at least three of these countries–the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom–reverted to an avowedly more discretionary pattern of response to changes in real demand pressures, interest rates, and exchange rates. Since mid‐1986, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Japan–and, to a lesser extent, Canada–have intervened heavily in the foreign exchange market and so have greatly increased their official dollar holdings. Moreover, through August 1987, the effects of this intervention on these countries' domestic money supplies apparently have been sterilized only partially.
VOLUNTARY DEBT REDUCTION OPERATIONS: BOLIVIA, MEXICO, AND BEYOND
Authors: LAMDANY RUBEN
Published: January 2010

This paper describes the main aspects and the results of voluntary debt reduction operations that occurred recently in Bolivia and Mexico. It studies the motivations and behavior of the three main agents in such operations: debtor countries, participating creditor banks and non‐participating creditor banks. The paper also discusses the main issues that debtors must address in designing future voluntary debt reduction operations.
DETERMINANTS OF CAPITAL FLIGHT FROM ARGENTINA, BRAZIL, AND MEXICO
Authors: KETKAR SUHAS L , KETKAR KUSUM W.
Published: January 2010

This paper derives four alternative measures of “hot money” outflows of capital from Latin America's three major debtors–Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico. These measures are based on two sources of quarterly data from 1977 to 1986: (i) the balance of payments statistics and (ii) changes in the U.S. bank deposits of non‐banking entities in the debtor countries. The portfolio adjustment model then is used to specify the factors influencing capital flight. These factors are grouped into two types. The push factors relate to characteristics of the so‐called source countries for capital flight and include the interest and inflation rates, the degree of currency overvaluation, and the environmental risks embodied in both frequent regime changes and the onset of the 1982 debt crisis. The pull factors include the interest and inflation rates in the host country, the United States. The principal findings of the paper show that the push factors alone are significant in explaining capital outflows from Argentina and Brazil. For Mexico, by contrast, the push factors as well as the pull factors are found to be relevant in explaining the behavior of flight capital, as measured by changes in the deposits of Mexican non‐bank entities in the U.S. banking system.
REORGANIZING ELECTRICITY SUPPLY IN NEW ZEALAND: LESSONS FOR THE UNITED STATES
Authors: MICHAELS ROBERT J.
Published: January 2010

The New Zealand government recently announced a rather far‐reaching policy of deregulation and reorganization of certain governmental entities, including electricity generation and transmission. Electricorp, a state‐owned enterprise whose actions will be subject to a standard of commercial efficiency, has been formed to take over these functions and to sell bulk power at wholesale to localized distribution entities–who then will resell it at retail. Electricorp will be unregulated but subject to antitrust jurisdiction, as will be the distribution entities. Neither Electricorp nor the distributors will have any protected monopoly status. Substantial possibilities exist for competition in both bulk power and retail power markets over the long run, and one has reason to be optimistic that antitrust can deal with the remaining monopoly issues. New Zealand's radical deregulation yields favorable inferences about the outcome of the somewhat slower deregulation of electricity in the United States.