bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Blood loss, replacement, and associated morbidity in infants and children undergoing craniofacial surgery
Authors: STRICKER PAUL A. , SHAW THOMAS L. , DESOUZA DUNCAN G. , HERNANDEZ STEPHANIE V. , BARTLETT SCOTT P. , FRIEDMAN DAVID F. , SESOK‐PIZZINI DEBORAH A. , JOBES DAVID R.
Published: January 2010

Background:  Pediatric craniofacial reconstruction (CFR) procedures involve wide scalp dissections with multiple osteotomies and have been associated with significant morbidity. The aim of this study was to document the incidence of clinically important problems, particularly related to blood loss, and perform a risk factor analysis.

Methods:  Records of all patients who underwent craniofacial surgery at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia between December 1, 2001 and January 1, 2006 were reviewed. Data were collected from the electronic anesthesia record, intensive care unit (ICU) progress notes, and discharge summary. All intraoperative laboratory values and all laboratory values obtained upon arrival in the ICU were recorded. A multivariable analysis was performed to evaluate associations between elements of intraoperative management and the following clinical outcomes: intraoperative hypotension, intraoperative metabolic acidosis, presence of a postoperative coagulation test abnormality, and postoperative administration of hemostatic blood products.

Results:  Data for 159 patients were reviewed. The mean volume of packed red blood cells transfused intraoperatively was 51 ml·kg−1. Multivariable analysis revealed that intraoperative administration of albumin was strongly correlated with both an increased incidence of postoperative coagulation derangements and postoperative administration of hemostatic blood products (Odds Ratio 5.9, 2.8, respectively), while intraoperative fresh frozen plasma (FFP) administration was associated with an opposite effect (Odds Ratio 0.94, 0.97, respectively).

Conclusions:  In pediatric CFR procedures where the volume of blood loss routinely exceeds one blood volume, intraoperative administration of FFP favorably impacted postoperative laboratory coagulation parameters.
Semi‐elective intraosseous infusion after failed intravenous access in pediatric anesthesia1
Authors: NEUHAUS DIEGO , WEISS MARKUS , ENGELHARDT THOMAS , HENZE GEORG , GIEST JUDITH , STRAUSS JOCHEN , EICH CHRISTOPH
Published: January 2010

Background:  Intraosseous (IO) infusion is a well‐established intervention to obtain vascular access in pediatric emergency medicine but is rarely used in routine pediatric anesthesia.

Methods:  In this observational study, we report on a series of 14 children in whom semi‐elective IO infusion was performed under inhalational anesthesia after peripheral intravenous (IV) access had failed. Patient and case characteristics, technical details, and estimated timings of IO infusion as well as associated complications were reviewed. Data are median and range.

Results:  IO infusion was successfully established in fourteen children [age: 0.1–6.00 years (median 0.72 years); weight: 3.5–12.0 kg (median 7.0 kg)]. The majority suffered from chronic cardiac, metabolic, or dysmorphic abnormalities. Estimated time taken from inhalational induction of anesthesia until insertion of an intraosseous needle was 26.5 min (15–65 min). The proximal tibia was cannulated in all patients. The automated EZIO™ IO system was used in eight patients and the manual COOK™ system in six patients. Drugs administered included hypnotics, opioids, neuromuscular blocking agents and reversals, cardiovascular drugs, antibiotics, and IV fluids. The IO cannulas were removed either in the operating theatre (n = 5), in the recovery room (n = 5), or in the ward (n = 4), after 73 min (19–225 min) in situ. There were no significant complications except one accidental postoperative dislocation.

Conclusions:  IO access represents a quick and reliable alternative for pediatric patients with prolonged difficult or failed IV access after inhalational induction of anesthesia.
Evaluating the enemies hypothesis in a clover‐cabbage intercrop: effects of generalist and specialist natural enemies on the turnip root fly (Delia floralis)
Authors: Björkman Maria , Hambäck Peter A. , Hopkins Richard J. , Rämert Birgitta
Published: January 2010

The relative importance of the resource concentration hypothesis and the enemies hypothesis was investigated for the turnip root flyDelia floralisin a cabbage–red clover intercropping system compared with a cabbage monoculture.

Delia floralisegg densities were measured as well as the activity‐densities of generalist predators in a field experiment during two growing seasons. In the second year, a study of egg predation with artificially placed eggs was conducted, in addition to a predator exclusion experiment, to estimate total predation during the season. Parasitization rates were estimated from samples of pupae.

Delia floralisoviposition was greater in the monoculture during both years. The predator activity‐densities differed between treatments and study years. The known natural enemies ofDeliaspp.,Bembidionspp. andAleochara bipustulatashowed a strong response to a cultivation system with higher activity‐densities in the monoculture. The response, however, appeared to be caused primarily by habitat preferences and not byD. floralisegg densities.

The reduction in the number ofD. floralispupae in the intercropping may be explained by a disruption in oviposition behaviour caused by the presence of clover because neither predation, nor parasitization rates differed between cultivation systems.
Insertion under local anaesthetic of temporary electrodes for sacral nerve stimulation testing is reliable and cost effective
Authors: Mitchell P. J. , Cattle K. , Saravanathan S. , Telford K.J. , Kiff E.S.
Published: January 2010

Aim  The aim of this study was to determine whether temporary electrode implantation under local anaesthesia (LA), with reliance on sensory response rather than motor response, gives as good a result as implantation under general anaesthesia (GA).

Method  A retrospective review of a prospectively maintained database of patients with faecal incontinence treated with sacral nerve stimulation (SNS) was performed.

Results  A total of 111 consecutive patients underwent a 2‐week trial of SNS. Forty‐seven (42%) had the temporary electrode implanted under LA and 64 (58%) under GA. There was no significant difference between the two groups in relation to the improvement in Vaizey score (P = 0.15), incontinent episodes per day (P = 0.73) and incontinent episodes per week (P = 0.93). There was no significant difference (P = 0.14) in the percentage of successful trials between the LA group (64%) and the GA group (77%); however, only 62% of the GA group were discharged home on the same day when compared with 89% of the LA group (P < 0.0001).

Conclusion  Similar success rates for temporary trial with SNS can be achieved with LA and GA. Insertion under LA is associated with reduced cost, shorter hospital stay and quicker recovery, and it avoids the risk of general anaesthesia.
Mortality of young patients with diabetes in Kinshasa, DR Congo
Authors: Muyer M. T. , Buntinx F. , Mapatano M. A. , De Clerck M. , Truyers C. , Muls E.
Published: January 2010

Diabet. Med. 27, 405–411 (2010)

Aims  As data on mortality of young patients with diabetes is not available in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), we studied mortality rates, the influence of some determinants and causes of death.

Methods  A retrospective review of standardized medical records of all patients with diabetes aged ≤ 30 years at diagnosis who were enrolled between 1994 and 2004 in a large, integrated healthcare network in Kinshasa, DRC. Diabetes was diagnosed clinically. As resources for classification according to type of diabetes were not available, the study sample was a mixed‐type cohort. Death was established by review of medical records and by community interview. Mortality was recorded until 2007. Overall mortality rates and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. Kaplan–Meier survival and Cox regression analyses were performed to study the influence of determinants.

Results  Of the patients, 17.4% (159/915) died, mostly during the first 5 years of follow‐up. Mean yearly mortality was 3.62/100 patient‐years (95% CI 3.1–4.2). Independent predictors were male gender [hazard ratio (HR) 0.66 (95% CI 0.5–0.9) for females vs. males] and age at diagnosis (HR 0.97 (95% CI 0.94–0.99) per increase of 1 year]. Major causes of death were ketoacidosis (38%) and infection (12%). Cause of death was unknown in 31% of cases.

Conclusions  One out of six patients died, most within 5 years after diagnosis. Death occurred more frequently at home, in male patients and in subjects aged ≤ 20 years. The major cause of death was ketoacidosis.
Effect of carbohydrate counting and medical nutritional therapy on glycaemic control in Type 1 diabetic subjects: a pilot study
Authors: Scavone G. , Manto A. , Pitocco D. , Gagliardi L. , Caputo S. , Mancini L. , Zaccardi F. , Ghirlanda G.
Published: January 2010

Diabet. Med. 27, 477–479 (2010)

Aims  The effect of a balanced, carbohydrate‐counting diet on glycaemic control in Type 1diabetic subjects is unclear. Our aim was to determine its effect in a small, pilot trial.

Methods  We randomized 256 Type 1 diabetic subjects to a Nutritional Education Programme (group A) or not (group B). Weight, body mass index, glycated haemogobin (HbA1c), lipid profile, urate, creatinine, microalbuminuria and daily insulin requirements were measured at baseline and at the end of the study (9 months). During the study, the number of hypoglycaemic events (bood glucose < 3.9 mmol/l) was also measured.

Results  Compared with group B, group A showed: (i) a reduction in HbA1c (group A: 7.8 ± 1.3–7.4 ± 0.9%; group B: 7.5 ± 0.8–7.5 ± 1.1%; P < 0.01); (ii) less hypoglycaemic events (4% vs. 7%; P < 0.05); (iii) a reduction in dose of rapid insulin analogues (23.5 ± 10.9 vs. 27.7 ± 17.1 IU/24 h; P = 0.03). No other between‐group changes were observed.

Conclusions  This study shows the importance of medical nutritional therapy on glycaemic control in Type 1 diabetic subjects.
IMPACT OF HIGHER NATURAL GAS PRICES ON THE NORTHEAST REGIONAL ECONOMY
Authors: LEONE ROBERTA.
Published: January 2010

This paper examines the impact of higher natural gas prices on the Northeast regional economy. While there is a common belief that higher gas prices will further disadvantage the already high‐energy‐cost Northeast, recent analysis suggests the opposite conclusion. Simply stated, by virtue of using relatively little natural gas, industry in the Northeast will likely experience an improvement in its competitiveness as gas prices rise; at the same time, the region could contribute relatively little to the higher revenues for gas producers. In contrast, by virtue of high population, high income, political strength, and improved competitiveness, the region will likely receive at least its proportionate share of these revenues as they are recycled throughout the national economy
THE INCOME DISTRIBUTION EFFECTS OF A NATURAL GAS PRICE INCREASE
Authors: STOCKFISCH J. A.
Published: January 2010

Deregulation of wellhead natural gas prices will affect individuals as consumers and resource owners. It is shown that higher natural gas prices will be roughly progressive with respect to household and general consumers. The effects on the distribution of resource earnings will be ambiguous because although the oil and gas industry is highly capital intensive, natural gas price deregulation will likely cause reduced spending on other capital‐intensive activities, including deep drilling for high cost gas, gas utility distribution, and exports. Overall, no clear case can be made that gas wellhead price deregulation will be regressive
FINANCIAL RESTRUCTURING: IMPACT ON HOUSING
Authors: THYGERSON KENNETH J.
Published: January 2010

The purpose of this paper is to describe the primary factors that helped encourage the growth of savings and loan business and its development as the primary mortgage originating and investing intermediary. This will be followed by a discussion of how and why changes have been made to alter the sheltered environment of the business. Finally, the paper will focus on several options for the future structure of the savings and loan business and the implications each has on our mortgage delivery system and housing

The paper concludes that the country in general and its housing needs, in particular, would be best served by freeing up the asset and liability powers of thrifts. In order to meet the mortgage finance needs of the country, it is recommended that increased emphasis be put on making mortgages investment grade assets that will be able to compete with other investments for funds in the capital market generally. To do this, the government must refrain from price fixing (i.e., setting specific prepayment penalties, savings rates, etc.); establishing terms and conditions on mortgages (i.e., regulating mortgage forms); changing contractual provisions on mortgages (i.e., due‐on‐sale prohibitions), and avoiding noncompetitive behavior by government credit programs.
SOCIAL SECURITY: OVERVIEW AND OPTIONS
Authors: Worcester Dean A.
Published: January 2010

The intense controversy about the future of Social Security is found to be basically political. Adjustments that are relatively minor from an economic point of view suffice to maintain the viability of Social Security and of the economy as a whole. The defined‐benefit, pay‐as‐you‐go character of Social Security inevitably produces politically troubling crises as the system matures. Five options for change are considered, with special attention given to a defined‐cost system which would gradually adjust benefits and avoid both cyclical and long‐term crises
THE SIGNIFICANCE AND USE OF LONG‐RANGE ACTUARIAL COST ESTIMATES FOR THE SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM
Authors: Myers Robert J.
Published: January 2010

This paper describes the methodology underlying the actuarial cost estimates for the Social Security program and the assumptions needed therefor. With this as a background, the use to which these estimates is made in developing legislation is described, with emphasis on the current financing problems. Finally, various possible solutions to these problems are discussed. These solutions involve either increasing the income of the program or decreasing the rate of growth of its outgo. Increased income could be derived by increasing the payroll tax rates, by injecting general revenues (either directly or indirectly, such as taxing Social Security benefits and putting the proceeds in the trust funds or financing part of all of the Hospital Insurance program from general revenues and moving some of its payroll tax rate to the cash‐benefits program), or by covering government employees who are not now covered. The growth of outgo could be reduced by changes in the cost‐of‐living adjustments of benefits, by gradually increasing the normal retirement age, or by gradually decreasing the relative benefit level
IN DEFENSE OF ASSET MANAGEMENT THE PRIVATIZATION COMPONENT
Authors: STROUP RICHARD L.
Published: January 2010

The federal government owns one‐third of the nation's land, a small fraction of which is being selected and prepared for sale. Even this small amount, however, will comprise several million acres and will yield several billion dollars in revenue for the U.S. Treasury. But the President's Asset Management Program will do more than raise revenue: It will increase the efficiency with which the lands me used and will distribute those increased benefits more broadly among all citizens, resulting in net gains in efficiency and equity. As its title suggests, the program is aimed at improving the management of the nation's real property assets1

“Privatization” is the word most frequently used to describe the program, and a key component of the program does involve selling large amounts of land (a carefully selected proportion of the federal holdings) to the private sector. Several commentators have objected strongly to the very notion of privatization, and much of the criticism is based on caricatures of what private ownership means and its expected results. This paper will provide an explanation of the rationale of the Asset Management Program and a discussion of the most frequently heard criticisms
THE DESIGN OF A SELF‐ENFORCING MULTILATERAL AGREEMENT AMONG OIL‐lMPORTING COUNTRlES
Authors: SALANT STEPHEN W.
Published: January 2010

When all parties to an agreement are subject to the laws of a single jurisdiction, then anyone breaking that agreement can be subjected to legal sanctions. If, however, parties to an agreement are themselves sovereign states, no external force exists to assure compliance. In such cases the design of an agreement must somehow provide an internal enforcement mechanism or the agreement is likely to be violated. An agreement is regarded as a specification of how each party will perform in any contingency which might arise. An agreement is called self‐enforcing if it provides no country with an incentive to violate its terms as long as every other country complies. This paper considers the possibility of designing self‐enforcing agreements among oil‐importing nations to achieve the following goals: (1) to expand government or private stockpiles in preparation for the next disruption of crude imports; (2) to insure that no country will impose price controls should an embargo occur; (3) to share restricted oil supplies during an embargo; and (4) to restrain import demand during a crisis

The paper outlines how a self‐enforcing agreement to increase world stockpiles can be designed. It indicates by example measures a county can take in advance to make subsequent imposition of price controls during a crisis disadvantageous. Such measures make credible a government's prior promise not to impose price controls. While a multilateral effort to restrain demand during an embargo would be worthwhile, no self‐enforcing agreement seems possible. Finally, plans to redirect limited oil supplies by fiat during an oil crisis are criticized as unnecessary, inevitably ineffective, and a diversion of collective efforts from more pressing tasks. Such a sharing agreement is the focus of the existing International Energy Program (IEP) in which the United States and 20 other oil‐importing nations participate
CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS FOR HOUSING IN THE 1980s
Authors: CHRISTIAN JAMES W. , WILSON MICHAEL L.
Published: January 2010

Massive federal budget deficits and declining personal saving flows portend an acute private‐sector capital shortage over the balance of the 1980s decade. Housing is the sector of the economy most likely to bear the brunt of this shortage. Quantifying that shortage and suggesting preventive policy changes are the primary purposes of his paper. The recent, conservative estimates of household formations and housing production requirements of the MIT‐Harvard Joint Center for Urban Studies form the basis for estimates of the net capital requirements for homing during 1984 through 1989. These estimates are compared with estimates of net capital supply for housing to reveal a capital shortage that will preclude the achievement of the housing production requirements without further change in economic policy. The paper concludes with specific recommendations for policy change, including proposals for deficit reduction and a broad‐based tax incentive for saving
REFORM OF THE DEPOSIT INSURANCE SYSTEM: AN APPRAISAL OF THE FHLBB AND FDIC STUDIES
Authors: CAMPBELL TIM S. , HORVITZ PAUL M.
Published: January 2010

This paper presents an appraisal of the studies of the deposit insurance system submitted to Congress by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Federal Home Loan Bank Board in compliance with the Garn‐St. German legislation of 1982. The purpose of these studies was to assess the current structure of the deposit insurance system in light of the changes in the regulation of depository institutions mandated in recent legislation

Many observers of the financial system believe that, as a result of recent regulatory changes, the deposit insurance agencies do not have sufficient power to control risk‐taking of insured institutions. These two reports present an assessment of mechanism which could be used to limit the risk of the deposit insurance agencies

The emphasis in both reports is on ways in which the amount of market discipline applied to insured institutions could be increased. Both reports identify essentially three ways in which this might be accomplished. First, risk‐adjusted deposit insurance prices might be employed. Second, the volume of uninsured creditors might be increased, either through changes in limits of insurance coverage or through imposition of requirements for use of subordinated debt. Third, the current public deposit insurance system might be partially supplanted by one that is private. This paper evaluates the merits of each of these proposals and compares the positions taken by the FHLBB and the FDIC on the issues
WHAT PRICE THEORY CAN—AND CANNOT—DO FOR ANTITRUST
Authors: DEWEY DONALD
Published: January 2010

This paper examines the methodology and policy recommendations of Judge Robert Bork's writing on antitrust. It accepts as valid his premise that conventional price theory is the only appropriate organon for evaluating the welfare impact of an antitrust rule. However, it holds that in the analysis of cartels and mergers, Bork does not realize the full implications of his approach.

Of the many prohibitions which antitrust law now contains, Bork wants to retain only two‐the prohibition of cartels and of large horizontal mergers. Even these two, however, cannot be maintained on pure price theory grounds. According to price theory, if price or merger agreements are inefficient, and i f entry and exit are free, then these agreements‐like other inefficient practices‐will be eroded by entry. Consistently applied, then, price the0 y provides no support for antitrust laws.

A lack of support on price theory grounds does not imply that antitrust laws are unjustified. Most practices prohibited by anti‐trust law have closesubstitutes. Consequently, the law probably inflicts no great harm on economic efjiciency. Moreover, repeal of these laws could result in state‐owned monopolies or economic planning, both of which would be far worse for economic efficiency.
GENERAL AND PARTIAL EQUILIBRIUM THEORY IN BORK'S ANTITRUST ANALYSIS
Authors: FINK RICHARD H.
Published: January 2010

In applying economic theory to evaluate antitrust laws, Judge Robert Bork explicitly favors a partial equilibrium over a general equilibrium approach. He believes the general model assumes away too many real‐world aspects to be usefully employed as a criterion by which to judge real‐world laws.

However, Bork's partial equilibrium replacement, the Oliver Williamson trade‐off model, implicitly contains many of the same assumptions as general equilibrium theory. Equilibrium prices in all industries, an absence of external effects, and well‐defined demand curves are assumptions of both general equilibrium theory and the Williamson trade‐off model. If one theory is judged inadequate because of these assumptions, so should the other.

Bork's analysis is more consistent with market process theory than with his own partial equilibrium approach. Market process theory assumes neither the absence of externalities, nor the presence of well‐defined demand and equilibrium prices in all industries.
OPTIONS IN THE DESIGN OF COMPETITIVE‐BIDDING PROCESSES FOR INDIGENT MEDICAL CARE
Authors: CHRISTIANSON JON B. , SMITH KENNETH R.
Published: January 2010

This paper discusses competitive‐bidding systems for indigent medical care. Theoretical and empirical research which applies to the specific characteristics of these systems is limited. In particular, it is not clear which set of bidding rules would result in the lowest program costs for the state. Effectively implementing competitive bidding is difficult, given the ambiguity of available research results, since such bidding creates the appearance that policymakers have relinquished budgetary control.
WHAT ARE EMPLOYERS DOING TO CREATE A COMPETITIVE MARKET FOR HEALTH CARE IN THE TWIN CITIES?
Authors: FELDMAN ROGER , JENSEN GAIL , DOWD BRYAN
Published: January 2010

Employers' willingness to control costs is a critical aspect of pro‐competition strategies for the health‐care market. Here, we present some of the first quantitative evidence of what employers do to control health‐care costs. Our sample is 44 large private and public employers in Minnesota.

We develop a theoretical model in which the employer chooses cost‐control “innovations”—along with wages, fringe benefits, and labor‐force size—to maximize profits. The role of innovations is to reduce unit costs of offering fringe benefits.

Our data are from a 1982 survey. Eighty percent of the surveyed employers, representing nearly 200,000 employees, responded. Most respondents offer both indemnity insurance plans and health‐maintenance organizations (HMOs). Many firms and individual health‐insurance plans conduct cost‐control activities, but less than half of the firms which offer HMOs have adopted level‐dollar premium contributions for their family health‐insurance policies. Few plans have increased their coinsurance and deductible requirements in the past five years.

We use probit equations to estimate the probability that a firm or a health plan will adopt cost‐control activities. Our analysis suggests that many firms may soon make major plan‐design changes to control health‐care costs, although they have not yet done so.
RESALE PRICE MAINTENANCE AND DISTRIBUTIONAL EFFICIENCY: SOME LESSONS FROM THE PAST
Authors: JR. THOMAS R. OVERSTREET , FISHER ALAN A.
Published: January 2010

Resale price maintenance (RPM) has had a history similar to that of a religious war, with the legal status shifting as the various sects have had more or less influence over the courts and the political arenas. Both the RPM and anti‐RPM missionaries have overstated their cases.

In theory, RPM can have both procompetitive and anticompetitive effects. Unfortunately, most of the dispute has been theoretical (theological); both sides have provided minimal empirical support for their theological conclusions. The empirical evidence, though sketchy, shows both procompetitive and anticompetitive instances of RPM. In particular, history warns that strongly organized interest groups tend to use the political process to enforce abuses of a distributional restraint that theoretically might otherwise have primarily procompetitive effects.

The theoretical and empirical record does not support either per se legality or illegality for RPM in all instances. In some situations, such as for small firms in unconcentrated wholesale and retail markets and for new entrants, the probability of anticompetitive effects is negligible. In other situations, the evidentiary burden of demonstrating either the likelihood of anticompetitive effects, or of their absence, would be practically insurmountable in a litigation context. Rule‐of‐reason litigation, then, also seems to be an unwise policy choice.

On balance, considering the economic, political, and legal constraints, we recommend continuing the current per se illegal standard, but with exceptions for clearly defined instances in which the probability of anticompetitive effects is minimal.
U.S. IMMIGRATION REFORM: POLICY ISSUES AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
Authors: GREENWOOD MICHAEL J. , McDOWELL JOHN M.
Published: January 2010

In recent years, legal U. S. immigration has approached historically high levels, and illegal immigration has been thought to be high and perhaps rising. Consequently, the Select Commission on Immigration and Refugee Policy proposed sweeping changes in the nation's immigration laws. During 1984, both the Senate and House passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act (Simpson‐Mazzoli Bill). This bill subsequently died in the conference committee that was established to reconcile differences between the bill's two versions. The proposed act has three major provisions: (1) control of illegal immigration, (2) legalization of alienstatus, and (3) reform of legal immigration. Both the House and Senate versions would maintain the present orientation of U.S. immigration policy toward family reunification, but the Senate proposed significant changes in legal immigration restrictions that would shift policy slightly more toward labor considerations. These proposed changes were eliminated in the compromise made in the conference committee. Employer sanctions and legalization of illegal aliens were left as the two most prominent alterations to existing policy. During 1985, the 99th Congress is likely to reconsider the Simpson‐Mazzoli Bill, perhaps in a streamlined version which emphasizes employer sanctions, legalization, and a substantial increase in border enforcement.
LABOR MARKET ASSIMILATION OF IMMIGRANTS: THE IMPORTANCE OF LANGUAGE SKILLS
Authors: McMANUS WALTER S.
Published: January 2010

The pending Immigration Reform and Control Act (Simpson‐Mazzoli) would require current illegal aliens to demonstrate minimal proficiency in English or to enroll in an English language class to attain permanent‐resident status. This paper examines the importance of English language skills in the assimilation of immigrants. Data on 1975 earnings for men from 11 language /ethnic groups are used. English skills are found to play an important role in determining the earnings of immigrant and minority‐language men in the U.S. Costs of deficiencies in English are substantial for most immigrants—more than $1,000 per year for eight of the 11 groups.
COMPETITION IN CONTROLLED AND UNCONTROLLED GASOLINE MARKETS
Authors: HONEYCUTT T. CRAWFORD
Published: January 2010

During the decade ending in 1981, more than 100,000 gasoline dealers exited the industry. This tremendous decline gave rise to numerous allegations that the major oil companies were engaged in anticompetitive activity designed to eliminate their dealers. This paper examines the legislative responses to these allegations, discusses some current economic issues, reviews changes in gasoline marketing before and after decontrol, and evaluates empirically the impact of these events on competition.

The primary conclusions of the paper are (1) that these changes in gasoline marketing have resulted from competitive responses to changing market conditions, (2) that most statutes proposed to aid dealers in fact make their demise more likely, (3) that dealers' share of sales has stabilized after decontrol, and (4) that divorcement tends to increase market concentration significantly.
THE IMPACT OF DECONTROL ON GASOLINE WHOLESALERS AND RETAILERS
Authors: FENILI ROBERT
Published: January 2010

Since decontrol of the U.S. gasoline market in January 1981, substantial changes in operations of gasoline retailers (dealers) and wholesalers (jobbers) have occurred. This paper analyzes decontrols impact on the operations of these two classes of firms. A primary conclusion is that removing regulations allowed dealers to profit by cutting prices and margins for self‐service gasoline, while increasing prices and margins for full‐service gasoline. In addition, decontrol resulted in lower jobber margins and profitability, which in turn caused a substantial number of jobbers to exit from the market. Overall, removal of the regulations allowed operational changes which were consistent with emerging technology and consumer demands, but which had been constrained by a decade of pervasive federal regulation of the U.S. gasoline market. Thus, decontrol fostered greater economic efficiency in the marketing of gasoline, which contributed to lower gasoline prices during a time of rising gasoline taxes and increasing general inflation.
CANADIAN ENERGY PROSPECTS: NATURAL GAS, TAR SANDS, AND OIL POLICY
Authors: SCARFE BRIAN L.
Published: January 2010

This paper provides a brief overview of recent oil and gas developments in Canada. It describes marketing problems that the Canadian natural gas industry is facing and reports on some encouraging new developments in the recovery of bitumen from the Alberta tar sands deposits. Finally, the paper analyzes the current pricing, royalty, and taxation regime existing in Canada and where this overall fiscal system seems to be heading.
INSOLVENCY AND RISK‐TAKING IN THE THRIFT INDUSTRY: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FUTURE
Authors: BARTH JAMES R. , BRUMBAUGH, JR. R. DAN , SAUERHAFT DANIEL , WANG GEORGE H. K.
Published: January 2010

This paper puts the current problems facing the thrift industry, Federal Home Loan Bank Board, and Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation into historical perspective. It discusses the development of federal deposit insurance and regulation of depository institutions. The paper discusses causes of the recent financial difficulties faced by thrift institutions and the policy responses to those problems. It then examines the effect of the recent 511 thrift failures on the risk‐taking behavior of institutions and the Bank Board's policy responses to risk‐taking. Finally, the paper suggests possible responses to the large and growing number of insolvent institutions that have an economic incentive to pursue extremely risky portfolio opportunities.
FOREIGN EXPERIENCES WITH MONETARY TARGETING: A PRACTITIONER'S PERSPECTIVE
Authors: HOSKINS W. LEE
Published: January 2010

Under certain conditions, monetary targets can reduce information costs and transaction costs to market participants. In international financial markets, these costs are associated with several types of risk which can influence the extent of international financial intermediation. During the 1970s, several factors seem to have prompted the trend toward targeting. The search by central banks for improved methods of inflation control was the primary factor. Targeting took a number of forms with respect to time periods, growth rates, and aggregates employed. In general, the experience with foreign monetary targeting to date probably has not lowered information costs or transactions costs to market participants, due to the extensive shifting between targets, changing of targeting time periods, and continual base drift. Such changes in targeting procedures along with the failure to hit targets tend to mask whether a change in monetary growth is temporary or permanent. The desire of foreign central banks to implicitly target exchange rates influences their ability to achieve monetary targets. The extent of this influence depends on the ability of foreign central banks to sterilize exchange market intervention.
MONETARY TARGETING IN WEST GERMANY, HOLLAND, AND SWITZERLAND
Authors: BOMHOFF EDUARD J.
Published: January 2010

Links between fluctuations in domestic money supplies and subsequent fluctuations in rates of real output have been less visible in Western Europe than in the United States. This paper discusses some of the causes and investigates the stability of the demand for money in West Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. In all three countries, temporary changes in short‐term interest rates temporarily affect the demand for money. These temporary changes in the demand for money are reflected in temporary blips in the monetary statistics, as agents substitute among various monetary assets.

The hypothesis that aggregate demand responds only to longer‐lasting changes in interest rates is tested by a two‐step procedure. First, the official data on European money supplies are corrected for temporary disturbances caused by temporary changes in domestic interest rates. Second, changes in real activity are regressed on a measure of monetary stimulus, which takes into account the correction for temporary disturbances. This two‐step procedure avoids some of the bias present in ordinary estimates of the demand‐for‐money function. The results show that the links between changes in money and subsequent changes in output are somewhat more tenuous in West Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland than in the U.S. but significant effects do exist. These effects are more easily documented when corrected time series for the European money supplies are used.
AN INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON OF EXPERIENCES WITH MONETARY TARGETING: A REACTION FUNCTION APPROACH
Authors: LANEY LEROY O.
Published: January 2010

Monetary targets have been instituted in major countries for nearly a decade. There has been a rather wide variety of experience with them, both in the control procedures and in the success with which targets have been achieved. This paper presents results of a reaction function investigation into the extent to which elements of discretionary monetary policy remained even under targeting. Generally, targets probably were successful in focusing central bank attention on the long run. But a conclusion here is that distinguishable elements of discretion (as opposed to rule), evidenced by movements in targeted aggregates themselves, were present for several countries, including the United States.
THE ECONOMICS AND POLITICS OF INDUSTRIAL POLICY: SOME LESSONS FROM THE U.S. AND ABROAD
Authors: WILLETT THOMAS D.
Published: January 2010

The accelerating United States trade deficit has again focused widespread political attention on industrial policy issues. However, given the breadth and complexity of the industrial policy issues, we can be confident that strengthening the U.S. international trade position will not be sufficient to quell concern over this area of economic policy.
NATIONAL SECURITY AND INDUSTRIAL POLICY: THE NEED FOR A PUBLIC CHOICE PERSPECTIVE
Authors: LEHMAN JAMES , WILLETT THOMAS D.
Published: January 2010

This paper argues that the issues raised by the industrial policy debate are as much political as they are economic. There is every reason to believe that, without substantial reform of political institutions, efforts to administer a rational new industrial policy would soon degenerate into the type of inconsistent morass of special‐interest‐generated policies which industrial policy advocates rightfully criticize as our de facto set of industrial policies.

This important political dimension has been overlooked by many industrial policy advocates. An important exception is Robert Reich, who has proposed a new centralized industrial policy agency in hopes that the battle of conflicting interests would promote greater aggregate efficiency. We argue that on theoretical grounds, however, such centralization might either increase or decrease efficiency. The competition of the military services under the Defense Department gives us a close analogue for study. Unfortunately, however, our review of efficiency in defense policy suggests that this would be a very poor model on which to base a broader industrial policy. To promote substantial increases in defense and industrial policy efficiency appears to require that much more fundamental institutional reforms be considered.
AGRICULTURAL PRICE AND INCOME POLICY: A NEED FOR CHANGE
Authors: LEARN ELMER W.
Published: January 2010

Agricultural price and income policies operate within a framework established more than 50 years ago. This framework assumes that agriculture is dominated by “family farms,” and that the agricultural economy is relatively independent of international and other domestic economic considerations. Yet, the structure of the farm sector today differs greatly from that of 50 or even 20 years ago. The U.S. economy relies on international markets to dispose of 20 to 30 percent of U.S. agricultural output. These changes call for reorientation of U.S. farm policy.
ECONOMIC HARM IGNORED: BETAMAX REVISITED
Authors: CRONIN F. J. , WUSTERBARTH A. R.
Published: January 2010

This paper assesses the economic harm to copyright owners from selected uses of home videocassette recorders. Specifically, we examine the consequences of such household behavior as the copying of prerecorded videocassettes and taping television broadcasts for permanent collections (i.e., “librarying”). Such uses have an adverse effect on the efficiency of intellectual property creation, and on the equitable distribution of monetary rewards generated by commercial exploitation of those private properties. Economic harm is described in the context of existing property rights enforcement. We also present estimates of lost monetary rewards (royalties) to copyright owners from displaced sales of prerecorded videocassettes due to such librarying.
COMPETITION VS. FRANCHISE MONOPOLY IN CABLE TELEVISION
Authors: HAZLETT THOMAS W.
Published: January 2010

A modern defense of public utility regulation has arisen from the “transactions costs” literature. Traditional economic theorists called for government to establish regulated, franchise monopolies to guard against over‐investment and wasteful duplication in natural monopoly (i.e., cost subadditive) markets. However, the new view is that monopoly licenses are issued to promote investment into markets where suppliers must sink considerable sums of specific…nonsalvageable…capital. Consumers, in this scenario, “delegate” their choice‐making to political or bureaucratic agents, who administer day‐to‐day and year‐to‐year arrangements with a monopoly producer in a long‐term exclusive‐dealing arrangement. This may be a plausible explanation for the issuance of legal monopoly rights. But the troubling question regarding the public agency is: why should self‐interested political agents create proconsumer regulatory contracts? They might instead be expected to maximize political clout by erecting monopolistic restrictions and directing excess returns to effective distributional coalitions. These competing explanations for the political issuance of monopoly franchises are contrasted in this paper through the use of legal and economic evidence in the cable television industry.
ANTITAKEOVER MEASURES…OBSTRUCTIONS TO THE MARKET FOR CORPORATE CONTROL? COMMENT ON POULSEN and JARRELL
Authors: KASS DAVID I.
Published: January 2010

Poulsen and Jarrell (hereafter PJ) review the literature on hostile takeovers and conclude that such takeovers are beneficial to society in general and to shareholders of the target firm in particular. Their prediction that a coalition of corporate and community leaders will eventually succeed in neutralizing hostile bids does not bode well for the market for corporate control. Despite their assertion as to the social cost of antitakeover measures either regulated by the states or implemented by incumbent management of target firms, PJ do not support intervention to limit abusive practices of target firms.
THE ECONOMICS AND THE NONECONOMICS OF THE WORLD WAR INDUSTRY
Authors: BOULDING KENNETH E.
Published: January 2010

The world war industry is defined as the part of human income‐earning activity devoted to producing, maintaining, and sometimes utilizing means of destruction. Most of the industry consists of what is purchased with national states' military budgets, which are spent by unilateral national defense organizations. These organizations are basically noneconomical, in the sense that they do not have a balance sheet, do not show a “bottom line” or net worth, and therefore there is no way to estimate their profitability. They have economic aspects in terms of decisions that balance marginal benefits against marginal costs. The benefits, however, are mainly psychological in the minds of the decision makers. Wars of conquest, especially those resulting in empires, have not paid off very well for the conquering power. Military defeat often leads to cultural and economic development. Nuclear weapons and long‐range missiles have made national defense essentially obsolete and the greatest enemy of national security. Military leaders may respond to this development as they recognize their traditional culture of courage, heroism, and fighting has been replaced by child roasting and perhaps universal destruction. There seem to be few economies of scale in the national state, and perhaps we should look forward to a world of 500 national states in stable peace with a very limited, functional world government.
ECONOMICS, ETHICS, AND THE PROBLEM OF BUILDING PEACE
Authors: WORCESTER, JR. DEAN A.
Published: January 2010

To build peace it is necessary to convert what Hirshleifer (1976) has called “meta‐constitutional” politics among nations into “constitutional” politics. To predict the eventual elimination of meta‐constitutional politics and to suggest some steps that may hasten the process, Boulding's (1945) and North's (1981) explanations of the rise of civilization are combined with Coase's (1937) and Cheung's (1978) insights into organization theory and with Alchian's (1950) analysis of prediction that does not rely on rational behavior. The argument can be summarized in terms of game theory where technology, education, and population growth change the perceived payoff matrices.
SOVIET INCENTIVES IN ARMS CONTROL
Authors: ZYCHER BENJAMIN
Published: January 2010

Much conventional wisdom supports the argument that growing economic problems in the Soviet Union will tend to enhance Soviet willingness to make concessions at the arms control bargaining table. This position is plausible. Equally plausible, however, is the opposite view: as a means of protecting its political power at home, the Soviet leadership could be led by falling living standards to emphasize the growth and importance of external threats. This would be inconsistent with a Soviet desire for arms control as conventionally defined. Economic problems in the Soviet Union are not new, and the Soviet approach to past arms control negotiations does not offer evidence in support of the conventional view.
ASSESSING THE COMPETITION FACED BY OIL PIPELINES
Authors: TEECE DAVID J.
Published: January 2010

This paper assesses the competition faced by oil pipelines. It also uses a new procedure and new data to test whether oil pipeline markets are competitive or monopolistic, under standard definitions. The key innovation of the paper is a new approach to the definition of the relevant market(s) in which oil pipelines operate. While recognizing that pipeline monopsony also could be a problem under certain conditions, the paper argues that these conditions are unlikely to arise and that if they do, it is unclear whether pipeline owners would be in a position to exploit them. The study offers new evidence to fuel the 80‐year‐old debate over pipeline rates and regulation.
U.S. SHIPPING SUBSIDIES AND OCEAN SHIPPING OF PETROLEUM: POLICY CHOICES
Authors: TARPGAARD PETER T.
Published: January 2010

United States oil imports are predominantly carried in non‐U.S. ships, a fact that some interpret as an energy security problem whose solution lies in increasing federal assistance to U.S. shipbuilding and shipping industries. This paper examines three options (one regulatory, two budgetary) for such federal assistance. Examination of the options comprises estimates of relative costs, consequences for traditional U.S. maritime goals, and implications for national security. The options are found to differ significantly in respect to relative cost and capacity to meet military security needs. As background, the paper also analyzes the costs of U.S. shipbuilding and shipping industries relative to their foreign counterparts. It thereby indicates why, and how much, federal assistance would be required to satisfy national security goals. The paper concludes that the regulatory policy option (cargo preference) has the highest relative cost and is the least effective for meeting national security goals.
REGULATORY REFORM OF INTERSTATE NATURAL GAS PIPELINES
Authors: LEMON J. RODNEY
Published: January 2010

This paper assesses the historic nature of regulation of the interstate natural gas pipeline industry and examines two recently proposed reforms, “mandatory” contract carriage and open entry. Empirical evidence that bears on the desirability of each of these reforms is cited or developed. It is argued that the reforms increase competition in gas transportation, thereby diminishing the need for traditional regulation, and that they increase economic efficiency in the transport of natural gas.