bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
South Africa's Manufactured International Trade in the Post-Sanctions Epoch: Patterns and Potentials
Authors: Weiner Ross D. , Roxo Trevor , Kellman Mitchell
Published: March 2016

We identify those sectors of the South African economy in which the country exhibits a comparative advantage. This is accomplished through the development of an index of Regional Revealed Comparative Advantage, based in the work of Richardson and Zhang (2001). South Africa's comparative advantage is associated with products servicing producers and high in capital intensity.

The pattern of comparative advantage in South Africa differs from those patterns found to be typical of “developing countries in general, and from those describing the “flying geese” dynamic changes of East Asian NICs as well as other Asian countries.

An important contribution of this paper is a demonstration of a high degree of compatibility of projected shifts in competitiveness patterns developed utilizing (solely) trade data and RRCA methodology with patterns developed (solely) utilizing relative unit labor measures.
Linking Labor Productivity to Economic Freedom
Authors: Nissan Edward , Niroomand Farhang
Published: March 2016

This paper provides a review of the role of enterprise in a capitalistic setting to promote economic growth. For this purpose, two indexes on productivity and economic freedom were utilized to compare countries grouped by region and income. The finding by relating productivity to economic freedom index of the Heritage Foundation indicates a statistically significant relationship between the two. This gives credence to the hypothesis that economic liberalization induces growth, despite significant gaps in the levels of productivity and economic freedom index between groups of countries.
The ‘Read or Write’ Dilemma in Academic Production: A Transatlantic Perspective
Authors: Besancenot Damien , Huynh Kim , Vranceanu Radu
Published: March 2016

This paper investigates the production of research in business and economics. A scholar's reward is positively related to the quantity and quality of research. In turn, the quality of a paper depends on the scholar's ability to internalize new ideas and the overall quality of external research. The individual scholar is subject to a trade-off between writing more papers or reading in order to take in new ideas. In the Nash symmetric equilibrium, the quantity and quality of published papers are jointly determined. Under reasonable assumptions about the research production process, in equilibrium researchers write too many papers of too low a quality compared to the cooperative outcome. The model sheds some light on the effectiveness of various research policies currently under review by European policymakers.
The Decline in Maize Prices, Biodiversity, and Subsistence Farming in Mexico
Authors: Seals Alan , Zietz Joachim
Published: March 2016

Concern over the loss of genetic diversity in the world's field crops has increased due to the commercial introduction of genetically modified crops. Mexico is particularly sensitive to this issue, as it is the center of genetic diversity for maize and home to a large number of indigenous farmers who propagate this diversity. This paper analyzes to what extent the biodiversity of maize may be endangered as subsistence farmers face decreasing market prices of maize. Off-farm migration is suggested as a potential rational response of farmers to the large and rapidly growing imports of maize from the U.S., a large share of which consists of genetically modified maize. The maize imports from the U.S. are seen not only as worsening the terms of trade of subsistence farmers but also as raising the risk of lower yields as indigenous varieties of maize may lose their resilience to environmental stress through contamination with genetically modified maize.
An Introduction to the Economic Method
Authors: Perkins William C.
Published: March 2016

A sample of leading introductory economics textbooks reveals that most devote little space to the method of analysis used by mainstream economists. A thorough introductory treatment of the subject must consist of more than a brief description of the scientific method. Introductory students must gain an understanding of the important elements of a model, the need to simplify, the difference between induction and deduction and the relationship between real world facts, a model, economic policy and policy goals. This paper offers some ideas on how to accomplish this objective and presents a schematic diagram that can be used to frame the discussion.
Krugman Versus Friedman: Monetary Policy, 1929–1933, A Note
Authors: Stauffer Robert F.
Published: March 2016

In a retrospective on Milton Friedman, Paul Krugman is critical of Friedman's remarks on monetary base changes in the early years of the Great Depression. Krugman emphasizes that the monetary base did increase by about one billion dollars from 1929–1933, thereby implying the Fed was pursuing an expansionary policy. The purpose of this comment is to clarify monetary base analysis in this period. More specifically, two common misconceptions in regard to the monetary base are discussed: first, that changes in the base are a reliable indicator of the stance of Fed policy, and secondly that the Federal Reserve exercises absolute control over changes in the base.
Simple Pigovian Taxes VS. Emission Fees to Control Negative Externalities: A Pedagogical Note
Authors: Main Robert S.
Published: March 2016

Many economics texts introduce their analysis of negative externalities by examining a tax on the output of polluting firms, sometimes called a “simple Pigovian tax,” often pointing out that taxing pollution directly is superior to taxing output and proceeding to discuss an emission fee as an alternative. They do not show how and why an emission fee is more efficient than an output tax. This note presents a numerical example allowing comparison of the welfare effects of the two approaches, as well as showing why simply reducing the pollution intensity of polluters' output would be inferior to an emission fee.
Identifying Industries for Employment Development Using Input-Output Modeling: The Case of Prison Industry Employment
Authors: Scott Charles E. , Williams Nancy A. , Derrick Frederick W.
Published: March 2016

Economic development involves creating new jobs while retaining existing jobs in a defined region. The focus in this paper is to propose and illustrate a method for identifying sectors with net positive employment impacts on the relevant jurisdiction using input-output (I/O) analysis. This approach is in contrast to the traditional purpose of I/O models, which is to determine the total economic impact of given changes in final demand in specific industries. The emphasis on employment in this paper explicitly addresses the potential for new employment to replace (crowd out) existing employment. This paper provides a method for selecting industries that minimize crowding out. We illustrate the use of this method with prison industry choice aggregated at the local, state and national levels. We find that the net employment effect of creating a new job is an empirical question dependent upon the aggregation level chosen and the region's economy.
Resources and Economic Growth
Authors: Solow Robert M.
Published: March 2016

Editor’s Introduction

Originally published in Volume 22, Number 2, Fall 1978, pages 5-11. Robert Solow (born 1924) is one of the most honored economists of all time. In 1961 he received the John Bates Clark medal given by the American Economic Association for significant contributions to the field by an American economist under the age of forty. Several Clark medal recipients have gone on to win the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, including Professor Solow in 1987 for his work in economic growth. His work was again honored in 2014 when he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award presented by the United States. The Solow Growth Model, originally developed in the 1950s, is one of the most widely applied theories in modern economics. In this paper, Professor Solow examines how future economic growth and development is constrained if the natural resource base narrows over time. Professor Solow then applies a variant of his eponymous growth model to analyze the relationship between the ratio of nonrenewable resource inputs to GNP in the United States over the middle half of the twentieth century.
Institutions and Economic Theory
Authors: North Douglass C.
Published: March 2016

Editor’s Introduction

Originally published in Volume 36, Number 1, Spring 1992, pages 3-6. Omicron Delta Epsilon presented Douglass North (1920-2015) with the John R. Commons award in 1992 for his contributions to the economics profession. The following year he shared the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences with Robert Fogel. The Nobel honored their work in applying economic theory and quantitative methods to the study of economic history and institutional change. As a pioneer in what has become known as cliometrics (named for the classical muse of history, Clio), Professor North’s scholarship focused on how human institutions and their organizational structures influence economic and societal outcomes. He is widely recognized as one of the founders of the New Institutional Economics school of thought. In this paper, his Commons Award lecture, Professor North describes and discusses his views on the limitations of neoclassical economics that are rooted in the assumption of instrumental rationality. His discourse on culturally influenced mental models and the limitations of our ability to process complex information presages the ongoing revolution in behavioral economics. This paper remains as timely today as it did when it first appeared in The American Economist.
My Life Philosophy
Authors: Samuelson Paul A.
Published: March 2016

Editor’s Introduction

Originally published in Volume 27, Number 2, Fall 1983, pages 5-12. Nobel laureate Paul Samuelson (1915-2009) was one of the most influential economists of the twentieth century. He is considered the leading figure in the formal development of the neoclassical synthesis which bridges the Keynsian perspective of macroeconomics with neoclassical theories. The results of this work dominated the thinking of public policymakers for decades. His seminal book, Foundations of Economic Analysis (1947), continues to be widely read today. Professor Samuelson is also acknowledged as the author of the world’s best-selling textbook in the field, simply titled Economics and originally published in 1948. This text has sold over four million copies through nineteen editions. In this paper, Professor Samuleson provides a glimpse into his deeply held beliefs and values that directed his professional life. Along the way, he recounts the events and economists that shaped his thinking and directed his path and provides the reader with insight into how he worked. This article is one of a long series of articles commissioned by then Editor-in-Chief Michael Szenberg who asked eminent economists to share their life stories and philosophies with the readers of The American Economist.
The Case for Laspeyres' Formula: An up-to-Date Appraisal
Authors: Anderson Henry
Published: March 2016

The logical basis for using Laspeyres' formula in cost-of-living and real-income measurement has been debated for years, leaving little room for further comment. However, the relevant discussion as yet consists of scattered and highly technical bits and pieces religiously ignored by textbook writers. It may therefore be timely to summarize the argument and its implications for the practitioner.
The Effect of Indivisibilities in Consumer Choice Theory
Authors: Gordon Edward
Published: March 2016

Consumer choice theory is normally based on the assumption that the domain of commodity mixes which can be chosen is continuously divisible (dense). The effects on consumer choice behavior recently attributed by Harwitz to indivisibilities are shown to be due to the removal of strong convexity and strict monotonicity from the expressed binary preference properties.

A binary preference axiomatic treatment is presented which is applicable in the presence of indivisibilities. Tolerance to indivisibilities in the decision domain is accomplished with three binary preference axioms which are sufficient to assure the existence of a utility function. One axiom is added for the budget constraint and another to cover the expenditure minimization concept of rational behavior. With these five axioms, Samuelson's weak axiom and fundamental theorem of consumer behavior can be extended to be applicable with indivisibilities in the decision domain.
The Chaotic Behavior of Foreign Exchange Rates
Authors: Aczel Amir D. , Josephy Norman H.
Published: March 2016

This paper explores the use of a measure of chaotic behavior, the correlation dimension, in explaining the unpredictable fluctuations in foreign exchange rates. The resulting calculations indicate that the Singapore dollar has a smaller correlation dimension than four European currencies, consistent with the view that the Singapore dollar is a highly managed currency. We also utilize the correlation dimension to determine the impact of the stock market crash of October 19, 1987 on the five currencies. The four European currencies exhibit a statistically significant decrease in their correlation dimensions, while the Singapore dollar displays no significant change. This is consistent with a hypothesis of a an intervention in the management of the European currencies.
Economic Development and Family Size
Authors: Rios Roberto J.
Published: March 2016

Falling mortality has in Latin America failed to reduce family size; this result is not theoretically surprising as reduced mortality makes children cheaper and is expected to reduce fertility but to increase the number of survivors. Development and modernization encouraged family limitation in Western Europe; changes similar in nature have attended the mortality decline in Latin America, but often these changes have been modest in size. Deviations from the Western European transition follow a pattern: least developed countries deviate the most, while most developed countries deviate the least.
An Economic Approach to Abortion Demand
Authors: Rothstein Donna S.
Published: March 2016

This paper uses econometric multiple regression techniques in order to analyze the socioeconomic factors affecting the demand for abortion for the year 1985. A cross-section of the 50 states and Washington D.C. is examined and a household choice theoretical framework is utilized. The results suggest that average price of abortion, disposable personal per capita income, percentage of single women, whether abortions are state funded, unemployment rate, divorce rate, and if the state is located in the far West, are statistically significant factors in the determination of the demand for abortion.
Is Capitalism Kaput?
Authors: Diehl-Callaway Linda
Published: March 2016

In this article, we examine metaphors in economics, specifically looking at the term capital and its family of metaphors, and investigate the role they play in a capitalist economy. Serving as a means of communicating complex ideas and outstripping their literal meanings, metaphors become a part of the developing knowledge in a discipline. We demonstrate how a metaphor constitutes an active interchange between a word and the complex idea it signifies, and, by extension, the formation of yet another idea results. We show how, from the parent metaphors capital and capitalism, there developed a number of derivative (i.e., sibling or relational) metaphors that describe the different functions and forms of capital in capitalism. And we point out metaphors related to different types of goods and property that exist in a capitalist economy. Are the family of metaphors of capital helpful or harmful to capitalism? To the extent that metaphors enrich and expand its language, we submit that they do indeed contribute to the survival of the capitalist society which spawns them.
Persuasive Advertising and Market Competition
Authors: Koh Winston T.H. , Leung H.M.
Published: March 2016

This paper studies a duopoly industry where the firms compete for market shares by choosing output prices and advertising outlays. Advertising is purported here to be persuasive rather than informative as it is described in most signaling models. Persuasive advertising tends to cancel each other out and this leads us to question the possibility of firms reducing advertising outlays collusively. Using output cost to stand proxy for output quality, it is found that a robust positive association exists between output cost (quality), output price and advertising activity. We should therefore expect a firm producing higher output quality to advertise more and charge higher price than its lower quality rival even when neither advertising nor price is used as an information dissipating signal. Advertising is also found to be a credible tool to facilitate collusive commitment.
Tariffs, Quotas and the Terms of Trade
Authors: Yeh Yeong-Her
Published: March 2016

This paper attempts to show another difference between tariffs and quotas in their economic effects. While a country's terms of trade could deteriorate after it imposes a tariff, a country's terms of trade will always improve after it imposes an import quota or an export quota. The offer curve approach is used in this study.
Minimizing the Political/Economic Time Lag for Economic Recovery
Authors: Patterson Seymour
Published: March 2016

This paper deals with a theoretical analysis about the problem confronting policy makers who are trying to minimize the time to combat a recession. The model contains political and economic lags and a transmission lag that imposes a constraint between the political lag and the economic lag. The task of the policy maker is to minimize the total time spent on the political and economic mediums given the constraint imposed by the transmission lag. The paper concludes that the optimal time spent on any medium will be higher in the more efficient relevant medium.
National Security at What Price? the Economic Consequences of Military Spending
Authors: Lapidus Kevin
Published: March 2016

The conclusion of the Cold War affords an opportunity to evaluate the consequences of America's defense policy of the last 45 years. Defense spending has a larger effect on the economy than the percent of GNP or number of Pentagon employees. Defense spending preempts scientific and engineering talent from other potentially productive endeavors, drains R&D funding, usurps money from infrastructure investment, and adds to budget deficits which in turn raise interest rates. In sum, defense spending diminishes productivity growth, and therefore slows America's economic standing relative to commercial rivals, such as Germany and Japan, which do not spend equivalent amounts on defense. It is quite probable that the rearrangement of our national priorities in pursuit of increased military strength has undermined the non-military dimensions of our national security in ways that outweigh military gains.
The Relationship of the Current Account Balance and the Budget Balance
Authors: Winner L.E.
Published: March 2016

This paper demonstrates that the traditional theory, that the current account balance and the budget balance are positively related, does not uphold when applied to Australian data. On the other hand, Australian data seems to indicate that Ricardian Equivalence Theorem better explains the movements in the economy.
An Econometric Analysis of Money Demand in Taiwan, 1950–1989
Authors: Arize A. C.
Published: March 2016

This paper is an empirical study of the demand for money in Taiwan, a small open economy. Alternative hypotheses of the short-term adjustment process are tested, and the results support the error-correction adjustment process. The results further suggest, based on a battery of tests, that the estimated error-correction money demand equation is temporally stable. Focus is also given to the open-economy nature of the money demand model, and the results indicate that some measure of foreign interest rates plays a significant role in Taiwan money demand behavior. Monetary policy in Taiwan, therefore, must take into account the response of domestic money demand to changes in such factors.
Neoclassical Development Theory and the Prebisch Doctrine: A Synthesis
Authors: Thomas Linus J.
Published: March 2016

For his search for an alternative development strategy for less developed countries, the late Argentinean economist Raul Prebisch is widely touted as a revolutionary scholar. This paper demonstrates that Prebisch's views differed little from those of typical neoclassical writers. The paper concludes that, although Prebisch opposed certain canonistic views, no fundamental political differences exist between the two espoused paradigms. Prebisch was no revolutionary but a system reformer at most.
Expected Price Level Movements and the Use of Information Variables
Authors: Hegji Charles
Published: March 2016

The present paper develops a model to explain expected movements in the price level by considering the case in which the money supply is used as an information variable. The analysis is based on a simple stochastic macro model, in which movements in GNP are linked to monetary policy through expected price movements. The model uses this setting to demonstrate that using the money supply as a variable to provide information about its ultimate objectives requires the authority to abandon a strict price level rule, even if the ultimate objectives include the price level. This suggests that expected movements in the price level can be an outcome of the optimal monetary policy process, rather than a by-product of the use of extraneous objectives such as intermediate targets.
New-Keynesian Economics Today: The Empire Strikes Back
Authors: Snowdon Brian , Vane Howard
Published: March 2016

“… there is no single doctrine taken to be a scientific truth without the diametrically opposed view being similarly upheld by authors of high repute … in other fields of science these conflicts usually come to an end … It is only in the field of economics that the state of war seems to persist and remain permanent.”1
Economic Education for At-Risk Students: An Evaluation of Choices & Changes
Authors: Grimes Paul W.
Published: March 2016

This paper presents an evaluation of Choices & Changes, an economics education program designed to teach “at-risk” children in elementary and junior high school that they can control their future by making wise choices and investing in themselves. Using program-specific instruments and a national sample of approximately 1600 students, a controlled experiment was conducted to determine the effect of Choices & Changes on student learning and attitudes. The experimental data were analyzed using a simultaneous model estimated by 2SLS with correction for self-selection due to sample attrition between pre- and post-test observations. The results indicate that Choices & Changes had a positive effect on economic understanding for each grade level examined, ceteris paribus. Significant positive effects on attitudes were found in only one of the four student groups. These findings suggest that Choices & Changes is meeting its short-run objective of producing cognitive understanding of economic concepts and that the attitudes of at-risk students can be altered but may require additional intervention.
Competitive Balance in Major League Baseball
Authors: Butler Michael R.
Published: March 2016

The purpose of this paper is to test several competing hypotheses of the causes of improving competitive balance in major league baseball. Various researchers have previously attributed this improvement in competitive balance to the introduction of free agency, a narrowing of team market sizes, and a compression of baseball talent. Two models of competitive balance are presented and estimated in this paper, with results varying depending on the measure of competitive balance employed. If the degree of competitive balance is measured by the distribution of team winning percentages within a single season, none of the competing hypotheses is supported. If competitive balance is measured by the correlation of team winning percentages across seasons, however, all three of the competing hypotheses are supported.
Should a Lawyer Be Allowed in Small Claims Court? Some Empirical Light
Authors: Schwarz Samuel , Herskovitz Paul J. , Kleiner Deborah S.
Published: March 2016

Jurisdictions across the United States are facing the issue of whether or not lawyers should be permitted to represent plaintiffs in small claims court. In this paper, we make use of an expected utility model to analyze how the number of claims filed by attorneys on behalf of plaintiffs has varied over almost four decades in the New York City Small Claims Court. The paper concludes that as the size of legally allowable claims has increased, the percentage of claims in which a plaintiff is represented by a lawyer has also increased.
Are Big Hospitals the Best Medicine
Authors: Hallagan F. Patrick
Published: March 2016

Article empirically examines the question of the existence and magnitude of economies of scale in the provision of hospital services. A variety of econometric techniques are employed to statistically estimate structural and behavioral cost functions from disaggregated state data. Implications for antitrust policy are discussed.
A Citation-Based Analysis of Economists and Economics Programs
Authors: Medoff Marshall H.
Published: March 2016

This paper uses citation counts, over the period 1971–1992, to rank the top 250 academic economists in the United States. Schools were ranked by the number of top 250 economists a university had on their faculty. Graduate programs were ranked by those Ph.D. programs which have produced the greatest number of the top 250 academic economists. The paper's principal finding is that five universities, Harvard, Stanford, Chicago, MIT, and Princeton are the elite among all Universities.
The Effects of Domestic Policies and External Factors on the Real Exchange Rate and Economic Performance in Sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Ikoba Jonathan , Nyatepe-Coo Akorlie A. , Owoye Oluwole
Published: March 2016

This paper examines the relative contributions of domestic and external factors to real exchange rate changes in six sub-Sahara African countries during the period 1960–91. A vector autoregression (VAR) model is used to analyze the interrelationships between the current account, the budget balance and the real exchange rate. The results suggest that external factors such as the terms of trade and foreign income were as important as domestic policy mistakes in causing real exchange rate misalignment in sub-Saharan Africa.
Making “Economic Miracles”: Explaining Extraordinary National Economic Achievement
Authors: Isaak Robert
Published: March 2016

This paper argues that the critical dynamic in creating the perception of an “economic miracle” is to target collective learning processes upon applied economic objectives that coordinate internal factors with external opportunities in order to position a nation to catch waves of global economic growth. Using annual GDP growth statistics over the past 50 years and the percent of GDP that goes for investment, “economic miracle” countries are identified, then characterized. Such countries have experienced one, two or three “waves” of extraordinary economic performance. External and internal factors which accompany economic miracles are identified, and related. “Post-authoritarian stability” is one internal condition often found in economic miracle countries. Key steps that need to be taken in order to engineer an “economic miracle” based on what past miracles have had in common are summarized. But these growth recipes are offset with illustrations of potential opportunity costs in terms of social and ecological responsibility and sustainable development.
Voting Cycles in Business Curriculum Reform, a Note
Authors: Beck John H.
Published: March 2016

The theoretical potential for voting cycles is well known, but the empirical frequency of its occurrence is still a topic for research. This paper presents a case study of the occurrence of voting cycles in business school curriculum reform. Three separate decisions are analyzed: (1) addition of a service requirement, (2) additions to the business core, and (3) changes in the nature of majors/“concentrations.” A voting cycle was found in (2) but not (1) or (3). This result is consistent with theoretical analyses finding that cycles are more likely when there are more alternatives to be considered and when there is less similarity in individual preferences.
Optimization Analysis of the U.S. Aggregate Consumption: A Goodness-of-Fit Approach
Authors: Adrangi Bahram , Raffiee Kambiz
Published: March 2016

This paper examines the hypothesis of optimizing behavior of the U.S. consumers using quarterly and seasonally adjusted series on real consumer expenditures on eight commodity groups: clothing, durable goods, energy, food, housing, medical care, transportation, and others for the period of 1947:I through 1993:I. Following the Weak Axiom of Revealed Preference (WARP), a money-metric utility function is derived to calculate an efficiency index to determine the percentage difference between the observed cost of consumption and the optimum cost of consumption in each period of the sample. The empirical results provide evidence that the allocative efficiency in the U.S. has improved only slightly due to the wave of deregulations in the early 1980s. Our results are consistent with the predictions of the general theory of second best in showing that gains in the allocative efficiency may be minimal as long as many sectors of the economy remain partially or totally regulated.
Has the Fall in the Foreign Exchange Value of the U.S. Dollar since 1985 Strengthened the U.S. Industrial Sector?
Authors: Gullason Edward T.
Published: March 2016

This study reexamines the relationship between the foreign exchange value of the U.S. dollar and U.S. industrial production to see if the decline in value of the U.S. dollar since 1985 caused the U.S. industrial sector to grow as theory suggests. Results indicate that the U.S. dollar's decline had no impact on U.S. industrial production. This is most likely due to the fact that the portion of the U.S. industrial sector exposed to global competition has been small. The value of the U.S. dollar is demonstrated to be a very poor barometer of the performance of the U.S. industrial sector.
Import Quotas, Foreign Capital and Income Distribution
Authors: Yeh Yeong-Her
Published: March 2016

This paper shows that unlike a tariff-induced inflow of foreign capital, an import quota-induced inflow of foreign capital will increase the welfare of the host country. This paper also demonstrates the effects of the capital inflow on the income distribution within the host country. The welfare of the capitalist class will decrease whereas the welfare of the labor class will increase within the host country.
The Economics of Grants and Exchange: The Transactions Matrix
Authors: Brown Alan A. , Horvath Janos , Neuberger Egon
Published: March 2016

The paper presents some theoretical aspects of grants and exchange economics by means of a Transactions Matrix. This Matrix provides a more comprehensive classification of all types of grant and exchange transactions. The construction of the Matrix led to the identification of a new category, the implicit exchange economy. The identification of this category leads to the consideration of sub***stituting a type of market model for the command model in analyzing intra-organizational behavior. The paper considers the complex issue of identifying the size, efficiency and welfare implications of implicit grants. It suggests that Abram Bergson's Adjusted Factor Cost Standard be used to measure the size of the implicit grants economy in both planned and market economies, as a complement to the use of world market prices.
Do Introductory Economics Students Learn More if Their Instructor Has a PH.D.?
Authors: Finegan T. Aldrich , Siegfried John J.
Published: March 2016

Using objective and subjective data from the third edition of the Test of Understanding College Economics (TUCE) collected from 117 classes in introductory economics taught at 34 different colleges, this study examines whether students taught by regular faculty with a Ph.D. degree learn more than students taught by regular faculty who have only an M.A. degree. After controlling for other characteristics of instructors, schools, and students, we find no significant association between instructor's terminal degree and several objective measures of student learning in introductory macroeconomics classes; students in introductory microeconomics classes taught by Ph.D.-holding instructors learned substantially and significantly less. For neither subject is there a significant net association between instructor's degree and student assessments of amount learned or instructor effectiveness. The results suggest that a future shortage of Ph.D. economists would not reduce student learning in introductory economics courses.
One Point on the Lsat: How much is it Worth? Standardized Tests as a Determinant of Earnings
Authors: Berkowitz Ruth
Published: March 2016

This paper examines the market for certification of ability, specifically in the law profession. Economists have long discussed the problems of measurement and signaling in the imperfect market for labor, but there has been relatively little systematic work on the economic value of these signals. Using empirical evidence comparing Law School Admission Test scores to starting salaries, both across law schools and across individuals in one law school, I discuss the economic value of one point on the LSAT. I find that the marginal value of one point on the LSAT, without controlling for school quality, is over $2,600 in the first year alone, with the value increasing each year. However, when controlling for school quality, one point on the LSAT is worth only a small fraction of that amount. I conclude that the LSAT, while an important determinant of future success, exerts little weight beyond the law school application.
The U-Shape Autocorrelation Pattern in International Stock Markets
Authors: Kraizberg Eli , Kellman Mitchell
Published: March 2016

Employing monthly data from twenty stock markets, this paper tests for the international applicability of a U-Shape autocorrelation pattern of stock market returns. It is demonstrated that the U-Shape autocorrelation pattern in stock returns is typical of many stock markets, an observation that may be exploited in an attempt to generate a trading strategy which yields an abnormal return. The paper constructs several trading strategies which differ from one another along three dimensions: the sources of information, the weights set for an international portfolio and hedging strategies of foreign exchange risk exposure. The results clearly indicate that above normal returns can be obtained from past autocorrelation patterns in different markets.
The Determinants of the Reputations of Economics Departments: Pages Published, Citations and the Andy Rooney Effect
Authors: Smyth David J.
Published: March 2016

This paper analyzes the determinants of the ratings and rankings of Economics departments generated in a recent reputational study by the National Research Council. A department's reputation increases with the number of article pages published and the citation rate for its faculty's publications. A page in a “top five” journal is worth more than a page published in other journals. There are diminishing returns to pages published and to citations. The National Research Council ratings for private institutions are biased upwards and those for southern schools are biased downwards. A revised set of rankings with these biases removed is constructed. The optimum publication strategy for a department depends on the distribution of pages published between “top five” and other journals. Economists judged departments more harshly than faculty in other disciplines.
Negating the family: Ritual and Dionysus in modernist utopia
Authors: Dhúill Caitríona Ní
Published: March 2016

Formations such as gangs stand in a complex relationship to other, more conventional or socially normative groupings and collectives, such as the family. This article probes the gang’s function as a kind of alternative family and as a lens through which to view the relationship between family and non-family groupings. The tension between family and non-family is examined at the intersection between utopian order and Dionysian disorder as the gang incorporates elements of both. Drawing primarily on the utopian/dystopian fantasy of the German fin-de-siècle author Frank Wedekind, with reference also to other texts of the period (Thomas Mann, Alfred Kubin), and to 21st century cinematic reworkings of Wedekind (Lucile Hadzihalilovic, John Irvin), the article studies the Dionysian/utopian interface through the gang while conversely thinking the gang as a kind of Dionysian utopia, a in which family structures are undone in the name of an alternative erotic collective.
A Markov chain representation of the multiple testing problem
Authors: Cabras Stefano
Published: March 2016

The problem of multiple hypothesis testing can be represented as a Markov process where a new alternative hypothesis is accepted in accordance with its relative evidence to the currently accepted one. This virtual and not formally observed process provides the most probable set of non null hypotheses given the data; it plays the same role as Markov Chain Monte Carlo in approximating a posterior distribution. To apply this representation and obtain the posterior probabilities over all alternative hypotheses, it is enough to have, for each test, barely defined Bayes Factors, e.g. Bayes Factors obtained up to an unknown constant. Such Bayes Factors may either arise from using default and improper priors or from calibrating p-values with respect to their corresponding Bayes Factor lower bound. Both sources of evidence are used to form a Markov transition kernel on the space of hypotheses. The approach leads to easy interpretable results and involves very simple formulas suitable to analyze large datasets as those arising from gene expression data (microarray or RNA-seq experiments).
Service Quality Perception and Behavioural Intention
Authors: Kondasani Rama Koteswara Rao , Panda Rajeev Kumar
Published: March 2016

Private health care organizations are increasingly realizing the need to focus on service quality as a tool to improve their position in the highly competitive health care sector. Patients’ perception about health care services seems to have been largely ignored by health care providers in Indian private hospitals. The objective of the research is to analyze how customers’ service quality perception leads to positive behavioural intention towards service providers. For this purpose, the data were collected from a sample of 475 customers from Indian private hospitals. The analysis was used to analyze the customer service quality perception and behavioural intention. The findings indicate that service seeker and service provider relationship, quality of facilities and the interaction with supporting staff have a positive effect on customer perception. This piece of research may help the health care managers and organizations to formulate effective strategies for ensuring better quality of services to the customers. This study may further facilitate them in building positive behavioural intention of customers towards the health care services, thereby attracting and gaining more number of customers.
Personal Accounts of Discontinuing Neuroleptic Medication for Psychosis
Authors: Geyt Gabrielle Le , Awenat Yvonne , Tai Sara , Haddock Gillian
Published: March 2016

We conducted this study to explore personal accounts of making choices about taking medication prescribed for the treatment of psychosis (neuroleptics). There are costs and benefits associated with continuing and discontinuing neuroleptics. Service users frequently discontinue neuroleptics; therefore, we specifically considered these decisions. We used a grounded theory approach to analyze transcripts from interviews with 12 participants. We present a preliminary grounded theory of the processes involved in making choices about neuroleptic medication. We identified three tasks as important in mediating participants’ choices: (a) forming a personal theory of the need for, and acceptability of taking, neuroleptic medication; (b) negotiating the challenges of forming alliances with others; and (c) weaving a safety net to safeguard well-being. Progress in the tasks reflected a developmental trajectory of becoming an expert over time and was influenced by systemic factors. Our findings highlight the importance of developing resources for staff to facilitate service user choice.
The Social Reception of Women With Cancer
Authors: Gibson Alexandra F. , Broom Alex , Kirby Emma , Wyld David K. , Lwin Zarnie
Published: March 2016

Experiences of cancer are enmeshed with cultural understandings and social discourses around responsibility and causation. A cancer diagnosis can raise questions about its causation—including the role of the individual—whereas the disease and its treatment provide various social markers of illness. We present a sociological study of 81 women’s accounts of living with cancer, with a focus on how women interpret their illness, in light of their interpersonal interactions and accounts of social relations. Our analysis reveals women’s experiences of cancer diagnosis and treatment, the varied sociocultural meanings of cancer and the responses it elicits, the presence of moral assessments within everyday interactions, and the implications for the support and care they receive. We argue that the experience of cancer should be seen as intimately interwoven with its social reception and cultural sense-making practices, including normative constructs which promote ideas about (in)justice, responsibilization, and shame.
Using High-Probability Instructional Sequences and Explicit Instruction to Teach Multiplication Facts
Authors: Leach Debra
Published: March 2016

Students with learning disabilities often struggle with math fact fluency and require specialized interventions to recall basic facts. Deficits in math fact fluency can result in later difficulties when learning higher-level mathematical computation, concepts, and problem solving. The response-to-intervention (RTI) and multitiered-systems-of-support (MTSS) approaches for delivering research-based interventions to struggling learners provide educators with the structural frameworks necessary for planning tiered interventions to address skill deficits. Some schools have been implementing RTI/MTSS for years, while others have recently started using these frameworks. Regardless of the number of years delivering tiered interventions, educators benefit from learning about additional interventions they can implement for students requiring tertiary supports (i.e., Tier 3). This article provides readers with a detailed explanation of a Tier 3 multiplication fact fluency intervention that involves the use of high-probability instructional sequences and explicit, systematic, intensive instruction to increase motivation and fluency development.
Suicide and Social Justice
Authors: Button Mark E.
Published: March 2016

While individual cases of suicide can frequently generate widespread feelings of loss and grief, a collective sense of political responsibility for the enduring and differential conditions of suicidality remains missing today. The aim of this article is to develop the broad outlines of a political approach to suicide as a matter of social justice. In contrast to the dominant psychological and psychiatric approaches to the study and prevention of suicide, this article advances the thesis that suicide is a solitary “answer” to a set of collective and institutional questions about the conditions of a dignified human existence that we (i.e., most political societies) have not confronted in a meaningful or sustained way. I argue that a political account of suicide should ultimately point in the direction of a new right to life movement, the aim of which is to secure the conditions of human dignity for all persons.
Effects of LEP G2548A and LEPR Q223R Polymorphisms on Serum Lipids and Response to Simvastatin Treatment in Chinese Patients With Primary Hyperlipidemia
Authors: Li Kang , Liu Yanhong , Venners Scott A. , Hsu Yi-Hsiang , Jiang Shanqun , Weinstock Justin , Sun Yiyang , Wang Binyan , Xu Xiping
Published: March 2016

Objectives:

To investigate whether LEP G2548A and LEPR Q223R polymorphisms influence serum lipid levels and whether the 2 polymorphisms affect the efficacy of simvastatin treatment in Chinese patients with primary hyperlipidemia.

Methods:

We used an extreme sampling approach by selecting 212 individuals from the top and bottom 15% of adjusted lipid-lowering response residuals to simvastatin (n = 106 in each group of good or bad response) from a total of 734 samples with primary hyperlipidemia. They were treated with simvastatin orally 20 mg/d. Fasting serum lipids were measured at baseline and after 4 and 8 weeks of treatment. Genotyping was carried out using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism.

Results:

More patients in the good response group (27%) had LEPR Q223R than in the bad response group (16%, P = .046). Secondary stratified analyses showed that patients carrying the RR genotype of the LEPR Q223R gene had significantly higher high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels than those with the QR genotype at baseline ( P = .034) among good responders. After 29 consecutive days of treatment with simvastatin, patients carrying the RR genotype had a significantly larger decrease in triglycerides (change: −0.74 ± 0.92, P = .036) and total cholesterol levels (change: −1.77 ± 0.68, P = .023) compared with those carrying QR genotype among bad responders. After Bonferroni correction, the results were not statistically significant.

Conclusion:

LEPR Q223R polymorphism, but not LEP G2548A, could modulate the efficacy of simvastatin in Chinese patients with primary hyperlipidemia.
The Effects of Media Effects
Authors: Sherrick Brett
Published: March 2016

Prior research in the third-person effects domain has shown that people who believe in harmful media effects are more willing to engage in preventive or accommodative strategies, such as censorship. This research extends that supposition by testing a thus-far unstudied strategy: negative evaluations of media companies. Results show that an overall belief in harmful media effects is connected to negative evaluations of the media companies potentially responsible for those effects. The third-person perceptual gap is not related to these negative evaluations of media companies, suggesting important differences between third-person effects research and influence of presumed media influence research.
Discourses of Masturbation
Authors: Clark David
Published: March 2016

As an aspect of medieval sodomy, masturbation is often ignored or dismissed by medievalists. Although its status within medieval discourse on sex and gender is multiple and contested, this article demonstrates that it does have a recurrent cluster of associations, and it offers an important perspective on medieval masculinities and male sexuality. Moreover, far from constituting a meaningless, solitary act in medieval literature, on the contrary, masturbation is both overdetermined and always already relational.