In Pursuit of the Public Interest

What does the injunction “serve the public interest” really mean for public managers, and why is it important? By way of an answer, this analysis systematizes different perspectives on the public interest and offers a multifaceted formulation of the public manager’s duty. It is a process involving the exploration of two concerns—democracy and mutuality—in the current time frame and two others—sustainability and legacy—in the future time frame.     

Forensic neuropsychology and the criminal law

This article explores theoretical and empirical issues in the application of clinical neuropsychological evidence to forensic issues in the criminal law. The nature of forensic neuropsychological evaluations is discussed with reference to issues of competency to stand trial, criminal responsibility, and other competencies in the criminal process. Examples of specific disorders relevant to criminal law standards are presented, together with data estimating the prevalence of brain dysfunction in criminal and forensic populations. Research is also reviewed on the role of neuropsychological brain dysfunction in the etiology of violence and criminally relevant behavior. Finally, empirical and ethical issues concerning the applicability and admissibility of forensic neuropsychological data in the criminal context are discussed.     

Technology policy and defense conversion in Israel, 1967–1995

Technology policies and their effect on technology transfer from defense to civilian industries in Israel from 1967 to 1995 are explored. Defense technology policy is found to drive the growth of the defense industry and to limit defense conversion to commercialization initiatives developed primarily through intra-organizational technology transfer. The case of the Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) is presented. Also the development of national technology policy in Israel is traced and found wanting. Civilian and defense technology policies are found to be uncoordinated with each other and together are incapable of producing interorganizational technology transfer so as to significantly effect defense conversion on a wide number of economic actors particularly small firms. To achieve a socially effective defense conversion process (in which technologies are transferred from defense firms to many economic actors), the analysis suggests that a national technology policy should be designed and implemented under Prime Minister's leadership.     

Optimal Law Enforcement with a Rent-Seeking Government

This article analyzes public and private law enforcement whenthe government is motivated by rent seeking. A rent-seekinggovernment seeks primarily to maximize revenue. The articleconcludes as follows: (1) if offenders have sufficient wealth,a rent-seeking government is more aggressive than a social-welfare-maximizinggovernment in enforcing laws against minor crimes (such as parkingviolations) but more lax in enforcing laws against major crimes;(2) competitive private enforcement is usually better and neverworse than monopolistic private enforcement; (3) The choicebetween competitive private enforcement and public enforcementdepends on which is cheaper and on the severity of the offense.     

NETWORK REGULATION: THE MANY FACES OF ACCESS

Telecommunications regulation has experienced a fundamentalshift from rate regulation to increased reliance on compelledaccess, perhaps best exemplified by the Telecommunications Actof 1996's imposition of no fewer than four new access requirements.Unfortunately, each access requirement is governed by a separateset of rules for determining both the scope and the price ofaccess. The resulting ad hoc regime has created difficult definitionalproblems and opportunities for regulatory arbitrage. In thisarticle we propose a system inspired by the discipline of mathematicsknown as graph theory that integrates all of the different formsof access into a single analytical framework. This system separatesdifferent access regimes into five categories: (1) retail access,(2) wholesale access, (3) interconnection access, (4) platformaccess, and (5) unbundled access. It also provides insightsinto how each type of access complicates the already difficultproblems of network configuration and management and introducesinefficient biases into decisions about network capacity anddesign. The approach we propose also provides insights intothe transaction cost implications of the different types ofaccess. Drawing on the Coasean theory of the firm, our approachexamines the tradeoffs between internal governance costs andthe external transaction costs of providing access to offera theory of network boundaries. This framework shows how accessregulation distorts networks' natural boundaries and providesa basis for evaluating whether private ordering through marketswould lead to more efficient network design.     

A CRITIQUE OF PROFESSOR CHURCH'S REPORT ON THE IMPACT OF VERTICAL AND CONGLOMERATE MERGERS ON COMPETITION

We discuss Professor Jeffrey Church's report to the EuropeanCommission in 2004 on the effects of vertical restraints andmergers. Although thorough and accurate, the report could bemisinterpreted by practitioners, as it does not emphasize thatmarket power is only a necessary condition for harm to competition,and that most vertical mergers that present the possibilityof competitive harm also present economic efficiencies thatare intrinsic to the integration.     

Aednet: A single-discipline network in a multi-national setting

The computer-mediated network is a moderately expanding phenomenon. A major reason for this growth is the need for transferring technology to developing nations. But because many of these nations are not traditional users of advanced technology and because even the purveyors are not yet fully comfortable with the networks, the medium is not being used as much as perhaps it ought to be. In establishing a multinational network, one should be careful to treat all potential users with equity and not create an informational elite. Part of the challenge of such a system is making it accessible to operatives in the field. An effective way of introducing a network is to blend it with existing technologies, keep the costs down and the quality of information up, provide a usable information-retrieval system, and pay attention to microand macro-ergonomics. The Adult Education Network (AEDNET) of the Kellogg Project at Syracuse University has started working on a next-generation computer-mediated network system. It is proposed that AEDNET involve three action groups in the project: researchers, those interested in social implications, and users.