Rent seeking and rent setting with asymmetric effectiveness of lobbying

This paper provides a more general model of the determination of rent-seeking costs by combining the following features: endogenous rent determination, asymmetric effectiveness of contending agents in their lobbying efforts, and multiple periods. In doing so, the paper generalizes some aspects of the work of Applelbaum and Katz (1987), Rogerson (1982), Leininger (1992) and Kohli (1992). Some results obtained are: (i) in the short run, when the regulator's salary is higher than in an alternative occupation, both the per unit cost of rent-seeking and the total rent set by regulator are highest for the same value of the relative effectiveness parameter; (ii) in the long run, an increase in the effectiveness parameter leads to a reduction in the social costs of rent seeking; (iii) in a repeated game, the equilibrium rent is lower the higher is the regulator's discount factor.     

“The Rain Grows Plants,the Thunder Does Not”: Refugee Mothers’ Narratives on Child Abuse and Neglect

Abstract

Child abuse and neglect are regarded as a public health problem in the United States and around the world. While refugee families experience extreme parenting stress as they resettle, little attention is placed upon how refugee women themselves view child abuse and neglect. The primary objective of this qualitative exploratory research project was to document, through interviews, the compelling narratives of 17 refugee women regarding child abuse and neglect. We discuss the unique struggles faced by refugee families while parenting their children as they resettle in the United States. Recommendations are provided for professionals working with children and refugee families.     

Directed credit and investment in small‐scale industry in India: Evidence from firm‐level data 1965–78

Panel data on 788 modern sector Indian firms during 1965–78 are used to analyse the link between the size of a firm and its financial environment. Exogeneity tests reveal that large firms with improved investment prospects could obtain external finance at the margin, but that small firms could not. The policy of directing bank credit accordingly relaxed a binding constraint on small firms, raising investment. Assuming that all of the rise in the credit‐sales ratio in small firms was policy‐induced then so was about one third of the 170 per cent rise during 1965—78 in their investment—sales ratio.     

Nationalist Versus Dependent Capitalist Development: Alternate Pathways of Asia and Latin America in a Globalized World

When compared to Latin America, Asian economies since 1980 have grown faster and have done so with relatively modest inequalities. Why? A comparison of Asia and Latin America underlines the superiority of the nationalist capitalist model of development, which has often been pursued more explicitly in Asia, over that of a dependent capitalist model, which has often been pursued in Latin America. In comparison to Latin America, the Asian model has facilitated higher and less volatile rates of economic growth and a greater political room to pursue social democratic policies. The “tap root” of these alternate pathways is relative autonomy from global constraints: states and economies in Asia have been more nationalist and autonomous than in Latin America.     

The development and initial validation of the dating attitudes inventory: a measure of the gender context of dating violence in men

The development and initial psychometric investigation of the Dating Attitudes Inventory (DAI) is reported. The DAI was created, to fill a gap in the literature and to measure specific masculine ideology and traditional gender attitudes that rationalize the abuse of women. Using a sample (n = 164) of male college students, a 20-item measure was developed consisting of two subscales (Rationalization of Abuse and Dominance and Control) and a total score. The 20-item DAI and other measures used for validation were completed by 216 male college students. The DAI correlated in theoretically expected ways with measures of propensity for abusiveness, relational dominance, and masculine gender role stress. A confirmatory factor analysis supported the two theorized factors of the DAI. Results of the present study offer initial support for the validity and reliability of the DAI. The authors discuss the importance of measuring masculine gender role attitudes and beliefs that support and rationalize dating violence.     

State, Business, and Economic Growth in India

For the past 25 years, India’s economy has grown at an average rate of nearly 6% annually. The widely embraced argument that this growth acceleration results from the Indian state’s adoption of a pro-market strategy is inadequate for two reasons: the higher growth rate began a full decade before the liberalizing 2reforms in 1991; and post-1991 industrial growth has not accelerated. Instead, India’s economy has grown briskly because the Indian state has prioritized growth since about 1980, and slowly embraced Indian capital as its main ruling ally. This pro-business growth strategy is likely to have adverse distributional and political consequences.