Competition versus regulation: some empirical evidence

In response to dramatic rises in health care costs, policymakers have been debating the relative merits of regulatory and competitive strategies as a means of containing costs. One major activity espoused by proponents of competition is the growth of health maintenance organizations (HMOs) which, in their opinion, will result in the market better determining efficient levels of utilization and costs. Extending this argument, the larger the percent of the population in a market area who enroll in HMOs, the greater the market-forcing effect of HMOs in reducing overall hospital expenditures; that is, if HMOs are providing lower-cost care, then the fee-for-service system will be forced to reduce costs in order to be competitive. The authors studied the 25 largest SMSAs from 1971-1981, and controlling for environmental conditions in each market, they examined the impact of both HMO growth and regulatory activity on costs and utilization. They conclude that neither competition nor regulation had a significant impact in reducing overall hospital costs. While there may have been some impact in specific communities, no generalizable effect could be observed. However, the authors did find that increases in costs and utilization were essentially driven by supply factors such as the number of hospital beds or medical specialists in a given community.     

Bankruptcy systems and economic performance across countries: some empirical evidence

This paper examines the relationship between the insolvency systems and the investment share of GDP across countries. The objective is to find out the relationship between bankruptcy procedures and economic performances around the world. Empirical evidence suggests that: (1) the investment share of GDP is higher in those countries characterized by highly efficient bankruptcy system; the more efficient the insolvency procedures in terms of time, cost and recovery rate, the more readily available debt is and the higher the Investment/GDP ratio is; (2) the investment share of gross domestic product is positively associated with the degree of sophistication of the Bankruptcy Law, at least below a certain level of legal production; (3) data suggest some complementary effect between Bankruptcy Law and Enforcement for rich countries, while the interaction term indicates some substitution effect when poor countries are considered. Some policy implications conclude the work.     

The contribution of universities to growth: empirical evidence for Italy

New entrepreneurial ventures may represent a viable and effective mechanism to transform academic knowledge into regional economic growth. We test this notion for the Italian provinces between 2001 and 2006. We evaluate three outputs of academic activities: teaching, research and intellectual property rights activities. New ventures may be able to transform the mentioned outputs into improved economic performance. The findings show that the effects of academic outputs on provincial economic growth (all sectors) are appreciable when they are associated with sustained entrepreneurial activities in the province. It suggests that academic inquiry may provide new ventures with valuable commercial opportunities overseen by established companies.     

Sex trafficking in Cambodia: fabricated numbers versus empirical evidence

Large numbers of sex trafficking victims, on the order of 80,000–100,000, have been alleged to exist in Cambodia over the past decade. Empirical results obtained from measuring the numbers of such victims in Cambodia are contrasted with the lack of support for the widely circulated guesstimates of these numbers. Examples of similar fabrications are discussed and followed through some of their early publication history. The methodology of conducting empirical field research in less developed countries is discussed and the origin of the guesstimates is probed in detail. Both the multiple methodologies employed by and the results of a program of empirical research on trafficking numbers in Cambodia conducted from 2002 to 2008 are discussed. These are compared with the results of additional empirical studies, and with the guesstimates. The existence of empirical results creates location knowledge of victims, presenting ethical questions.     

Gathering human intelligence via repeated interviewing: further empirical tests of the Scharff technique

Research on investigative interviewing has only recently started to compare the efficacy of different techniques for gathering intelligence from human sources. So far the research has focused exclusively on sources interviewed once, thus overlooking that most sources are interviewed multiple times. The present study attempts to remedy this gap in the literature. Students (N?=?66) took on the role of semi-cooperative sources, holding incomplete information about an upcoming terrorist attack. The sources were informed that they would be interviewed at least once, and that additional interviews might follow. Half of the sources were interviewed on three occasions with the Scharff technique (consisting of five tactics), and the other half was interviewed on three occasions using the so-called direct approach (i.e. open-ended and specific questions). Collapsing the outcome over the three interviews, the Scharff technique resulted in significantly more new information compared to the direct approach. Furthermore, sources interviewed by the direct approach overestimated how much new information they had revealed, whereas the sources interviewed by the Scharff technique underestimated their contribution (although not significantly so). The current study advances previous research by further contextualizing the tests of the efficacy of human intelligence gathering techniques.     

Gender differences in police officers' attitudes: Assessing current empirical evidence

Research on attitudinal differences between female and male police officers has burgeoned since the 1980s, producing a rich albeit at times contradictory legacy. Focusing on quantitative studies published after 1990, this current study reviewed empirical results regarding attitudinal differences between female and male police officers. A comprehensive search of the literature yielded thirty-three articles where gender was used either as an independent or control variable in multivariate regression analysis. A general finding was that officer gender has only a weak effect on officers' attitudes toward community policing, the community and neighborhood residents, job satisfaction, and domestic violence. There was some limited evidence showing that male and female officers differ in their attitudes toward the police role and stress. The limitations of this research are pointed out, and the directions for future research are identified.     

Taking behavioralism seriously: some evidence of market manipulation

Over the last ten to fifteen years, economists and legal scholars have become increasingly interested in and sensitive to behavioralist insights. In a companion article, Jon Hanson and Douglas Kysar argued that those scholars have nevertheless given short shrift to what is, at least for policymaking purposes, perhaps the most important lesson of the behavioralist research: individuals' perceptions and preferences are highly manipulable. According to Hanson and Kysar, one theoretical implication of that insight for products liability law is that manufacturers and marketers will manipulate the risk perceptions of consumers. Indeed, to survive in a competitive market, manufacturers and marketers must do so. In this Article, Hanson and Kysar present empirical evidence of market manipulation--a previously unrecognized source of market failure. The Article begins by surveying the extensive qualitative and quantitative marketing research and consumer behavioral studies that discern and influence consumer perceptions. It then provides evidence of market manipulation by reviewing common practices in everyday market settings, such as gas stations and supermarkets, and by examining familiar marketing approaches, such as environmentally oriented and fear-based advertising. Although consumers may be well-aware of those practices and approaches, they appear to be generally unaware of the extent to which those tactics are manipulative. The Article then focuses on the industry that has most depended upon market manipulation: the cigarette industry. Through decades of sophisticated marketing and public relations efforts, cigarette manufacturers have heightened consumer demand and lowered consumer risk perceptions. Because consumers are aware that smoking may pose significant health risks, the tobacco industry's success in manipulating risk perceptions constitutes especially strong evidence of the power of market manipulation. The Article concludes by arguing that the evidence of market manipulation may justify moving to a regime of enterprise liability. Indeed, according to Hanson and Kysar, the evidence of market manipulation confirms the intuitions of the first generation of product liability scholars, who worried about manufacturers' power to manipulate and called for just such a regime.     

Economics of court performance: an empirical analysis

This paper proposes an empirical analysis of Spanish court performance using the economic approach. An econometric model will be estimated in order to answer two basic questions: (1) why some courts’ output it is greater than others? (2) Could courts produce a higher output using their actual resources? In addition it will be determine, by means of an analysis of variance (ANOVA), whether courts showing higher than average output have dictated resolutions with a higher reversal rate.     

Informed consent in Canada: an empirical study

The case of Reibl v. Hughes has significantly altered the law regarding informed consent in Canada. It might be expected, therefore, that its impact on the Canadian medical profession would be significant. However, in the first study to examine the practice of Canadian doctors in this respect, Professor Robertson concludes that the profession is largely unaware of either the decision or its importance. Further, the study examines doctors' current perceptions and opinions on the disclosure of risks to patients and the results, among others, raise serious questions regarding both the awareness and reception of important legal rulings.     

Evaluating health planning: empirical evidence on HSA regulation of prepaid group practices

The regulation of HMOs by health planning agencies serves as a "tracer" to aid in evaluating HSAs, and as a source of empirical evidence for the heretofore largely theoretical health policy debate between market reformers and regulators. Two complementary studies (the authors' 1979 survey investigating the hospitalization policies of prepaid group practices, and AMPI 's study of all HMO applications submitted to HSAs from 1975 through mid-1978) provide information about the extent of HMO applications to planning agencies, the rate of rejections, the burden of the planning process of HMOs, and the possibility that negative perceptions of regulation may have led HMOs to refrain from activities requiring planning approval. Both studies reveal that health planning review was detrimental to 20 to 30 percent of HMOs. Thus data collected during the period of extensive HSA regulation of HMOs seem to justify the current policy that gives HSAs only very limited authority over HMOs.