How much is good health worth?

A consumer-demand or subjective-value approach to valuing government health activities is recommended. The human-capital valuations generally used in cost-benefit analysis are unrelated to peoples' preferences and, therefore, irrelevant to political decisions. A number of important policy conclusions emerge from applying the suggested principle that government activities be valued on the basis of what people would be willing to pay for them: Beyond programs to aid the poor, government health efforts should be restricted to overcoming deficiencies in the operations of the private marketplace; that is, to regulatory actions, control of infectious disease and environmental pollution, and aid to biomedical research. Free services provided to the poor should be justified by the willingness of the nonpoor to pay for them. Thus, the preferences of the nonpoor are important in designing optimal poverty programs. Under present circumstances, direct money transfers to the poor seem preferable to further increases in poverty medical programs. The value of existing programs could be increased by giving more weight to what the poor want instead of what medical experts say is most important for their health.The people who have assisted in the preparation of this paper are truly too numerous to mention in total. I am particularly indebted to Ed Park and Jim DeHaven of Rand for their helpful discussions, to Paul Feldman of the Institute for Defense Analysis for ideas, stimulation, and encouragement, and to Dick Zeckhauser of Harvard for his perceptive comments on an earlier draft.     

When good news is scarce and bad news is good: Government responsibilities and opposition possibilities in political agenda‐setting

Recent studies have drawn attention to the political contingencies of the media's political agenda‐setting influence, finding, for instance, that issues from the media agenda are more likely to attract attention if a party enjoys ownership of the issue. Supplementing the debate on why political parties respond to news, it is argued in this article that ownership is only part of the picture and that policy responsibility, together with news tone, constitutes a stronger explanation of news politicisation. Opposition parties respond to bad news because they reflect negative developments in social problems for which the government could be held responsible. The government responds to good news that reflects positive developments in social problems because this could politicise policy success, but is also forced to react when news explicitly address government responsibility and thereby threatens its image as responsive and competent. Furthermore, it is shown that news tone and policy responsibility condition the incentive to politicise owned issues from the media agenda. Thus, opposition parties will not politicise owned issues when news is good because this could draw attention to government success, while government is unable and unwilling to prioritise owned issues when news is bad and instead is likely to make use of its ownership strengths when news is good and the pressure to respond is low. The arguments are tested on a large‐N sample of radio news stories from Denmark (2003–2004). Opposition response is measured through parliamentary questions spurred by the news stories, while government response is indicated by references to these stories in the prime minister's weekly press meeting. Results confirm the expectations, suggesting that parties care more about the tone of news stories and the type of attention they might produce, rather than what type of issues they could serve to politicise.     

A neo-communitarian approach to international relations: Rights and the good

New communitarianism is important even to those who care little about academic disputes. A greatly altered communitarian position lays the foundation for an international legal framework that is more comprehensive than the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is more attentive to beliefs in the East, and enhances the ability of nations that adhere to different values to find common ground on policies ranging from humanitarian interventions to fighting terrorist groups. The article first examines criticisms leveled against communitarianism and then highlights the ways a neo-communitarian approach has overcome these criticisms. The question of under what circumstances one nation may interfere in the internal affairs of another, especially to advance human rights, using means as different as cross cultural moral judgments to armed humanitarian interventions, serves as a litmus test for distinguishing the new from the old communitarian approach.     

Preventive servicing is good for business and affordable homeownership policy

Abstract

This article documents the growing importance of preventive servicing—business practices that emphasize early intervention in delinquency and default management practices that also help financially troubled borrowers avoid foreclosure. We suggest that the loan servicing side of the affordable housing delivery system may be underappreciated and undercapitalized.

We use a database of more than 28,000 affordable housing loans to test several preventive servicing‐related propositions and find that after we control for loan and borrower characteristics, the likelihood that a delinquent mortgagor within this universe will ultimately default varies significantly across servicers. This suggests that loan servicing is an important factor in determining whether low‐ and moderate‐income borrowers who fall behind in their mortgage payments will end up losing their homes through foreclosure. It also suggests a need for policy makers to incorporate preventive servicing into affordable homeownership programs.     

无限美妙的远大理想长期艰辛的不懈努力

江泽民同志在庆祝中国共产党成立八十周年大会上的讲话,以精辟的语言,深邃的思想,系统地阐发了我们党最高纲领和最低纲领的深刻内涵,以及两者的辩证统一关系,明确要求全党同志既要树立共产主义的远大理想,更要脚踏实地地为实现党在现阶段的基本纲领而不懈努力.这是中国共产党人站在时代的高度,面对国内外形势的深刻变化,对党的前进方向、历史任务和行动纲领的深刻总结,是中国共产党人为把我们伟大祖国建设成为富强、民主、文明的社会主义现代化国家,从而为全人类解放和共产主义事业的最终胜利而吹响的新的号角.     

Why the Electoral College is good for political science (and public choice)

While the Electoral College may not be good for the political system, it is very good for political science (and public choice). This essay documents many of the ways in which this assertion is true.     

谈5.12汶川地震灾害中对信息流的良好控制

5.12汶川大地震是一场巨大的灾难,灾难过后,幸存者自发形成了大量的群体,这属于一种集合行为.这种情况下,很容易产生非常态的信息传播,一旦这种传播被别有用心的人利用,就会给影响抗震救灾,并且给幸存者的身心再次带来伤害.所以要很好的控制集合行为中的信息流,特别是清除信息流中的谣言.在这次地震后,有针对性的信息传递活动很好的限制了谣言的传播,极大的支持了救灾活动和灾后的社会秩序的恢复.     

Why Overcoming Prejudice is Not Enough: A Rejoinder to Richard Rorty

Abstract

Misrecognition, taken seriously as unjust social subordination, cannot be remedied by eliminating prejudice alone. In this rejoinder to Richard Rorty, it is argued that a politics of recognition and a politics of redistribution can and should be combined. However, an identity politics that displaces redistribution and reifies group differences is deeply flawed. Here, instead, an alternative ‘status’ model of recognition politics is offered that encourages struggles to overcome status subordination and fosters parity of participation. Integrating this politics of recognition with redistribution enables a coherent Left vision that could redress injustices of culture and of political economy simultaneously.