Adverse selection and growth under IMF programs

The dominant approach to studying the effects of IMF programs has emphasized moral hazard, but we find that adverse selection has more impressive effects. We propose a novel strategic selection model to study the growth effects of IMF programs, which allows for the possibility of adverse selection. We find that adverse selection occurs: the countries that are most interested in participating in IMF programs are the least likely to have favorable growth outcomes. Controlling for this selection effect, we find that countries benefit from IMF programs on average in terms of higher growth rates, but that some countries benefit from participation, while others are harmed. Moral hazard predicts that long-term users of Fund resources benefit least from participating in programs, while adverse selection predicts the opposite. Contrary to previous findings, we find that IMF programs have more successful growth performance among long-term users than among short-term users.     

Are we using technology for technology's sake? An evaluation of a simulated employment exercise at undergraduate level

The technology enabled us to form a large cohort into small groups with relative ease. There is a considerable amount of literature discussing the optimum method of group formation to minimise conflict and maximise achievement. This paper argues that the formation of the group is not critical to its cohesion as long as staff are able to manage its operation; and it is the use of technology that facilitates this. Careful management of group work resulted in outstanding levels of student satisfaction with the process.     

Beyond “Sic Utere …” to the Regional General Welfare

Since the lower court opinions in Oakwood at Madison and Mt. Laurel, a definitive decision has been awaited from the New Jersey Supreme Court dealing with the issues of exclusion in housing and land use regulations. It was also expected that Justice Hall, author of the well-known Vickers' dissent, would have the chance to lead the majority in its decision, Though Madison reached the court first, it was fraught with delays and unusual circumstances, placing it in line behind Mt. Laurel. Thus, Mt. Laurel emerged as the vehicle for this court's important restatement of the law of municipal land use control. Announced March 24, 1975, the New Jersey Supreme Court's decision in Mt. Laurel was indeed written by Justice Hall—a valedictory of sorts just before his retirement from the bench in April.     

The Demise of US Spacepower: Not with a Bang but a Whimper

Spacepower is a critical element supporting the US national security strategy. As more nations gain access to technology, there is growing concern that space capabilities will be increasingly vulnerable to attack. However, a more insidious problem looms. For the last decade, the development and acquisition of US national security space systems have become more and more troubled with cost overruns and schedule delays. This grave situation has caught the attention of national security leadership and the US Congress. Panels of experts have proposed a litany of remedies. In this paper we explain and illustrate the importance of enhancing space power to better support national security needs and caution that many of the proposed acquisition solutions address symptoms, not the primary cause.

As history as shown…if the US offers an inviting target, it may well pay the price of attack. With the growing commercial and national security use of space, US assets in space and on the ground offer just such targets. The US is an attractive candidate for a ‘Space Pearl Harbor’. ¹ Report of the Commission to Assess United States National Security Space Management and Organization, Pursuant to Public Law 106–65, January 11, 2001, available at <<http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/space20010111.html>. This report is often referred to as the Space Commission Report.

This is the way the world ends

This is the way the world ends

This is the way the world ends

Not with a bang but a whimper. ² T.S. Eliot, ‘The Hollow Men’, 1925.      

Glycogenated squamous epithelial cells as a marker of foreign body penetration in sexual assault

Nonconsensual insertion of a foreign object into the vagina, anus, or mouth in some judicial jurisdictions is synonymous with rape, and elsewhere may constitute some degree of sexual assault or battery. Few techniques, however, are available to assist the criminalist in determining whether an object has been criminally inserted. Glycogenated epithelial cells have been used as a marker for vaginal epithelium, and as such, may indicate vaginal insertion if recovered from an object. This hypothesis was tested by studying orally and vaginally inserted objects from 42 volunteers and 20 rectally inserted objects recovered from cadavers. Glycogen positivity was assayed from smears of object swabbings stained with the periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) technique. More than 75 glycogen positive cells were recovered from 39 of 42 vaginally inserted objects. Glycogenated cells were recovered from 8 of 20 rectally inserted objects (5 with more than 100 positive cells). Of 42 orally inserted objects, 32 also contained glycogen positive cells, but none with more than 28 positive cells. No glycogen positive cells were seen in skin exposed but not inserted objects. Large numbers of glycogen cells were seen in dried saliva drops. Amylase activity was not seen on 5 of 20 orally inserted shields, and thus the possibility of noninsertional saliva contamination could not be ruled out with shields yielding only small numbers of positive cells. Recovery of large numbers of glycogenated cells from foreign objects is strongly suggestive of either vaginal or anal insertion assuming amylase negativity. Glycogen positive cells are not seen secondary to glabrous skin exposure.     

Economic performance and U.S. Senate elections: Reply

Major criticisms made by Chressanthis and Shaffer (C-S) are addressed: the authors' failure to include noneconomic variables in the regression model, the inclusion of open elections in the sample, and the use of variables other than the state unemployment rate as economic performance measures. Errors in C-S's interpretations are noted. Additional regression results are reported using modifications of the authors' original model. These suggest that the change (notrelative change as in C-S) in state unemployment rate is superior, and that the authors' model yields a stronger effect of state economic performance on election outcomes than does the C-S model.John Beck contributed helpful comments.