Federal funding formulas and the 1980 census

Distribution of federal funds has achieved equal status with Congressional reapportionment as a motivation and justification for the Census of Population and Housing. This article describes the effects that U.S. population redistribution during the 1970s, as measured by the 1980 Census, will have on the spatial distribution of federal grants-in-aid provided to state and local governments through programs with formula-based funding systems. The conclusion is that funding changes will not match population changes. The overall redistribution of federal grants-in-aid to state and local governments occurring in response to incorporation of 1980 Census population counts into federal funding formulas will be far less than the level of population redistribution since 1970. Use of intercensal data, formula specifications, limited geographic specificity in many formula allocations, and nonformula determinants of formula-based grants all weaken the relationship between Census-measured population change and the receipt of federal funds at the local level. Despite all the intervening factors, it is probably that in many programs there will be some redistribution of funds when the 1980 Census counts are incorporated into the allocation formulas. But the importance of measurement errors and threshold and reclassification effects may equal that of true population change in determining the funds received by local communities.     

Expert testimony on decision processes in employment cases

The 1991 Civil Rights Act and recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions have modified standards applicable to psychometric or statistical proof of discrimination in employment cases. Changes in the legal standards have increased the role for psychological experts to prove or rebut allegations of disparate impact of hiring or promotional criteria, whether those criteria caused the observed disparities in the workforce, and whether the legitimate needs of the employer were substantially served by the employer's selection criteria. Three different methods or approaches to meet the legal standards are discussed: (a) reliance on traditional psychometric validity analyses; (b) regression analysis or the policy-capturing method; and (c) the survey data approach. These techniques are illustrated by reference to three cases in which experts successfully presented this evidence. While the application of the 1991 Civil Rights Act remains somewhat unclear, these approaches may prove useful in future employment discrimination cases.The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or any other government agency.     

Beyond asymmetry: cooperation,conflict and globalisation in Mexico-China relations

Abstract

Academic commentary has long emphasised the asymmetry in Mexico-China relations. In particular, much attention has focussed since the early 1990s particularly from the Mexican side on the economic imbalance in trade and investment that has become and remains acute with the expansion of the economy of the People's Republic of China. This is though far from the only sense in which the relationship between the two countries is asymmetrical. There is also a severe imbalance in the relative importance of politics and economics as determinants of this relationship for both China and Mexico. The Mexican Government seems to be more concerned with its economic relationship with China. In contrast, the PRC Government seems more concerned with its political relationship with Mexico. Moreover, there is a further asymmetry in the respective significance that each appears to have to the other as a partner. Mexico plays a small role in China's outlook but China looms large in Mexico's worldview. Identification of a number of cross-cutting asymmetrical relationships suggests that a bilateral perspective may not be the most effective for understanding the interaction or potential interaction between Mexico and China. On the contrary, there is more logic to the elements of cooperation and conflict between Mexico and China when their relationship is viewed in the wider, multilateral context of globalisation.