The potential of children as eyewitnesses

This study examined children's capabilities in an eyewitness task. Subjects aged five to twenty-two years viewed a confederate interacting with the experimenter and later were asked to tell what had happened, to answer objective questions (including a leading question), and to identify the confederate from 6 photos. The results indicated that although young children were unable to freely narrate what they had observed as thoroughly as adults, they were as accurate as adults in answering objective questions and in identifying the confederate from 6 photos. Additionally, there were no age differences in susceptibility to leading questions.     

Leveling the Odds: The Effect of Quality Legal Representation in Cases of Asymmetrical Capability

How much does attorney quality influence the outcome of cases in which one litigant is significantly more capable than the other? Using a unique dataset of all asylum merits decision from 1990 to 2010, we find that high quality representation evens the odds for asylum applicants and that not being represented by legal counsel is actually better than being represented by a poor lawyer. In this analysis, we draw on a modified party capability theory and create new measures of attorney capability. We find that variation in attorney capability is a primary driver of the disparity in asylum outcomes in U.S. immigration courts and that a likely causal mechanism for this influence is the judge‐specific reputation of an attorney.     

Supports for Families Affected by Substance Abuse

Using an in-home services program model, Project Connect works collaboratively with the child welfare system, substance abuse treatment providers, the courts, and other community agencies to support parental recovery, enhance safety and permanency, and strengthen family relationships. Results from the most recent evaluation of the program, which used a dosage level design to examine project outcomes for 415 families, are presented here. Data indicate that the program was particularly helpful in strengthening parenting capacity. Child safety and permanency were also positively correlated with program participation.     

Productivity growth of East Asia economies' manufacturing: A decomposition analysis

Applying a stochastic production frontier to sector-level data within manufacturing, this paper examines total factor productivity (TFP) growth for seven East Asian economies during 1963–98, using both single country and cross-country regressions. The analysis focuses on the trend in technological progress (TP) and technical efficiency change (TEC), and the role of productivity change in economic growth. The empirical results reveal that although input factor accumulation is still the main source for East Asian economies' growth, TFP growth is accounting for an increasing and important proportion of output growth, among which the improved TEC plays a crucial role in productivity growth.     

Explaining the Divergence in Asylum Grant Rates among Immigration Judges: An Attitudinal and Cognitive Approach

In seeking to understand the variation in asylum grant rates by immigration judges (IJs), we apply a variation of the attitudinal model that we modify by incorporating a cognitive model of decision making, arguing that some pieces of information before IJs are treated objectively while others are treated subjectively. This model allows us to account for informational cues that influence decisions while assessing the impact of national interests and human rights conditions. We find that IJ policy predispositions play a dominant role, and that liberal IJs respond to applicant characteristics differently than conservatives, but also that the law constrains decision making.