Fiscal reform and governmental efficiency: Hanging tough

Many surveys of taxpayers in the wake of the fiscal reforms of the 1970's have indicated that frustration with the inefficiency and wastefulness of government is a major motive behind their votes for tax and expenditure limitations. There is a strongly held belief that government can do as much as it is currently doing with much less money. There is also a widespread belief that by reducing the dollar resources available to governments, they will be forced to become less wasteful and more efficient. This paper argues that increased efficiency in local government is an unlikely consequence of the fiscal reform movement. Indeed, lessened efficiency is a more probable outcome.We are indebted to Thomas Anton, Peter deLeon and an anonymous referee for comments on an earlier draft. The authors are, of course, solely responsible for all assertions and any remaining errors.     

Reasons for refraining from criminal activity

In order to establish the relative importance of reasons for not engaging in illegal activities, respondents were administered a questionnaire containing a list of possible factors that could account for not committing crimes, and were then asked to rank them. Multidimensional scaling analyses revealed the underlying structure of these factors. Specifically, respondents tended to structure their reasons based on the formality/informality of a negative consequence and the relative seriousness of a sanction.     

Is technology transfer more than a “mechanical” process?

Editorial Advisory Board