Affect and Fairness in Economics

A strained relationship exists between mainstream economics and ethics. Over the last decade, behavioral economists have strongly argued for the importance of fairness in motivating behavior, based on substantial experimental evidence. Two main approaches to the modeling of fairness have been proposed: the outcome-based inequity aversion approach, and the intention-based reciprocity approach. Both approaches have been quite successful in explaining the experimental evidence. Nonetheless, this paper questions the role that is assigned to fairness in these models and the way fairness is incorporated, using recent experimental findings concerning emotions and fairness perceptions. The analysis supports the view that feelings are important for justice, also from a policy perspective, and pleads for closer attention being paid to the functioning of emotional brain systems.

Predicting the effect of substance abuse treatment on probationer recidivism

Support for the effectiveness of substance abuse treatment to reduce substance use and recidivism among populations supervised by the criminal justice system continues to grow in substance abuse and criminal justice literature. Recent studies show that a variety of programs including the Breaking the Cycle program and drug courts appear to result in improved outcomes for offenders. In this paper, we examine the effect of non-residential substance abuse treatment on arrest. Our data are for almost 134,000 ‘drug-involved’ individuals sentenced to probation in Florida between July 1995 and June 2000. Nearly 52,000 of these individuals received non-residential substance abuse treatment, while 81,797 did not. Our approach is a methodologically simple one that entails stratifying our data by treatment status, estimating logit and negative binomial models of arrest for each of the two datasets, and then applying each model to both datasets. This approach, which requires that both groups include subjects for whom treatment is appropriate, is analogous to using regression models to predict outcomes for new values of independent variables. For each observation in the dataset, we use the models to predict the expected outcomes for each individual under two scenarios – receiving non-residential treatment and receiving no treatment. Summing over these individual estimates provides an estimate of the total numbers of arrests that would be expected under different levels of population exposure to treatment. Results suggest that non-residential treatment reduced both the expected numbers of individuals who recidivated (i.e., were arrested) and the expected total numbers of arrests in the 12 and 24 months following placement on supervision.**RTI is an independent organization dedicated to conducting innovative, multidisciplinary research that improves the human condition.     

Jan Christian Smuts (1870–1950) in Context: An Answer to Mazower and Morefield

This article engages with the recent scholarship of Mark Mazower and Jeanne Morefield regarding the South African and Commonwealth statesman Jan Christian Smuts (1870–1950), and in particular with their contention that Smuts was preoccupied with issues of racial superiority, and that this was his main motivator in matters of politics, both internationally and domestically. However, during his lifetime Smuts did not see the ‘Native question’ in the form in which it manifested from the 1950s onwards. It is therefore unfair and inaccurate to over-emphasise the racial question when writing about Smuts. Any historical account of Smuts must keep at least one eye on what Smuts could not have foreseen and must place Smuts in the context of his own time. Progression from smaller to greater wholes – one white nation instead of two language sections; a united South Africa instead of divided colonies and republics; membership of self-governing Dominions in a single British Commonwealth, and membership of international organisations, in particular the League of Nations, and later the United Nations – these were the ends to which Smuts’ energies were unreservedly devoted throughout his career. This is the correct lens through which to view Smuts’ liberal credentials.     

Recent legal developments

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE LAW OF TRUSTS. By Simon Gardner. [Clarendon Press. Oxford. 1990. First Edition. 250 pp. £25.00 (hardback), £11.95 (paperback).]

EXPLAINING CONSTRUCTIVE TRUSTS. By Gbolahan Elias. [Clarendon Press. Oxford. 1990. First Edition. 177 pp. £25.00 (hardback).]

CHARLESWORTH &; PERCY ON NEGLIGENCE. By R. A. Percy. [Sweet &; Maxwell. Eighth Edition. 1,232 pp. incl. index. £135.00 (hardback).]

CLARITY FOR LAWYERS. By Mark Adler. [The Law Society. 1990. First edition. 128 pp. £10.00 (paperback).]

PLANNING LAW AND PROCEDURE. By A. E. Telling. [Butterworths. Eighth edition. 385 pp. incl. index. £16.95 (paperback).]

PRACTICAL APPROACH TO PLANNING LAW. By V. Moore. [Blackstone Press Ltd. Second edition. 401 pp. incl. index &; appendices. £19.95 (paperback).]

THE EVIDENCE OF CHILDREN. By J. R. Spencer and R. Fun. [Blackstone Press. 1990. 362 pp. £19.50 (paperback).]

CROSS ON EVIDENCE. By C. Tapper. [Butterworths. 1990. Seventh edition. 757 pp. £22.95 (paperback).]

EMPLOYMENT LAW. By C. J. Carr and P. J. Kay. [M. &; E. Handbook. Pitman Publishing. 1990. Fifth edition, xxiv &; 232 pp. (inc. index). £7.99 (paperback).]

REVISION WORKBOOK: LAND LAW. By Gordon Henry.

A PARENTS’ GUIDE TO THE LAW. By Jeannie Mackie and Lesley Taylor [Penguin Books. 1990. 419 pp. (inc. index). £7.99 (paperback).]

A GUIDE TO INHERITANCE CLAIMS. By Nasreen Pearce. [Fourmat Publishing. 1989. 162 pp. £12.95 (paperback).]     

Naming for kin and the development of modern family structures

It is generally assumed that the conjugal family—the family that lived independently from extended kin—came into existence in the Netherlands relatively early, and that a new attitude towards children, characterized by an emphasis on the individuality of the child, developed at more or less the same time. To test whether this more narrow range of kin and the stronger emphasis on the individuality of the child translated itself also in a deviation from the traditional practice of naming newborn children for kin, the article analyzes naming patterns in a rural area of the Netherlands during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The conclusion is that the rise of the conjugal family and the new attitude that recognized the child as an autonomous individual had no impact on the degree of naming for kin. In a more general sense, the findings raise doubts about the idea that changes in family structures and mentality directly express themselves in changes in naming practices.     

Social capital and crime in New York City's low‐income housing

Abstract

This article presents evidence that components of social capital can play a prospective role in preventing crime in low‐income housing. It develops a conceptual approach to crime prevention involving social capital, alternative forms of ownership, and environmental design considerations. The study compares five programs that house New York City's poorest, mostly minority residents. The effectiveness of social capital in preventing crime is assessed using data from surveys of 487 buildings in Brooklyn, NY, and crime data from the New York City Police Department.

Results of the analysis indicate that three components of social capital—basic participation in tenant associations, tenant prosocial norms, and a building's formal organization—were all related to reducing various types of crime in the buildings under study 6 to 12 months after social capital was measured. The effectiveness of social capital was related to alternative ownership structures, building characteristics, and housing policy.     

Social capital and the revitalization of New York City's distressed inner‐city housing

Abstract

This article presents evidence that social capital can be an effective component of locally sponsored low‐income housing programs. It provides a model for measuring social capital at the building level, where it may be most effective in improving housing quality and security. The study compares five programs in New York City that house the city's poorest, mostly minority residents. The surveys from 487 buildings in Brooklyn, NY, were analyzed to compare the success of programs in maintaining and revitalizing landlord‐abandoned buildings taken by the city in lieu of taxes.

Results of the analysis demonstrate that the positive effects of tenant ownership were largely mediated by the higher levels of social capital found in these buildings. These levels have implications for the survival and economic advancement of poor households and civic participation in poor communities. The study suggests the value of alternative homeownership programs.