Patterns of offending in urban and rural areas

Although the level of crime varies dramatically across the urban-rural dimension, little research has been directed at the issue of the patterns of offending across this dimension. Using National Crime Survey (NCS) victimization data, this paper examines to what extent the patterns of offending by particular age, race, and sex subgroups are similar in urban and rural areas. It was found that the patterns of age, race, and sex offending are essentially the same in both urban and rural areas. Particularly impressive is the consistency in the rankings (from high to low) of the propensity of offending in urban and rural areas when age, race, and sex were examined simultaneously. Also, these NCS data generally parallel Uniform Crime Reports arrest data with respect to the offender characteristics of age, race, and sex. This suggests that existing criminological theories can be applied to rural, as well as urban, crime patterns regarding the issue of offender characteristics.     

Running against the status quo: Institutions for direct democracy referenda and allocations over time

Stylized institutions for direct democracy referenda are examined in a dynamic full information environment with myopic voters. Competitive-agenda (median-voter) processes are contrasted with monopolistic (controlled-agenda) processes by extending existing static analyses to a class of dynamic institutions not previously characterized, the status quo reversion rule. This highlights the dependence of the progression of real equilibrium allocations over time on institutional structure. By delineating the restrictions implied by each institutional form the model explains some persistent empirical regularities. In particular, a strict ceteris paribus ordering of the magnitudes of budgets by institutional form is derived for a wide portion of the parameter space.     

Potential role of the MNC as an agent of technology transfer for economic development

There is evidence that the multinational corporation (MNC) and a developing nation may have a set of mutually beneficial goals. This article investigates the goals of the multinational corporation and the goals of a developing nation. It then illustrates the mutual benefits in terms of resource identification, and technology selection and development. A planning mechanism is suggested. Finally, some guide lines are offered that should enhance the probability of cooperation.