Evaluating the success of urban success stories: Is reputation a guide to best practice?

Abstract

Do the reputations of central cities that have reportedly revitalized match reality? Can reputation alone be used to select best practices in urban public policy? In replicating research conducted a decade ago, we asked a panel of urban and economic development experts to identify, out of the universe of large, distressed central cities in 1990, those that had successfully revitalized between 1990 and 2000. We compared the performance of these successful cities with the performance of cities not perceived to be successful on a composite index of the change in the economic well‐being of residents from 1990 to 2000, as well as on a weighted index of economic, social, fiscal, and demographic change between 1990 and 2000.

Regardless of which index was used, there was a low correlation between reputation and reality. We draw lessons from this experiment on relying on best practice reputations in formulating and propagating public policies.     

Ownership of high-risk ("vicious") dogs as a marker for deviant behaviors: implications for risk assessment

This study examined the association between ownership of high-risk ("vicious") dogs and the presence of deviant behaviors in the owners as indicated by court convictions. We also explored whether two characteristics of dog ownership (abiding licensing laws and choice of breed) could be useful areas of inquiry when assessing risk status in settings where children are present. Our matched sample consisted of 355 owners of either licensed or cited dogs that represented high or low-risk breeds. Categories of criminal convictions examined were aggressive crimes, drugs, alcohol, domestic violence, crimes involving children, firearm convictions, and major and minor traffic citations. Owners of cited high-risk ("vicious") dogs had significantly more criminal convictions than owners of licensed low-risk dogs. Findings suggest that the ownership of a high-risk ("vicious") dog can be a significant marker for general deviance and should be an element considered when assessing risk for child endangerment.     

Safety issues as exemplified by the activities of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations: context for the safety and disclosure standards

The author, the General Counsel of the joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, discusses the concerns that have been raised about the Commission's Patient Safety standards and Sentinel Event policy. Mr. Bressler understands the view that compliance with the Commission's standards and procedures (which are designed to help advance safety in our healthcare system) could, in particular cases and under certain circumstances, heighten litigation risks, but emphasizes the benefits attainable from systematic analysis of errors. Moreover, the article concludes that thoughtful lawyering by counsel for healthcare organizations can help minimize any risks, pending legislation establishing the needed certainty in the law.     

Small-scale irrigation in sub-Saharan Africa: Sparse lessons,big problems,any solutions?

This paper identifies from studies made of specific schemes the major social and administrative problems confronting the improvement and extension of small-scale irrigation in Africa. The first section reviews the studies and notes the conclusions to be drawn from each separate one. Underlying these separate conclusions six general problems are identified and in the second section of the article each of these six is elaborated and discussed: the relation between the direct producer'S benefit and wider social benefits: problems of control, commitment to hierarchy, the working of production units, and how to learn from farmers in respect of water use; and finally the general problem of how to plan for the further change that follows after irrigation is introduced.     

The deterioration of deterrence effects of driving legislation: Have we been giving wrong signals to policymakers?

This paper suggests that the apparently observed initial success of legislation to control drunken driving accidents by law enforcement and sanctions, followed by a return of accident levels to initial trends may be an artifact of failure to properly model the accident process. The point is illustrated by simulating a model of accidents in which drunken driving is controllable with a change in laws. It shows that this control effect can easily be swamped by other plausible accident inducing forces. Finally, it is argued that the cost of failing to maintain efforts to control drunken driving may be greater than the social costs of maintaining high enforcement levels and stiff penalties.