Free Riding in State Legislatures

This paper applies the theory of team production to thelegislative process and tests the empiricalimplications of that theory using a uniquestate-level data set. Empirically testablehypotheses are derived from the theory,including predictions that free riding willincrease as chamber (or majority) sizeincreases, and that legislativeinstitutions (such as committee structureand staffing levels) can mitigate freeriding. The hypotheses are tested using apooled state-level data set developed fromthe session laws of twenty-three statelegislatures. The empirical results areconsistent with the major hypotheses.     

Accelerating Municipal Bond Market Development in Emerging Economies: An Assessment of Strategies and Progress

The advantages of using municipal bonds to finance urban infrastructure are increasingly evident to policymakers in emerging economies, some of whom are undertaking efforts to accelerate the development of municipal bond markets in their countries. Many of these efforts use the strengths of the U.S. municipal market as a guide to suggest the kinds of market characteristics necessary to attract issuers as well as investors to the marketplace. Features of the U.S. market are often difficult to recreate in these countries in the short run, but policymakers are using a variety of innovative techniques to approximate essential market characteristics. This article reviews these efforts in four emerging economies: Indonesia, the Philippines, Poland, and South Africa.     

Distributive politics,ward representation,and the spread of zoning

This analysis examines two alternative explanations for the adoption of comprehensive zoning ordinances in the years immediately following its initial adoption in New York City. The market failure explanation predicts zoning adoption in cities where externality problems (represented by heavy incidence of manufacturing) exist. The distributive policymaking model treats zoning as a form of regulation that is most likely to be found in cities where local legislators are elected from geographically-concentrated constituencies (e.g., wards) and therefore try to target policy benefits to their own constituencies while spreading the policy costs over all constituencies. Some support is found for each model. Especially striking is the interactive effect of ward representation and of economic interest (i.e., levels of home ownership).     

Labor market experiences of low-income black women in middle-class suburbs: Evidence from a survey of gautreaux program participants

This article reports on a highly unusual experiment in racial and economic integration, the Gautreaux program. This program helps black families who are either current or former residents of public housing move into subsidized housing in Chicago and its suburbs. Surveying a random sample of 332 participants, we find that suburban movers are significantly more likely to have a job post-move than city movers, even among those who had never had a job before moving. Multivariate analysis shows that these differences are significant even after controlling for respondents' previous work history, human capital, and personal characteristics. These results suggest that low-income urban blacks experience significant gains in employment by moving to middle-class suburbs. Thus, housing assistance may be an effective alternative to traditional welfare-to-work programs.     

Pathologic features of childhood pedestrian fatalities

A retrospective analysis of 68 cases of fatal childhood pedestrian accidents in South Australia that occurred over a 20-year period from January 1977 to December 1996 was undertaken. The age range was 12 months to 16 years (average, 7.6 years), with a male to female ratio of 41:27. The most common site of significant injury was the head (91.2%), followed by the abdomen (50%), chest (47.1%), and neck (38.2%). The most frequently encountered significant injury combinations involved the head, chest, and abdomen (14.7%); the head and chest (11.8%); and the head, neck, and abdomen (11.8%). Injuries were severe, consisting of extensive compound and comminuted skull fractures, neck fractures, and massive intraparenchymal brain and internal organ damage with avulsions and fragmentation. Non-life-threatening limb injuries occurred in 88% of cases. A distinct subgroup involved infants and younger children playing in driveways at home who were hit by reversing vehicles. The injuries were often of such a severe nature that death was instantaneous and with no possibility of successful medical intervention. More deaths occurred during the winter than summer months.