‘US Intelligence and Vietnam’: The Official Version(s)

Recent declassifications of the official histories of Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency activities in the Vietnam War give historians a sharper outline of the overall American intelligence effort in that conflict and a trove of supporting details. While scholars will have to use the new releases with caution, the histories (when combined with appraisals from the Armed Services) offer glimpses of the scale of the US intelligence program and some of the complications that hindered its effectiveness. Two particular features stand out when these materials are viewed in conjunction: the disconnectedness of the various agencies' and Services' efforts from each other (and from decision makers in Washington); and the difficulties that all of them had in working with America's South Vietnamese allies. The picture emerging is thus one of a congeries of largely independent intelligence campaigns working simultaneously against the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong targets. Intelligence miscues did not lose the Vietnam War for the Americans and South Vietnamese, but it now seems clearer that they made victory less likely.     

Chairman reappointments,presidential elections and policy actions of the federal reserve

A number of recent studies have analyzed whether there is a political influence on monetary policy, focusing primarily on whether monetary policy becomes easier just prior to elections. In addition to exploring whether there exists an election period cycle in monetary policy, this article explores the existence of another political influence on policy. Following up on some recent anecdotal evidence provided by John T. Woolley, this article explores whether incumbent FED chairmen have succeeded in influencing monetary policy in order to improve their reappointment chances. The analysis, which spans the administrations of seven U.S. presidents and four FED chairmen, finds no conclusive evidence that FED policy changes systematically either before elections or chairman reappointment dates. The analysis has implications for the issue of rules versus discretion in monetary policy.     

Urban youth as witnesses to violence: Beginning assessment and treatment efforts

This article reviews literature on witnessing violence (covictimization) in children and adolescents. As violent incidents have increased dramatically in urban areas, so has exposure by inner-city youth to violence in the home, school, and community. In reaction to witnessing violence, youth may present symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Separation Anxiety and Depression, evince disturbed grieving and bereavement, show a number of externalizing behaviors including aggressiveness, have impaired interpersonal and family relations, and show declines in academic performance. A number of factors may mediate the impact of violence exposure including age, gender, and history of prior trauma. Mental health assessment and treatment efforts for youth who have witnessed violence have been limited. Directions for future investigation are highlighted.Received Ph.D. in clinical/community psychology from the University of Maryland, College Park, in 1994. Research interests include group therapy with adolescents, teenage parenting, social skills assessment and training, and development of programs to assess, prevent, and treat violence exposure in urban youth.Received Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1991. Research interests include evaluation and development of school-based mental health services, empirical selection of treatment targets for children and adolescents, development of interventions to assist youth who are exposed to violence, and identification of resilience factors for urban youth.     

Managing Markets for Public Service: The Role of Mixed Public–Private Delivery of City Services

The privatization experience of U.S. municipalities shows declining use of complete contracts and a dramatic rise in mixed public–private delivery (joint contracting) of city services. The analysis here shows that city managers have recognized the need to move beyond a simple dichotomy between market delivery and public planning to an approach that balances concerns with efficiency, market management, and citizen satisfaction. The New Public Management stresses the importance of competition and efficiency, transaction costs economics emphasizes the challenges of contract management, and New Public Service assigns primary concern to citizen engagement. Nonetheless, city managers see the need to balance all three. The analysis shows the evolution of a middle position where city managers integrate markets with public delivery and give greater attention to citizen satisfaction in the service delivery process.     

Beyond privatisation and cost savings: alternatives for local government reform

Unsatisfactory results from privatisation have caused local governments to seek alternative reforms. Inter-municipal cooperation, mixed public/private delivery and contract reversals are three alternatives that have gained traction in the last decade. These alternatives help local governments manage markets for public service delivery as a dynamic process. They maximise government/market complementarities and address a wider array of public goals beyond cost efficiency concerns. The alternative reforms show how local governments balance citizen, labour and community interests to ensure efficiency, coordination and stability in public service delivery.     

Is private production of public services cheaper than public production? A meta‐regression analysis of solid waste and water services

Privatization of local government services is assumed to deliver cost savings, but empirical evidence for this from around the world is mixed. We conduct a meta‐regression analysis of all econometric studies examining privatization of water distribution and solid waste collection services and find no systematic support for lower costs with private production. Differences in study results are explained by differences in time period of the analyses, service characteristics, and policy environment. We do not find a genuine empirical effect of cost savings resulting from private production. The results suggest that to ensure cost savings, more attention be given to the cost characteristics of the service, the transaction costs involved, and the policy environment stimulating competition, rather than to the debate over public versus private delivery of these services. © 2010 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.