The Impact of Elections on Cooperation: Evidence from a Lab‐in‐the‐Field Experiment in Uganda

Communities often rely on sanctioning to induce public goods contributions. Past studies focus on how external agencies or peer sanctioning induce cooperation. In this article, we focus instead on the role played by centralized authorities, internal to the community. Combining “lab‐in‐the‐field” experiments with observational data on 1,541 Ugandan farmers from 50 communities, we demonstrate the positive effect of internal centralized sanctioning authorities on cooperative behavior. We also show that the size of this effect depends on the political process by which authority is granted: subjects electing leaders contribute more to public goods than subjects who were assigned leaders through a lottery. To test the ecological validity of our findings, we relate farmers’ behavior in the experiment to their level of cooperation in their community organization. We show that deference to authority in the controlled setting predicts cooperative behavior in the farmers’ natural environment, in which they face a similar social dilemma.     

One Year After the Collapse of the USSR: A Panel of Specialists

Six senior American specialists in Soviet, Ukrainian, and Russian affairs reflect on economic and political developments in light of apocalyptic expectations articulated in the West after the collapse of the USSR. Presentations, formulated in November 1992, focus on the lot of the consumer during the winter, a survey of direct foreign investments, the leadership of Yel'tsin, military and security considerations, and Russian-Ukrainian relations. Coverage of economic issues also includes discussion of food shortages, pervasive corruption, and Russian nationalist views of pro- or anti-market orientations. A concluding afterword embraces the December Congress of People's Deputies and Gaydar's departure. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: D19, F21, K42, P26.     

Basic Directions of Perestroyka

Three basic directions of the economy's perestroyka (social orientation, uskoreniye of technological readjustment, and restructuring of management in enterprises) are outlined by its leading architect and advisor to General Secretary Gorbachev. The presentation, commencing the first joint Soviet Economy round-table, is followed by questions and comments by American participants relating to sequence, momentum, transition, anticipated consequences and contradictions in the reform. A rejoinder covering such issues as priorities, price formation, adaptation to change, allocation of resources and comparison with the Hungarian and other models, is followed by a concluding exchange of views on competition. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 027, 052, 124.     

Panel on Growth and Technology in Perestroyka

A part of the proceedings of the first joint Soviet Economy roundtable, focused on the pivotal role of modern technology in perestroyka, is presented in the form of questions and answers reflecting a lively debate between distinguished Soviet and American economists. Adaptation to new technologies is analyzed in light of uskoreniye, plan priorities, and a variety of factors influencing economic growth. Also debated are issues relating to enterprises and industries, particularly within the context of contrasts between the civilian and military economies. Specific issues such as the tradeoffs between centralization and autonomy are discussed in some detail. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 052, 124, 621.     

Social services in interim housing programs and shelters

This study investigates the effectiveness in delivering social services of interim housing programs compared to shelters. Interim housing programs represent a new approach to housing and serving homeless adults, one which provides emergency housing in apartment-like units, and in which use of services is voluntary. Shelters tend to provide congregate care and to expect or rely on clients to access needed services in order to secure resources required to obtain housing. Analyses of original survey data, which correct for sample selection utilizing propensity scores, suggest that clients in interim housing programs obtain more professional, advocacy, and employment services than do clients in shelters. This differential service use is found to reflect not client incentives, but the service offerings and referrals made by the programs. In general, the findings suggest that interim housing programs hold particular promise in service rich environments. They also suggest that program contingencies are more important than certain individual client incentives in affecting service use. Finally, the results begin to suggest the value of this new, interim housing-based approach.     

Divided Government,Legislative Productivity,and Policy Change in the USA and France

The concept of “divided government” is more complicated than scholars have allowed. In the USA, truly unified government, where the president enjoys a filibuster‐proof majority in the Senate as well as a majority in the House, is rare. In France, truly unified government has been more common, but divided government has also occurred several times. Democratic governance requires that parties address important issues and they do so regardless of the patterns of institutional control. Nevertheless, policy changes or important laws are affected by the higher level of institutional friction associated with divided government. Looking at both the USA and France, we find that periods of unified government show higher levels of production of important laws in the USA, but we find no difference for overall legislative productivity.