List of referees: 1995–1996

List of referees: 1995–1996     

Getting a Job is Only Half the Battle: Maternal Job Loss and Child Classroom Behavior in Low-Income Families

This study uses data from an experimental employment program and instrumental variables (IV) estimation to examine the effects of maternal job loss on child classroom behavior. Random assignment to the treatment at one of three program sites is an exogenous predictor of employment patterns. Cross-site variation in treatment-control differences is used to identify the effects of employment levels and transitions. Under certain assumptions, this method controls for unobserved correlates of job loss and child well-being, as well as measurement error and simultaneity. IV estimates suggest that maternal job loss sharply increases problem behavior but has neutral effects on positive social behavior. Current employment programs concentrate primarily on job entry, but these findings point to the importance of promoting job stability for workers and their children.     

Sociodemographic and diagnostic characteristics of homicidal and nonhomicidal sexual offenders

The aims of this study were to compare the prevalence of psychiatric disorders and "psychopathy" in homicidal and nonhomicidal sexual offenders and to investigate the specificity of previous studies on psychiatric morbidity of a sample of sexual murderers. Information from court reports of 166 homicidal and 56 nonhomicidal sex offenders was evaluated using standardized instruments (SCID-II, PCL-R) and classification systems (DSM-IV). Sexual murderers were diagnosed more often with a personality disorder (80.1% vs. 50%; p < 0.001), especially schizoid personality disorder (16.3% vs. 5.4%; p < 0.05), as well as with sexual sadism (36.7% vs. 8.9%; p < 0.001) and sexual dysfunctions (21.7% vs. 7.1%; p < 0.05). Additionally, they had more often used alcohol during the offense (63.2% vs. 41%; p < 0.05). The results indicate that sexual murderers have more and a greater variety of psychiatric disorders when compared to nonhomicidal sex offenders.     

Islamism and Democracy in the Modern Maghreb

The literature on state autonomy has typically argued that the developmental state's weakness is accounted for by the relatively greater power of societal forces. The postulation of conflict between the state's purposes and partisan societal forces has been unable to shed much light on the enduring nature of the state-society duality. The literature on communitarianism has drawn attention to the multi-layered identities which underlie developing country politics and has underlined the efficacy of developmental action at the level of non-state actors. This article suggests that the community perspective can contribute towards a richer understanding of the state-society relationship than has been possible within the neo-statist paradigm. Without substituting community for the state, we need to modify at a broadly theoretical level the kind of macro-perspective, typical in comparative developmental studies, which adopts the physical boundaries of the state and its self-given developmental idiom, as the discipline's own conceptual boundaries.     

The dual and the exchange‐constrained economy

Nelson's model of the exchange‐constrained economy is compared with Eckaus's model of the dual economy. The purpose of this comparison is to illustrate the similarity of the models in explaining unemployment of one factor as the result of the composition of demand and the scarcity of a second factor. Both authors agree to this point. However, Nelson emphasises that unemployment arises from price rigidity while Eckaus maintains that technological limits of substitution are also important. Policy implications differ depending on whether Nelson's or Eckaus's assumptions are accepted. Currie has suggested that the redistribution of income may reduce unemployment in both circumstances.     

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.     

Arrogant Posh Boys? The Social Composition of the Parliamentary Conservative Party and the Effect of Cameron's ‘A’ List

In the light of the recent controversy over Andrew Mitchell's alleged ‘pleb’ comments to police officers and Nadine Dorries’ characterisation of David Cameron and George Osborne as ‘arrogant posh boys, this article examines the social composition of the parliamentary Conservative Party. It looks at previous attempts to widen the social base of the PCP and analyses the effect of Cameron's priority or ‘A’ list of candidates on the composition of the 2010 PCP. The article asks whether the perception that the Conservatives are the party of the rich has damaged the party's electoral appeal and if so what can be done to rectify the situation.     

Dimensions of security

Abstract

The Arab uprisings’ failure to bring about either the scale or type of political change in the Maghreb that it initially seemed to promise belies the significance of its impact on the region. While Algeria, Mauritania and Morocco continue to be ruled by the same competitive authoritarian regimes that held power when the protests began, they, and the new governments in Tunisia and Libya, must now negotiate an altered and more dangerous security environment than before. The unsettling of Tunisia’s security apparatus and the outbreak of full-blown civil war in Libya have created new opportunities for terror and criminal groups to thrive and expand. The primary aim of this special issue is to chart and explain many of the critical changes in the Maghreb’s security environment that have occurred as a result of the Arab Spring. Each of the articles collected here identifies and analyses at least one important security issue in one or more Maghreb country as well as explain how that issue has emerged in response to or been affected by the Arab Spring.