Disjunction between policy research and practice: Social benefit-cost analysis and investment policy at the World Bank

One often comes upon cases where, even allowing for long lags, policy-makers do not utilize readily available policy research. The gap between policy research and practice has important consequences, both for researchers and for practitioners. In an effort to clarify the causes of the phenomenon, this paper discusses a specific experience: social benefit-cost analysis for investment choice in the World Bank. The analysis may be useful both to the social scientists who do policy research and to the practitioners who might make more use of it.     

The debate on World Dynamics: A response to Nordhaus

In a recent paper published in the Economic Journal, Professor William D. Nordhaus of Yale University reviewed World Dynamics by Jay W. Forrester. In his criticism, Nordhaus signals three serious problems and several additional questionable assumptions of sufficient importance to undermine the usefulness of Forrester's book. However, a careful examination of his analysis shows that each point made by Nordhaus rests on a misunderstanding of World Dynamics, a misuse of empirical data, or an inability to analyze properly the dynamic behavior of the model by static equilibrium methods.The three serious problems raised by Nordhaus concern the assumptions that connect industrialization to net birth rates in World Dynamics, the representation of technology and production within the world model, and the impact of prices on global resource use. The analysis presented here refutes the Nordhaus arguments and shows that World Dynamics is consistent with his references to real-world data on population, production, and capital accumulation.This paper is a response to William D. Nordhaus, World Dynamics: Measurement Without Data, published in the Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, December 1973. An earlier, unpublished, version of the Nordhaus paper, bearing the same title, was widely circulated hand-tohand within the United States, Canada, and Europe. A response to the original Nordhaus paper (System Dynamics Group Memorandum D-1736-4) was written in February 1973 and is available from Jay W. Forrester, Alfred P. Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass. 02139. The present paper, a revised version of the earlier response, deals with several new or modified arguments contained in the Economic Journal article by Nordhaus.     

Public Administration, Science, and Risk Assessment: A Case Study of the U.K. Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Crisis

The bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) outbreak in the United Kingdom is regarded as one of the worst public policy crises the British government has experienced during the postwar era. In material terms, it has led to the slaughter of 3.3 million cattle and estimated economic losses of £3.7 billion. In administrative terms, the crisis brought about the dissolution of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. This article examines the istitutional context in which decisions about the scientific evidence on BSE were made. The authors argue that a centralized system in which government agencies control science for government is inherently vulnerable to alliances of experts and interest groups that undermine the credible assessment of public health and safety risks. Specific societal conditions may encourage risk-opportunistic behavior among policy makers that is conducive to delays and inaction until such time as the evidence of a health risk becomes overwhelming.     

Mediator Assessment,Documentation, and Disposition of Child Custody Cases Involving Intimate Partner Abuse: A Naturalistic Evaluation of One County’s Practices

The contentious and costly nature of the adversarial process for resolving child custody disputes has prompted scholars, practitioners, and policy makers to advocate for the development and implementation of less divisive forms of dispute resolution, notably, mediation. Mediation has been championed for its potential to resolve disputes with less acrimony among disputants, reduced economic costs, increased satisfaction with outcomes, and fewer adverse consequences for family members. Despite the increasing popularity, arguments have cautioned against the use of mandated mediation when intimate partner abuse (IPA) is alleged. This research documents a mediation screening process and models mediators’ decision-making process as instantiated, naturally, in one jurisdiction.