Political Data in 1997

European Journal of Political Research -     

A Comparison of Forensic and Nonforensic Malingerers: A Prototypical Analysis of Explanatory Models

Explanatory models of malingering strive to understand the primary motivation underlying attempts to feign. Rogers, Sewell, and Goldstein (1994) provided empirical support for the conceptualization of pathogenic, criminological, and adaptational models. In the current study, a prototypical analysis of 221 forensic experts results in a slightly refined formulation: the adaptational model was decomposed into its two broad dimensions (cost–benefit analysis and adversarial setting). An important finding is that the factor structure for the explanatory models remained stable when applied to both forensic and nonforensic cases. As a first investigation, significant differences were observed in prototypical cases of malingering by the category of referral (forensic or nonforensic) and by type of feigning (mental disorders, cognitive impairment, and medical syndromes). Surprisingly, the feigning of medical syndromes appeared to play a relatively prominent role in both forensic and nonforensic cases and to be influenced by the apparent adversarial context of the assessment. Finally, important gender differences were observed, especially with nonforensic prototypical cases of malingering.     

The Significance of Statistical Significance:

This essay reviews The Cult of Statistical Significance: How the Standard Error Costs Us Jobs, Justice, and Lives, by Stephen T. Ziliak and Deirdre N. McCloskey. The book's core message is that statistical significance should not be equated with substantive significance and that empirical researchers should convey more information about the magnitude of relationships and effects than many now do. This essay summarizes, approves of, and elaborates on Ziliak and McCloskey's message with special attention to concerns of the legal academy. It clarifies appropriate uses of significance tests within the research framework of controlling for plausible rival hypotheses.     

Learning, multiple equilibria, and the state: Agriculture’s role

This article will argue that the state must learn to pursue productivity enhancing rather than predatory policies if rapid long-run development is to occur in poor countries. These productivity enhancing strategies will most likely involve investment coordination. However, such coordination of investment in manufacturing is likely to fail in less developed countries as a result of low productivity in the traditional, agricultural sector. More importantly, investment coordination in agriculture is more likely to be successful especially if this is a broad based investment strategy involving the bulk of the population. In this context, the state will learn effective policies for coordinating development. Alternatively, if the agricultural sector is ignored and productivity here remains low, investment coordination in manufacturing will likely fail, and the state will learn to become a predator. Richard Grabowski is professor of economics at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale     

I Blog Therefore I Am

Twenty-five years since the publication of Intimate Strangers: The Culture of Celebrity, this essay reflects on the extraordinary changes in the nature of celebrity, including its radical democratization by way of the internet. Such changes reflect old dilemmas and pose new challenges as the internet and publishing worlds begin to merge and print culture is left behind.