Incidence and correlates of bulimic behavior in a female high school population

To investigate the incidence and correlates of bulimic behavior, 1268 high school females were surveyed. A 47-item questionnaire was used to identify a group of students that would meet the DSM-III criteria for a probable diagnosis of bulimia. Students were then compared across the four content areas of demographics; body perception and weight information; dieting, exercise and menstrual behavior; and frequency of bingeing and purging behavior. Results indicated that 4.9% of the students met rigorous criteria for the diagnosis of bulimia. Between-group comparisons indicated that body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, and chronicity of dieting differentiated the two groups.This work was supported by Biomedical Research Grant #RR5476, the Sears Allstate Foundation, and the George and Tina Barr Foundation.Main interest is eating disorders.     

Terrorism as theater: Analysis and policy implications

In some regards the production of terrorism resembles the production of culture, especially television and theater. Terrorism is a spectacle produced for viewers, many of whom live apart from the violent staged events. Spectacular theater and the telling of memorable stories are inputs for fundraising and motivating subsequent terrorists. This understanding of terrorist motivation has concrete policy implications.     

The Esteem Theory of Norms

When esteem is costless to supply, does it provide an effectivemeans of enforcing norms for public goods production? I examine thebasic mechanics of an enforcement-through-esteem model. Whileesteem may enforce norms to considerable degree, systematicunderenforcement remains the general result, even in very basicsettings with a minimum of transactions costs. I also examine whyesteem has positive value in equilibrium if it can be producedcostlessly (i.e., why esteem remains scarce), and what collectiveaction problems plague the supply of esteem.