Pressure and the division of a public budget

This paper considers the division of a public budget among competing interests. The planner determines the optimal allocation by maximizing a weighted social welfare function. These weights reflect society's attitudes to different recipient groups, and are not constrained to be constant. By exerting “pressure”, the recipients can attempt to manipulate the weights and hence influence the division of the budget. The amount of resources used on pressure, and the effects on the preference weights are calculated. An important parameter in the model is the elasticity of pressure, for which an appropriate estimate is presented from the case of competition for a share of a health services budget in Norway.     

Mechanisms for rent transfers: Subcontracting among military aircraft manufacturers

Models of prototyped and non-prototyped competitions for prime contracts from the U.S. defense department suggest that the latter are much more vulnerable to bid-rigging than are the former. Subcontracting data reveal that pairs of firms who have been rivals in major non-prototyped competitions have a larger number of subcontracts with one another than do other pairs of firms. The analysis concludes that subcontracts may serve as vehicles for division of the spoils of collusive bidding on prime contracts.     

The proximity and the directional theories of issue voting: Comparative results for the USA and Germany

Abstract In several recent studies George Rabinowitz and his co–authors challenge the 'classical' spatial model of issue voting, the proximity model, by introducing a directional model. In this article we examine whether different measurement of perceived issue positions of candidates or parties leads to diverging judgments about the predictive power of the directional model (which is claimed to be empirically superior), as compared to the proximity model, using data from the USA and Germany. The results demonstrate that the measurement preferred by Rabinowitz et al. tends to bias empirical findings in favour of directional theory. If we use a more plausible operational definition of issue positions of candidates and parties the directional model in both countries fails to turn out superior.     

Understanding Ripple Effects: The Cross–National Adoption of Policy Instruments for Bureaucratic Accountability

This article examines different explanations for the cross–national diffusion of three recent innovations in bureaucratic accountability—the institution of the ombudsman, freedom of information legislation and data protection (information privacy) law. The first two explanations are based on the assumption that these innovations are by–products of modernization, either the growth of the state or democratization. The third assumes that policy is shaped through processes of international communication. A combination of methodologies is employed to conclude that while the growth of government and liberal democratic values are necessary conditions for the adoption of all three policy instruments, they are not sufficient conditions. The pattern of adoption observed is best explained by examining how evidence about these respective policies flows from adopting states to non–adopters. In the case of the ombudsman, this process can be characterized as one of lesson–drawing; for freedom of information, evidence is used for legitimation purposes; for data protection, the diffusion is attributable to harmonization through international organizations. Policy transfer is hence a multi–faceted concept that embraces a number of distinct processes of transnational learning and communication.     

Worries and Health in Adolescence: A Latent Variable Approach

In this study, the most salient worries of Dutch adolescents are examined and the most often reported symptoms are ranked. The relationship between worrying and health is explored using structural modeling as are the frequently found gender differences in these areas. Worrying is postulated as an indicator of psychosocial well-being along with affectivity, ease of parental communications, tiredness, and loneliness. Health, or physiological status, is indicated by reported symptoms, frequency of doctors visits, aspirin consumption, and a global health measure. Four hundred and sixteen high-school students (211 girls and 205 boys) fitted in a questionnaire during school hours. The structure of the bet fitting model was the same for boys and girls, indicating that gender differences are a question of degree, and not of different structural relationships. Psychosocial well-being explained 77% of the variance in physiological status. The implications of the findings for health education are discussed.     

Church attendance,meaningfulness of religion,and depressive symptomatology among adolescents

Self-administered questionnaires were completed by 451 adolescents at a public high school in Texas during the spring semester 1989. The instrument used contained the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and items to determine participants' gender, frequency of church attendance, and meaningfulness of one's religion. Based on social support research and the writings of Carl Jung and Viktor Frankl, it was predicted that those who attended church frequently and those who viewed their religions as providing meaning for their lives would have lower BDI scores than their classmates. The findings supported these predictions. Implications and a discussion of the results are included.Received Ed.D. in educational psychology from University of Illinois. Main research interests are substance abuse in adolescents, drug use prevention strategies, and suicidal ideation in adolescents.Received Ph.D. in general psychology from Boston University. Main research interest is psychology in interdisciplinary perspective, with a specialization in the psychology of religion.Pursuing a M.Ed, in school psychology at Southwest Texas State University. Main research interests are psychological testing and assessment.     

Coping with Poverty: The Impact of Fiscal Austerity on the Local Budgetary Process in Norway

This article examines the impact of public sector austerity on the budgetary process in local government. We initially propose that resource squeeze influences the criteria of resource allocation. More specifically, we suggest that austerity tends to generate a greater emphasis on performance-based criteria such as cost-benefit assessments, while arguments relating to production costs, previous commitments and relative standards of service supply tend to carry less weight. A regression model is developed to test these hypotheses. Response variables, drawn from a survey conducted among Norwegian local government officials, measure the success of a menu of arguments which justify increased appropriations, and we examine whether austerity affects the perceived success of these arguments. Consistent with previous studies, we find no impact of stress on decision-making behavior in local government. We do not believe that this result can be dismissed as merely a by-product of our research design. This conclusion leaves us with at least two possible interpretations. One suggests that austerity affects the criteria of resource allocation if, and only if, decision-makers perceive the squeeze to exert a persistent and inescapable pressure which requires a fundamental redefinition of managerial style. This has hardly been the case in Norwegian local government. The other interpretation suggests that the criteria for resource allocation in fact remain unchanged, even in situations when austerity is believed to be persistent. Inertia can be caused by (a) the disproportional disutility attributed to budgetary cut-backs compared to the benefits of appropriation increases, (b) the propensity to attribute austerity to "external" rather than "internal" causes, and (c), problems related to aggregating individual preferences and criteria into a coherent organizational policy of resource allocation.