Health care costs and personal bankruptcy

In response to published but unconfirmed reports that health care costs were a leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the U.S., court records of all bankruptcy petitioners in one judicial district were examined. The records were analyzed by income, employment, debt categories and amounts. Within the limitations of the study, health care costs seem not to have played a significant role in the financial lives of this population.     

A simple estimation method for aggregate government outsourcing

The scholarly and popular debate on the delegation to the private sector of governmental tasks rests on an inadequate empirical foundation, as no systematic data are collected on direct versus indirect service delivery. We offer a simple method for approximating levels of service outsourcing, based on relatively straightforward combinations of and adjustments to standard statistical series, primarily the National Income and Product Account and the Government Finances series produced by the Department of Commerce. The method permits us to separately estimate state and local from federal service outsourcing and (within the federal government) to distinguish between defense and non‐defense services. Alternative estimates, both including and excluding Medicare and Medicaid, are included, as are estimates of outsourcing from 1959 through 2000. The method confirms the general view that the privately provided share of public services has increased, particularly in the last two decades of the past century. But this increase has been shallower than many observers suggest, and as of 2000 more than two‐thirds of the government's service budget was still devoted to employee compensation. © 2004 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

A Framework for Analyzing Emergency Management with an Application to Federal Budgeting

Emergency management is a complex policy subsystem that involves an intergovernmental, multiphased effort to mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. This article develops a framework for analyzing the fiscal and functional aspects of disaster policy. It uses established theories of intergovernmental relations to offer a rationale for examining the capabilities required to implement disaster policy and the behavioral incentives that drive policy formulation. In particular, the article identifies the extent to which the capabilities and political objectives characteristic of each level of government are aligned, and illustrates the interplay between incentives and competencies by reviewing the federal disaster funding process. The current rules for federal budgeting may inappropriately promote spending on disaster response and recovery, while de-emphasizing mitigation and preparedness. Various proposals for reform could establish more coherent incentives, making disaster spending more consistent with the relative functional capabilities of the various levels of government.     

Book Reviews

Negotiating the World Economy, by John S. Odell. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2000, 252 pp., $45.00 cloth, $19.95 paper. Reviewed by Daniel J.B. Mitchell Evaluating Welfare Reform in an Era of Transition, edited by Robert A. Moffitt and Michele Ver Ploeg. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2001, 268 pp., $42.95. Reviewed by Daniel H. Weinberg Red Tape and Housing Costs: How Regulation Affects New Residential Development, by Michael I. Luger and Kenneth Temkin. New Brunswick, NJ: Center for Urban Policy Research, 2000, 192 pp., $24.95 cloth. Reviewed by Thomas Bier Waste Trading among Rich Nations, by Kate O'Neill. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2000, 310 pp., $60.00 cloth, $22.00 paper. Reviewed by Lee S. Friedman Markets for Clean Air, by A. Denny Ellerman, Paul L. Joskow, Richard Schmalensee, Juan‐Pablo Montero, and Elizabeth M. Bailey. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2000, 352 pp., $40.00. Reviewed by Lee S. Friedman The Collapse of the Kyoto Protocol and the Struggle to Slow Global Warming, by David G. Victor. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001, 178 pp., $22.95. Reviewed by Robert Falkner Causes of War: Power and the Roots of Conflict, Stephen Van Evera, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1999, 270 pp., $35.00 cloth, $17.95 paper. Reviewed by Erik Gartzke Power versus Prudence: Why Nations Forgo Nuclear Weapons, by T. V. Paul. Montreal: McGill‐Queen's University Press, 2000, 227 pp., $22.95. Reviewed by Leonard S. Spector The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor, by David S. Landes, New York: W.W. Norton, 1998, 650 pp., $11.87 paper. Reviewed by Eugene B. McGregor, Jr. The End of the Nation‐state: The Rise of the Regional Economies, by Kenichi Ohmae, New York: Free Press Paperbacks, 1995, 214 pp., $16.95 paper. Reviewed by Eugene B. McGregor, Jr. Governance in a Globalizing World, edited by Joseph S. Nye and John D. Donahue, Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2000, 386 pp., $18.95 paper. Reviewed by Eugene B. McGregor, Jr.     

Murder in the Family: The Menendez Brothers

Childhood sexual abuse is currently a problem of considerable concern. Research suggests victims experience both short-term and long-term effects due to the unresolved trauma of sexual abuse. Erik and Lyle Menendez were convicted of first-degree murder of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. During the trial the defense presented an argument of alleged sexual abuse, stating that the brothers committed the murders in fear for their lives. The aim of this paper is to explore the Menendez trial in detail from sides of the defense and prosecution, and review the pertinent literature concerning the effects of childhood sexual abuse as they apply to the case. The matter of whether or not the abuse did in fact occur remains in question. The ethical issues of sexual abuse are examined where one must decide whether Erik and Lyle Menendez are responsible for their actions if the sexual abuse did occur.