Social Science and the Public Interest

Social Science and the Public Interest

Social Science and the Public Interest March/April 2011     

Hospital selective contracting without consumer choice: What can we learn from Medi‐Cal?

In the selective contracting era, consumer choice has generally been absent in most state Medicaid programs, including California's (called Medi-Cal). In a setting where beneficiary exit is not a threat, a large payer may have both the incentives and the ability to exercise undue market power, potentially exposing an already vulnerable population to further harm. The analyses presented here of Medi-Cal contracting data, however, do not yield compelling evidence in favor of the undue market power hypothesis. Instead, hospital competition appears to explain with greater consistency why certain hospitals choose to contract with Medi-Cal while others do not, the trends in inpatient prices paid by Medi-Cal over time, and the effect of price competition on service cutbacks, such as emergency room closures. Copyright 2003 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

The role of institutional and governance factors in public–private partnerships infrastructure investments in emerging economies

The overall development and sustained growth of any economy depend heavily on its infrastructure provisioning. Emerging economies are usually characterised by constrained public investments in infrastructure. Budgetary constraints of the governments are one of the major hurdles to these investments. Due to these reasons that governments of emerging economies continuously seek collaborations with the private sector for additional sources of funding infrastructure. Economies with solid institutional and governance frameworks are known to provide a conducive environment for enhanced private sector attraction in the sector. However, emerging economies face greater institutional and governance issues than developed economies, and they sometimes fall short of luring private investments in the infrastructure sector. The objective of this study is to empirically evaluate the role of institutional and governance aspects in private sector attraction in emerging economies. This study provides empirical evidence with a sample of 114 emerging economies over a period of 20 years. Various econometric estimates were developed to explore the interplay between public-private partnership investments and governance factors. The results of the study provide an evidence of a positive association between these factors and private investments in public-private partnership arrangements.     

Non-traditional trade marks: a Singapore perspective

Legal context: Many commentators have opined that non-traditional trade markswill play a significant role as dominant branding strategiesof the future. Key points: There has been considerable debate over the suitability andfeasibility of non-traditional trade marks as there have beendifficulties encountered when seeking to register them. Anotherimportant issue that arises relates to the extent to which consumerscan link their five senses to a brand, and whether unconventionalmarks may result in consumer confusion. Practical significance: This article attempts to analyze the pros and cons of non-traditionaltrade marks and evaluate if they are worth pursuing.     

Reviewing the effectiveness of the Oxford tutorial system in teaching an undergraduate qualifying law degree: a discussion of preliminary findings from a pilot study

At undergraduate level the tutorial system at Oxford University has several features that serve to make it almost unique in UK Higher Education. Undergraduates are taught in tutorial groups, typically made up of one to three students, on a weekly basis. Work is usually prepared in advance of these sessions by students and the tutorial is then used as an opportunity for students to receive direct feedback on their work, as well as a platform for further work and tutor-led discussion. The central issue to be explored in this paper, which reports the findings of tutorial observations and interviews involving Oxford University Law students, is the effectiveness of this system of teaching. Supporters of the Oxford tutorial system regard it as more academically challenging and rigorous than other methods of teaching, with its emphasis on developing critical thinking skills and a critical dialogue around feedback. Its detractors, meanwhile, consider it open to potential inconsistency and misuse by tutors. Key findings of this study give more support to the arguments of the former. It will also be demonstrated that there are a number of discipline-specific issues, which make consideration of the tutorial system particularly relevant and enlightening for undergraduate Law students.     

Atherosclerosis: a medicolegal tool in exhumed decomposed bodies

An exhumed body of 40-year-old Hindu man was brought for repostmortem after 10 days of death with history of allegation of assault by mob. The body was in the advanced stage of decomposition with adipocere formation over chest, thigh, and arms. In the present case, atherosclerosis was present in the coronaries and aorta sufficiently enough to deduce the cause of death and to substantiate the first autopsy findings even in highly decomposed exhumed body.