THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF MINIMUM WAGE LEGISLATION

Two questions are addressed in this paper. (A) Why do labor unions and certain employer organizations respectively promote and impede minimum wage legislation? (B) Do these groups have significant impacts on minimum wages? Question (A) is examined in the context of models that identify the economic self-interest of unionized skilled workers and capitalists in legal wage floors. Question (B) is approached by a median legislator utility maximization model that leads to Tobit estimation of the relationship between state minimum wage rates and measures of statewide organized labor and capital and average hourly earnings.     

STOCK OWNERSHIP AND CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS: THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF THE MUTUAL FUND REVOLUTION

We find that higher stock ownership rates are linked to an upward shift in the Republican share of the House popular vote since the late 1980s, consistent with theories that property interests affect voting. To proxy for discontinuous stock ownership rates, we use equity mutual fund costs, which have fallen, are negatively correlated with stock ownership rates and the Republican vote share in the long run, and help explain short‐run changes along with midterm elections, economic conditions, and presidential popularity. Findings suggest that the major parties’ shares of the House popular vote will fluctuate around 50% until other factors trigger a political realignment. (JEL D72, G11)     

THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF U.S. WHEAT LEGISLATION

Both taxpayer subsidies to U.S. wheat producers and domestic deadweight losses increased as a result of the U.S. wheat program adopted in 1985. A calculation of the costs and benefits of alternative wheat policies shows that mandatory production controls with no taxpayer expense could have made wheat producers as well off as the adopted policy. Becker's theory of competition among interest groups and Peltzman's theory of the equilibrium amount of regulation are shown to be consistent with the observed policy choice if the list of fnfected interest groups includes agricultural input suppliers and grain marketing firms.     

THE MISSING LINK: POLITICAL ACTIVISTS AND SUPPORT FOR SCHOOL PRAYER

Explanations for the wide gap between strong public supportfor school prayer and lack of support in Congress have focusedon the attributes of the public. Here another important explicandis investigated: the characteristics of political activists.We find that activist opinion more nearly matches congressionalbehavior on school prayer than does public opinion. While manyof the same demographic and religious variables explain supportfor school prayer among activists and the public, ideology appearsto be more important among activists.     

POLITICAL ECONOMY AND THE SOCIAL MARGINAL COST OF PUBLIC FUNDS: THE CASE OF THE MELTZER‐RICHARD ECONOMY

In previous studies on the social marginal cost of public funds (SMCF), the existing tax system has been assumed to be either arbitrary or optimal. This note explores another possibility: the existing tax system itself represents a political equilibrium. Our exploration proceeds in Meltzer and Richard’s (1981) political economy of redistributive taxation. An interesting feature of our finding is that the degree of income inequality as measured by the ratio of mean to median income can play an important role in estimating the SMCF and judging whether the level of redistribution is excessive or inadequate. (JEL D61, D72, H21)     

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IN THE FEDERALIST SYSTEM: THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF NPDES INSPECTIONS

This paper examines the consequences of the delegation of regulatory authority to local officials. The study evaluates three hypotheses of the role delegation plays in the implementation of regulatory policy: (1) the federal case, which predicts that delegation has no effect, (2) the state/local model predicts that delegation is, in fact, abdication, and (3) the full impact model predicts that both interests determine how environmental policy is implemented. The results provide evidence that while delegation does not completely remove national policy maker's ability to alter regulatory policy, it does allow local interests to alter national standards. (JEL L51, Q28)     

THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF TIME IN THE INTERNET ERA: FEMINIST PERSPECTIVES AND CHALLENGES

This paper examines the gender matrix of time, arguing for cross-disciplinary consideration of political economy, globalization and technology to achieve a detailed understanding of gendered hierarchies of time and the ways in which public/private identifications of social space and time have variously constructed and maintained them. It is argued that women are alienated from their own time, which is identified as most legitimately allocated to the service of others both in the home and at work. The inter-relationship of technologies and gendered identities is explored in relation to public/private divisions and the political-economic and scientific-technological knowledge processes that contribute to upholding them. ICTs reflect these historically established gendered patterns, but international projects such as 'Women on the Net' also demonstrate the capacities of these technologies for disrupting the gender matrix of time through their use by women for women.     

ALLOCATING INFECTION: THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF THE SWINE FLU (H1N1) VACCINE

Previous research has isolated the effect of “congressional dominance” in explaining bureaucracy‐related outcomes. This analysis extends the concept of congressional dominance to the allocation of H1N1, or swine flu, vaccine doses. States with Democratic United States Representatives on the relevant House oversight committee received roughly 60,000 additional doses per legislator during the initial allocation period, though this political advantage dissipated after the first 3 weeks of vaccine distribution. As a result political factors played a role in determining vaccine allocation only when the vaccine was in particularly short supply. At‐risk groups identified by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), such as younger age groups and first responders, do not receive more vaccine doses, and in fact receive slightly fewer units of vaccine. (JEL D72, D73, I18)     

ADJUSTMENT TO PRODUCTION UNCERTAINTY AND THE THEORY OF THE FIRM: REPLY

This reply responds to two comments on our 1986 article in this journal under the same title. The comments discuss a special case of the model which gives a certainty result, and also propose several alternative formulations of the model. The reply argues that the special certainty result is not an interesting or reasonable case, and discusses the relationship between the proposed alternative formulations and the original model. The influence of risk preferences on optimal output is analyzed through comparative statics for changes in risk in the context of the original model.     

ADJUSTMENT TO PRODUCTION UNCERTAINTY AND THE THEORY OF THE FIRM

This paper considers the behavior of the firm which faces uncertainty in its production process but can adjust its output once the uncertainty is resolved. Ex post adjustment, unlike previous treatments, involves a marginal cost penalty if more output is required and a lowering of price if too much is produced. With ex post adjustment allowed in this fashion, it is found that nonlinear risk preferences do not affect the sign of the firm's marginal risk premium at optimum ex ante output. The firm will produce less output than under certainty whether it is risk averse, risk neutral, or prefers risk.     

ADJUSTMENT TO PRODUCTION UNCERTAINTY AND THE THEORY OF THE FIRM: A COMMENT

This paper reconsiders the model presented by Flacco and Kroetch [1986]. It shows that with additive technological uncertainty the firm will produce and contract to sell the same output as under certainty. When the Flacco/Kroetch model is generalized to allow the firm to select contract commitments and planned output ex ante, no simple comparisons with certainty are possible. These results are broadly consistent with those obtained by Mills [1959; 1962] for demand uncertainty.     

MEASURING PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR THE NEW CHRISTIAN RIGHT: THE PERILS OF POINT ESTIMATION

It has been reported that 30% of American adults support the"sociomoral platform of the Moral Majority" (Simpson, 1983).We lodge several criticisms of this estimate and/or the wayit has subsequently been interpreted, involving the treatmentof "don't know" responses, the selection of response categorycutting points, the passage of time, the effects of questionwording, and substance. We derive a much different estimateof public support for the Moral Majority platform in the sameyear, but our more basic conclusion is simply that public opinionon this issue, as on most complex issues, cannot be fairly reflectedby a single number.     

CLUBS TO COMPANIES: NOTES ON THE DECLINE OF POLITICAL CULTURE IN SPEEDED UP CREATIVE WORLDS

This article proposes a recent acceleration in the nature and pace of work and employment in the UK culture industries. Multi-skilling and de-specialization are a result of growth, change and competition in the arts and media sector. Creative work increasingly follows the neo-liberal model, governed by the values of entrepreneurialism, individualization and reliance on commercial sponsorship. One consequence for the relatively youthful workforce is the decline of workplace democracy and its replacement by ‘network sociality’, which in turn is influenced by the lingering impact of dance and club culture. Independent work finds itself squeezed, compromised or brokered by the venture capitalists of culture as government encourages the ‘freedom’ allowed by this kind of labour.     

FROM PRINTS TO POSTERS: THE PRODUCTION OF ARTISTIC VALUE IN A POPULAR ART WORLD

The activity of a gallery in an art world is centered not only on the distribution of works, but also on the development of a clientele. This involves convincing potential customers that works have both artistic and economic value. The traditional path of valuation of works is through the gatekeepers of the high art world. There are, however, art worlds whose works have not passed through these high art gatekeepers, but which are nevertheless successful in maintaining a clientele. This article examines the process by which this popular art world establishes a positive value for its art when it has no access to the legitimating institutions of the high art world. Data were gathered primarily through interviews with gallery directors, employees, and artists, both from the popular and high-art worlds. The sample includes 18 popular galleries and 10 high art galleries in the Chicago area. “Popular galleries” are defined as those galleries located in the shopping districts of cities or in suburban shopping malls. Many are part of larger chains, and all carry prints by well-known artists, works of lesser known artists, and some posters.     

THE EFFECT OF GENDER-SORTING ON PROPENSITY TO COAUTHOR: IMPLICATIONS FOR ACADEMIC PROMOTION

A cohort sample of Ph.D. economists indicates a significant propensity for researchers to select coauthors of the same sex. This gender-sorting contributes to lower article production for women. Further, we find evidence of bias in academic promotion when single-authored and coauthored articles carry the same weight in promotion and salary decisions. The evidence explains, in part, why women academics wait longer for promotion and are not as likely to be promoted as men. Among the effects of gender-sorting is self-selection of women into larger departments where they are more likely to find colleagues of the same sex.     

ON THE MEASUREMENT OF PARTY CLASS POSITIONS: THE CASE OF CANADIAN FEDERAL POLITICAL PARTIES*

La classification standard de la position de classe des partis politiques canadiens a étéétabli par Robert Alford dans son très important ouvrage, Party and Society. La classification d'Alford est reexaminée en utilisant six mesures distinctes. Cinq des six sont en désaccord avec Alford. Les Libéraux sont souvent vus comme relativement conservateurs alors que quatre mesures placent le Crédit Social comme plus libéral que les deux partis principaux. Cette analyse est suivie d'une discussion de la mensuration de la position de classe d'un parti et d'un essai d'explication du cas du Canada. On suggère qu'un modèle à deux dimensions soit utilisé pour la classification des partis politiques. The standard classification of the class positions of Canadian political parties was established by Robert Alford in his very important book, Party and Society. Alford's classification is re-examined using six separate measures. Five out of six disagree with Alford. The Liberals are often seen as relatively conservative while four measures place Social Credit as more liberal than both the major parties. Discussion of measurement of party class positions and an attempt at explanation of the Canadian case follows. It is suggested that a bidimensional framework be used to classify political parties.     

AN ALTERNATIVE TO MANAGED CARE: A GUILD MODEL FOR THE INDEPENDENT PRACTICE OF PSYCHOTHERAPY

As health care is reconfigured by HMOs and managed care organizations, family therapists often have to decide whether or not to cooperate with the new power structures and their ways of doing things. The chief concern of many therapists is the ehtical bind created when the managed care orgranization demands breaches of confidentiality or makes decisions about the course of treatment that may not, in the therapist's opinion, be in the best interest of the family. Associations of independent, nonmanaged care psychotherapists are springing up in response to these dilemmas. This paper describes the philosophical evolution and organizational development of one such association.