"DON'T KNOW" BOXES IN FACTUAL QUESTIONS IN A MAIL QUESTIONNAIRE: EFFECTS ON LEVEL AND QUALITY OF RESPONSE

This article summarizes the findings of an experiment to evaluatethe effect of "Don't Know" (DK) boxes in a mail questionnaireconsisting of factual questions. In a split-panel test, halfof the respondents received a questionnaire with DK boxes andthe other half received a questionnaire without DK boxes. Theoverall response rates were the same for the two versions. Thequestionnaire version without DK boxes obtained an appreciablyhigher rate of substantive responses for many items. However,there were few large substantive changes in response distributionsbetween the two versions, and there was no appreciable differencein the response error rates.     

Like Mother, Like Daughter: Intergenerational Transmission of DK Response Rates

Attitude expression (and its opposite, DK response rate) isan important personal and political characteristic which isrelated to an individual's psychological and demographic traits.It is also transmitted from parent to child. In fact, it istransmitted to a greater degree than other political attitudesexamined here, with the exception of partisanship. Owing tothe fact that males show higher levels of attitude expression,and because this tendency is reinforced by cultural norms, thetransmission process for attitude expression is conditionedby the sex of child and of parent. Compared with the father'simpact, mothers are particularly influential in transmittingattitude expression to daughters. While fathers have a somewhatstronger effect on sons than do mothers, the difference is substantiallysmaller.     

Erratum

We have been informed by NORC that in our article, "Trends inAttitudes Toward Abortion: 1972–1976" (POQ 43: 181–89),an error appeared on page 182 directly following response 3to the abortion approval question. It read: [1972 survey did not include the word "own" in the question.] It has been pointed out to us by NORC staff that the word "own"was included in the 1972 survey question "ABHLTH" on abortioneven though it does not appear in either the 1972–1977Cumulative Codebook or the 1972–1978 Cumulative Codebookpublished by NORC. For further clarification it should be mentionedthat the Arney and Trescher article (1976: 118) cited in ourpaper specifically states, in brackets, that "own" was insertedin the 1973–1975 surveys but not in the 1972 question.     

INTERVIEWING OLDER ADULTS: MODE COMPARISON USING DATA FROM A FACE-TO-FACE SURVEY AND A TELEPHONE RESURVEY

A face-to-face survey conducted in 1984 with a sample of 1491residents of the Detroit metropolitan area (including an oversampleof older adults) and a reinterview of a random subset of theserespondents by telephone were used to compare the two modesof data collection across two age levels. Except for a tendencytoward a disproportionately large number of DK answers and adisproportionately large amount of interviewer assistance onthe telephone, respondents 60 years of age and older did notexhibit larger mode differences than did respondents under 60.For both age groups, response distributions were rather similar,suggesting little effect of mode. Likewise, response style differedlittle by mode, while a higher proportion of missing data (i.e.,"I don't know" answers) was given on the telephone. The responserate for the telephone reinterview was 90%, somewhat lower forolder than younger persons. The findings support the feasibilityof using the telephone for reinterviewing older adults.     

“Did I just do that?”—Six-month-olds learn the contingency between their vocalizations and a visual reward in 5 minutes

It has been shown that infants can increase or modify a motorically available behavior such as sucking, kicking, arm waving, etc., in response to a positive visual reinforcement (e.g., DeCasper & Fifer, 1980; Millar, 1990; Rochat & Striano, 1999; Rovee-Collier, 1997; Watson & Ramey, 1972). We tested infants to determine if they would also change their vocal behavior in response to contingent feedback, which lacks the social, emotional, and auditory modeling typical of parent-child interaction. Here, we show that in a single five-minute session infants increase the rate of their vocalizations in order to control the appearance of colorful shapes on an iPad screen. This is the first experimental study to demonstrate that infants can rapidly learn to increase their vocalizations, when given positive reinforcement with no social element. This work sets the foundations for future studies into the causal relationship between the number of early vocalizations and the onset of words. In addition, there are potential clinical applications for reinforcing vocal practice in infant populations who are at risk for poor language skills.     

An Experiment on the Measurement of Political Knowledge in Surveys

In a series of articles, Mondak and colleagues argue that theconventional way of measuring political knowledge in surveysis flawed. Personality related "propensity to guess" underestimatesthe level of political knowledge in the population and distortsestimates of between group differences, when a DK alternativeis offered. This has led Mondak to recommend the use of closed-endeditems on which DKs are not explicitly offered, following bestpractice in the field of educational testing. In this article,we present the results of an experimental study which callsinto question the wisdom of this approach. Our results showlittle evidence of partial knowledge concealed within DK responses;when people who initially select a DK alternative are subsequentlyasked to provide a "best guess," they fare statistically nobetter than chance. We conclude that opinion researchers shouldbe cautious about adopting Mondak's recommendations for thedesign of political knowledge items in surveys. Received for publication February 22, 2005. Revision received October 19, 2006. Accepted for publication October 25, 2006.     

FISCAL DECENTRALIZATION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH: SPENDING VERSUS REVENUE DECENTRALIZATION

This article examines whether the efficiency gains accompanying fiscal decentralization generate higher growth in more decentralized economies, applying pooled‐mean group techniques to a panel dataset of 23 Organization for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) countries, 1972–2005. We find that spending decentralization has tended to be associated with lower economic growth while revenue decentralization has been associated with higher growth. Since OECD countries are substantially more spending than revenue decentralized, this is consistent with Oates' (1972) hypothesis that maximum efficiency gains require a close match between spending and revenue decentralization. It suggests reducing expenditure decentralization, and simultaneously increasing the fraction financed locally, would be growth‐enhancing. (JEL E62, H71, H72)     

Effects of Filter Questions in Public Opinion Surveys

Extending previous work, the authors find that the wording ofa filter question can make a significant difference in the percentageof "don't know" (DK) responses elicited by an item, especiallywith topics that are more abstract or less familiar to surveyrespondents. They also find, however, that the content of anitem can have a substantial, independent effect on DK or "noopinion" responses, regardless of how the filter question isworded. In general, it appears that the less familiar the issueor topic, the greater the increase in DK responses producedby adding a filter. Even more important, the analysis showsthat filtering can in some instances dramatically affect theconclusions a pollster would draw about the distribution ofpublic opinion on an issue. Indeed, such effects may occur moreoften than has previously been suspected, though the circumstancesunder which they emerge remain elusive. The authors suggestthat such effects may become amenable to analysis by probingrespondents about "what they had in mind" as they answered thequestion.     

Trends and incidence of childlessness by race: indicators of black progress over three decades

Patterns in childlessness rates for blacks and whites in the U.S. from 1950-1972 were examined using 1940, 1950, and 1960 census data and data from Current Population Reports for 1969 and 1972. Among ever married women, aged 15-49, the proportion of childless black women declined from 29.1%-13.6% from 1940-1972, while the porportion of childless white women declined from 22.9%-14.3% from 1940-1969 and then increased slightly to 15.6% in 1972. The decline in childlessness observed for both blacks and whites during this period was attributable, at least in part, to improved medical care. When age specific rates were examined 2 diverse patterns emerged. For females, aged 15-24, childlessness rates for blacks were lower than for whites throughout 1940-1972, and the differences between blacks and whites increased over time. However, for females, aged 30-39, childlessness rates were higher for blacks than for whites throughout 1940-1972, and the gap between white and black rates decreased over time. In general the data demonstrated a convergence in childlessness patterns for blacks and whites. Childlessness rates were viewed as an indication of social integration. Childlessness is not a norm in American society. The general decline in childless rates among blacks and especially among blacks over 30 years of age indicated that the wider society was serving as a reference group for blacks. Among blacks under 25 years convergence was less apparent and indicated that younger black women were less integrated into the larger society than older black women. On the basis of recent trends it was predicted that convergence between black and white childlessness patterns would continue; however, in view of the upturn in the childlessness rate observed for whites since 1969, it was expected that the childlessness rates for both blacks and whites would increase somewhat in the coming years.     

Conformity to AAPOR Standards in Newspaper Reporting of Public Opinion Polls

This study examines three newspapers' level of conformity toAAPOR standards of minimal disclosure in their reporting ofpublic opinion polls. Analysis of 116 polls published in theperiod of 1972–79 indicates a dramatic increase in thenumber of polls reported, but not in the level of conformityto AAPOR standards. Conformity is higher when the polls concernelections rather than nonelection topics, and when newspapersthemselves, rather than external sources, are the sources ofthe polls.     

THE IMPACT OF R&D INVESTMENT ON PRODUCTIVITY–NEW EVIDENCE USING LINKED R&D–LRD DATA

This paper uses confidential Census longitudinal microdata to examine the association between R&D and productivity for the period 1972–1985. These data allow for significant improvements in measurement and model specification, yielding more precise estimates of the returns to R&D. Our results confirm the findings of existing studies: 1) positive returns to R&D investment 2) higher returns to company-financed research 3) a productivity "premium" on basic research These results are robust to adjustments for "influential outliers." Also, our evidence suggests that the return to company-financed R&D is an increasing function of firm size.     

HERE WE GO AGAIN: MAPS, TERRITORIES, INTERPRETATIONS, AND THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN "THE" AND "A" OR "AN"

Humpty Dumpty was dead wrong when he said, "When I use a word hellip; it means just what I choose it to mean-neither more nor less.""The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things" (Carroll, 1972, p. 90).
And Humpty Dumpty was quite right when he continued, "The question is hellip; which is to be master-that's all" (Carroll, 1972, p. 90). And the answer is, it is the word that is master not its user. A word always means more and less than we, as users, as authors, mean it to mean.     

The Narrowing Regional Gap in Church Attendance in the United States1

Abstract Students of the South have postulated that southern distinctiveness is eroding. Using General Social Survey data for 1972–1991, the convergence hypothesis is tested for regular church attendance. Regional convergence is found, but only for the rural South. Also, narrowing of regional differences in church attendance is especially pronounced among the young, indicating that the convergence is likely to continue. Despite these results, present church attendance levels remain significantly higher in the South than in the non South.     

WHY DO WORKERS JOIN UNIONS? THE IMPORTANCE OF RENT SEEKING

Union status models ignore the fact that rent-seeking prospective members have an incentive to bid up entry costs so that higher union wage gains make union jobs more costly to obtain. The standard presumption that higher union wages cause firms to substitute toward higher quality workers is shown to be incorrect under most plausible assumptions; the observed positive correlation between wage gains and the propensity to join a union underestimates the size of the true supply response. The union/nonunion wage differential reveals more about the social cost of unions than the gain to an individual worker from union membership.     

Muscular performance following coitus∗

Amir, Menachem. Patterns in Forcible Rape. Forword by Marvin E. Wolfgang. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1971. 394 pages. Price $15.00.

Christenson, Cornelia V. Kinsey, a Biograghy. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana Univ. Press, 1971. xii + 241 pp. $6.95.

Gordon, David Cole. Self‐Love. Baltimore, Md: Penguin Books, 1972. 96 pages. $1.00 (paperback).

Harper, Robert A. and Walter Stokes. 45 Levels to Sexual Understanding and Enjoyment. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1972. 231 pages. $6.95.

O'Neill, George, Ph.D. and O'Neill, Nena, Open Marriage, A New Life Style for Couples. New York, N. Y.: M. Evans and Co. (distributed by Lippincott) 1972. 287 pages. $6.95

Parker, William. Homosexuality. A Selective Bibliography of Over 3,000 Items. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1971.

Weinberg, Martin S. and Alan P. Bell. Homosexuality. An Annotated Bibliography. New York, N. Y.: Harper and Row, 1972. 550 pages. $15.00.     

FINANCIAL RESTRAINTS AND PRIVATE INVESTMENT: EVIDENCE FROM A NONSTATIONARY PANEL

We employ recently developed panel data methods to estimate a model of private investment under financial restraints for 20 developing countries using annual data for 1972–2000. We show that the qualitative nature of the results varies depending on whether we take into account cross‐country effects. When we allow for cross‐sectional dependence, investment displays more sensitivity to world capital market conditions and exchange rate uncertainty. A perhaps even more surprising result is the finding that countries that managed to suppress domestic real interest rates without generating high inflation enjoyed higher levels of private investment than those that would have been obtained under liberalized conditions. (JEL O16, G18, G28)     

Predicting No Opinion in the Polls

On poll questions, levels of expressed public ignorance or indifference—NoOpinion or Don't Know—can be explained in some part bycertain properties of the questions pollsters ask, althoughthe educational level of respondents is the single best predictor.No Opinion levels are analyzed in two large sets of recent pollquestions published by Gallup and Harris. A measure of the languagecomplexity of the questions shows no relationship to DK. Ofthe three other question predictors assessed, it is questioncontent which best illuminates levels of No Opinion in bothpolls and points to some unique characteristics of each. Theimportance of question content is demonstrated in two additionalsets of Gallup and Harris data. The more difficult kind of questioncontent dominates in all four sets of poll questions examined.     

THE OPTIMAL PUBLIC EXPENDITURE FINANCING POLICY: DOES THE LEVEL OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MATTER?

This paper explores how the optimal mode of public finance depends on the level of economic development. The theoretical analysis suggests that in the presence of capital market imperfection and liquidity shocks, the detrimental effect of inflation on growth is stronger (weaker) at lower (higher) levels of economic development. Consequently, income taxation (seigniorage) is a relatively less distortionary way of financing public expenditure for low-income (high-income) countries. We provide empirical support for our model's predictions using a panel of 21 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries and 40 developing countries observed over the period 1972–1999. ( JEL E44, E6, H6, O42)     

Occupational inequalities in volunteering participation: Using detailed data on jobs to explore the influence of habits and circumstances

In this paper we present empirical results that show that detailed occupations have distinctive patterns of association with voluntary participation. We draw upon data from four secondary survey datasets from the UK (coverage 1972–2012). Occupations are shown to link to volunteering in a wide range of scenarios and in individual, household, and longitudinal contexts. We argue that these linkages provide insight into social inequalities in volunteering, and that they can help us to understand the relative influence of “circumstance” and “habits” in enabling or inhibiting voluntary participation.