CONCEPTUAL AND THEORETICAL PROBLEMS IN THE VERTICAL MOSAIC*

L'ouvrage de Porter, The Vertical Mosaic, est ré-étudié et on y trouve des problèmes conceptuels et théoriques reliés aux notions de ? classe ? et ? pouvoir ?. L'auteur prétend que l'importante distinction de Porter entre ? la vraie classe moyenne ? et ? la majorité moyenne ? viole ses positions théoriques originales sur la notion de classe et est de peu d'utilité pour les fins poursuivies. De plus il n'explique pas les fondements théoriques du concept de classe sociale. En ne distinguant pas pouvoir et autorité il soulève des problèmes logiques et utilitaires. Par voie de conséquence les fondements théoriques de la structure de pouvoir sont inadéquats. En apportant des solutions à ces problèmes l'auteur aurait pu élargir l'univers de ses résultats. The Vertical Mosaic is re-examined, and conceptual and theoretical problems are found to surround “class” and “power.” It is argued that Porter's important distinction between “real middle class” and “middle majority” violates his original position on class, and is inadequate for his stated purpose. Furthermore, the theoretical foundations underlying the structure of class are unexplicated. His failure to distinguish between power and authority raises logical and practical problems. Thus, the theoretical foundations underlying the structure of power are inadequate. The resolution of these problems could have led to further findings.     

INFLATION, HEDGING AND THE DEMAND FOR MONEY: SOME EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE

This paper explores the role of nominal rate of return uncertainty and inflation hedging as potentially important factors explaining the pattern of money demand. Using U.S. quarterly data over the period 1952.2–1982.4, it is shown that in conformity with theoretical considerations the nominal rate of return uncertainty variable tends to have a significantly positive effect and the inflation hedging variable (the covariance between nominal rate of return and inflation rate) a significantly negative effect on the demand for money. These findings seem to be reasonably robust in terms of various definitions of income, interest rates, inflation rate and money variables as well as in terms of different estimation methods.     

SOME EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ANTIMERGER RELIEF IN THE UNITED STATES

The extent of structural relief obtained by the government in a Section 7 settlement is modeled as an outcome of a bargaining game between the antitrust agency and parties to the merger. This framework is applied to data from 73 Section 7 cases settled during 1990–2000. The fraction of competitive overlap subject to divestiture is shown to depend on the extent of merger-specific efficiencies, the anticompetitive potential of the merger, and the hostage effect facing the merging firms, as well as the degree of media coverage of the case, the workload of the agency, and the partisan composition of Congress.(JEL L44 , C24 )     

INTRODUCING HISTORY (IN)TO CULTURAL STUDIES: SOME REMARKS ON THE GERMANSPEAKING CONTEXT

While ‘cultural studies is caught in a traffic jam’, at the same time the seemingly global crisis of cultural studies coincides with the late reception and high popularity of cultural studies in the German-speaking countries after the ‘cultural’ and the ‘linguistic turns’. Yet, the political and academic history and the contexts of the emergence of cultural studies and ‘Kulturwissenschaften’, as well as their by now established academic traditions and the manifold relations to current developments, are rarely defined and scrutinized. In this paper,we will relate some theoretical and historical perspectives concerning the relationship between cultural studies and the historical disciplines in the German-speaking context. We shall try to trace the potential of mutual benefits between cultural studies and history by foregrounding the political commitment of academic work that still seems to be one of the most important traits of CS as much as the necessity of a stronger notion of the contextualization that history and historiographical methodology provides.     

NEIGHBORHOOD CONTEXT AND THE GENDER GAP IN ADOLESCENT VIOLENT CRIME

Although researchers consistently demonstrate that females engage in less criminal behavior than males across the life course, research on the variability of the gender gap across contexts is sparse. To address this issue, we examine the gender gap in self-reported violent crime among adolescents across neighborhoods. Multilevel models using data from the Project of Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN) indicate that the gender gap in violent crime decreases as levels of neighborhood disadvantage increase. Further, the narrowing of the gender gap is explained by gender differences in peer influence on violent offending. Neighborhood disadvantage increases exposure to peer violence for both sexes, but peer violence has a stronger impact on violent offending for females than for males, producing the reduction in the gender gap at higher levels of disadvantage. We also find that the gender difference in the relationship between peer violence and offending is explained, in part, by (1) the tendency for females to have more intimate friendships than males, and (2) the moderating effect of peer intimacy on the relationship between peer violence and self-reported violent behavior.     

LONG-RUN EQUILIBRIUM IN THE EMPIRICAL STUDY OF MONOPOLY AND COMPETITION

A long-run tendency of industry profit rate to converge to a single competitive level has been a fundamental tenet of the industrial organization approach to the study of competitiveness in a market economy. This paper shows that for the post World War II period a weak equalization can be econometrically identified with different reaction speeds by industry. However, persistent profit rate differences endure. Finally, a portfolio theory of risk is considered as an explanation of these differentials.     

SHOPPING HOURS AND PRICE LEVELS IN THE RETAILING INDUSTRY: A THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

We explore the effect of extended shopping hours on the demand faced by small and large stores and on their prices. Our theoretical model predicts that prices at large stores will increase after opening hours are deregulated. We then test this prediction using a set of Quebec data collected before and after the deregulation of opening hours in July 1990. The results support our view that prices have increased at large stores since deregulation and that consumers pay for greater shopping flexibility.     

INDUSTRIAL STRUCTURE AND MONOPOLY POWER IN THE FEDERAL BUREAUCRACY: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

Predictions of various models of public sector supply rely on the assumption of bureau monopoly power. This assumption is tested first by measuring industrial structure of the federal public sector using the concentration ratio and Herfindahl index, and second by examining the relationship between the resulting estimates and bureau monopoly power. The findings indicate that monopoly structure of the federal bureaucracy is more limited than is generally assumed. Interpretations on the basis of traditional industrial organization theory and contestable market theory suggest that bureau monopoly power is questionable and may not be the source of observed inefficiencies in bureau supply.     

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND STRIKES: PROBLEMS IN TESTING THE HAAS AND STACK MODEL

Haas and Stack (1983) make a bold attempt to establish an empirical relationship between strike volume (working-days lost due to industrial disputes) and economic development using parametric statistical techniques in the from of ordinary least squares regression. They conclude that "the effect of economic development on strikes follows a parabolic curve"(p. 56). While the authors express the customary caution about the reliability of their data, they ignore various problems with their data, i.e., method and technique which may invalidate the conclusions of the study. These problems are dealt with in this article.     

THE SOCIAL CONTEXT OF RELIGIOUS INTEGRATION AND SUICIDE:

Recent research suggests that Durkheimian ideas on the impact of religious affiliation on suicide need to be updated and tailored to the modern cultural landscape of the United States. Following up on the importance of how historical context has shifted the integrative power of denominational networks, this article pursues the potential utility of a networks, perspective by suggesting that a significant contextual element has been neglected to date: Geographical context, both regional and rural-urban dimensions, also delimits the differential ability of religions to form a "community' of social support capable of integrating individuals. If the network approach provides a useful direction, the effects of religious affiliation across geographical areas should vary in a manner consistent with notions of how social structural opportunity and tradition (of lack thereof) affect religious network strength. Analyses of detailed suicide, religion, and sociodemographic data by region and population density in U.S. county groups do, in fact, indicate that for many major religious groups the effects of religious affiliation on suicide vary across geographical areas, consistent with network theory. For example, while Judaism's protective effect is small overall, it is large in the Northeast and reversed in the South. The protective strength also is reversed for Catholicism in the South and many Evangelical Protestant groups in the Northeast. Overall, the results suggest that region exerts a greater impact on religious affiliation effects than does population density, though the latter does impact on Catholic and Jewish effects.