AFFIRMATIVE ACTION AND THE UTILIZATION OF MINORITY‐ AND WOMEN‐OWNED BUSINESSES IN HIGHWAY PROCUREMENT

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) mandates states' use of affirmative action when awarding federally funded road construction projects. Here I document the effectiveness of this program in increasing purchases from disadvantaged business enterprises (DBEs). Higher goals for the utilization of DBEs, both across states over time and across projects within California, is associated with a greater share of contract dollars awarded to DBEs. This effect is concentrated among minority‐owned firms and is stronger when goals are more likely to be binding and in states with an apparently stricter enforcement regime. (JEL J15, H57)     

The case against union-only project labor agreements on government construction projects

Imposition of union-only PLAs in the public sector cannot be shown to serve the public interest. The government should not enter into the realm of labor management relations by arbitrarily creating a protected enclave for union work at the expense of taxpayers and to the detriment of fair and open competition. Government agencies that impose union-only PLAs in response to short-term political pressure from labor organizations will suffer long term consequences, in the form of litigation, increased costs of construction, and adverse taxpayer reaction. Mr. Baskin is a partner with the Washington, DC. law firm of Venable, Baetjer, Howard & Civiletti, LLP. He focuses on all aspects of labor and employment law representing management and serves as General Counsel of Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc.     

Cost analysis of the strengthening families program in reducing time to family reunification among substance-affected families

Decision makers typically face uncertainty in determining whether the outcomes of promising child welfare interventions justify the investment. Despite repeated calls for cost analysis in child welfare, original studies that evaluate the costs and effects of child welfare programs have been limited. Moreover, no cost analyses have focused on family reunification programs that address the needs of substance-affected families. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the costs and effects of a federally funded implementation of the Strengthening Families Program (SFP), a 14-week family training curriculum, on time to reunification with a substance-involved child welfare population. Based on event history analysis, we find the typical child participating in SFP spends 190 fewer days in out of home care when compared to a propensity score matched comparison group of children in out-of home care receiving treatment as usual. Re-entry rates between the two groups were not significantly different at follow-up. At an average out-of-home care rate of $86 per child per day in this state, SFP saves approximately $16,340 per participating child in out-of-home care costs. From a cost–benefit perspective, every $1 invested in SFP yields an average savings of $9.83 in this Midwestern demonstration.     

Individual and Social Costs of Divorce in Utah

This preliminary report provides an overview of the economic consequences of divorce for couples experiencing divorce in Utah. The economic impact on the divorcing individuals, the surrounding communities in which they live, and the state and federal governments were assessed. The data collected in Utah reveals that the federal government absorbs the most substantial costs, including a host of expenditures related to welfare assistance and medical costs. The 9,735 divorces in Utah during 2001 cost the state and federal government nearly $300 million in direct and indirect costs. Extrapolation from these estimates reveals that divorce and its direct and indirect economic consequences cost the United States $33.3 billion annually. Implications for social policy and strengthening marriages are provided.A longer version of this paper, including a cost analysis breakdown for each state, is available from the author. This paper was originally written while the author was at Utah State University. This report is based on initial research findings by Dr. Steven L. Nock and Dr. David B. Larson. I would like to thank Dr. Brent A. Barlow, Brigham Young University, and Drs. Kathleen W. Piercy and James P. Marshall, Utah State University, for their valuable assistance in this research. A special thanks also goes to the reviewers for their invaluable comments on earlier versions of this article.David G. Schramm, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Auburn University, 203 Spidle Hall, Auburn, AL 36849; e-mail: schradg@auburn.edu.     

Urban development programming: The problem of federal involvement and self‐evaluation

One government social service program that has been affected by the recent shift in political philosophy is the Urban Development Action Grant program (UDAG). Operated since 1977 by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), UDAG is intended to facilitate the creation of new employment opportunities in economically distressed areas. Awarded by the federal government to local public officials, UDAG funds are allocated to encourage private investment for industrial growth and expansion. These financial incentives, it is argued, serve as a catalyst for new employment opportunities created to assist the poor and the unemployed.

In the context of a cost‐benefit analysis, however, the UDAG program may be an example of fiscal extravagance and administrative malfeasance. Three UDAG case studies reported offer a sample of federally subsidized UDAG industrial projects. Discussion of these projects is intended as a partial analysis of the UDAG program. Other issues addressed include the role of federal officials in the UDAG monitoring process, the effectiveness of UDAG in creating new jobs, and the criteria employed by government officials to evaluate the UDAG program.     

Minority employment in the construction trades

This paper examines employment in the construction trades by race and skill level across 162 large U.S. metropolitan areas. The results reveal significant negative wage and positive scale effects on construction employment, especially for minorities and laborers, and thus imply that repeal of the Davis-Bacon Act, which requires “prevailing wages ” to be paid on federally funded construction projects, would yield substantial efficiency and equity gains. Conservative estimates suggest that Davis-Bacon repeal would increase construction employment by at least 36,000, including jobs for 27,000 minorities and 10,000 laborers. I am grateful to Burt Barnow, Barry Hirsch, and the anonymous referee for helpful comments on earlier drafts of this paper; Barry Hirsch and David Macpherson for preparing and thoroughly answering questions regarding their database provided to me through the Bureau of National Affairs; and Mindy Berry for careful research assistance.     

Déjà vu for airline industrial relations

Fifteen years after deregulation, labor relations in the airline industry returned to thestatus quo ante, as union power, particularly ALPA’s, still dominates. Without a long-term shift in bargaining power between the parties, costs and productivity have not changed much. Labor accounts for 60 percent of the cost difference between strong and low-cost carriers. American, Delta, United, Northwest, and USAir would require some combination of labor cost concessions or productivity increases of $1.6 billion to match the productivity-adjusted labor costs for low-cost carriers’ flight crews. To remain competitive, strong carriers and unions must develop strategies to deal with anachronistic work rules, provisions to contract out work, and premium pay for airline employees.     

Making Child Care "Affordable" in the United States

Two alternative federally financed plans are presented as modelsfor a program which would make child care of acceptable quality"affordable" for millions of American families. Taking a cuefrom currently operating state programs, care is defined as"affordable" if it costs parents no more than 30 percent ofthe amount by which their income exceeds the poverty line. Thefirst plan would cost the government $25 billion per year andwould concentrate help on families with incomes up to twicethe poverty line. The second would cost $39 billion per year,would provide higher quality care, and would allow all UnitedStates families to have access to care that was "affordable"by our definition. Costs of these magnitudes preclude financingof any significant part by employers or philanthropies. Whilesome government savings might result from the beneficial effectsof these programs, the main rationale for them rests, not onthe calculation that they will save the government money (althoughthey might), but on the fact that they will prevent considerablemisery to children and their families. Making quality childcare affordable to all families would result in safer, moreeducational, and more enjoyable care for children, and wouldgive a financial boost to families pitifully short of resourcesin a non-stigmatizing way. It would reduce child poverty andreduce enrollment in welfare-type programs. It would also giveparents a chance to particiopate in the world of work and toachieve the gains in resources and status that such a participationwould alllow.     

Incremental cost sharing: Characterization by coalition strategy-proofness

Each one of n users consumes an idiosyncratic commodity produced in indivisible units. The n commodities are jointly produced by a central facility and total cost must be shared by the users.  A “sequential stand alone mechanism” shares costs incrementally according to a fixed ordering of the users: the first user always pays stand alone cost, the second pays the stand alone cost of the first two users minus that of the first and so on. If the second derivatives of costs are of a constant sign, such a method yields a unique strong equilibrium at every profile of convex preferences in the game where each user chooses his own demand. This equilibrium, in turn, defines a coalition strategy-proof social choice function.  Under decreasing marginal costs and submodular costs, the sequential stand alone mechanisms are almost characterized by these properties; the only exception is the binary demand case (each agent consumes zero or one unit) where a rich family of cost sharing methods (the Shapley value among them) yields a coalition strategy-proof equilibrium selection. Under increasing marginal costs and supermodular costs, coalition strategy-proofness characterizes a richer family of cost sharing methods: they give out one unit at a time while charging marginal costs, with the users taking turns according to a sequence fixed in advance. These methods contain serial cost sharing as a limit case. Received: 8 July 1997/Accepted: 22 January 1998     

The cost of implementing a jail diversion program for people with mental illness in San Antonio,Texas

Jail diversion programs for people with mental illness are designed to redirect offenders with mental illness into community treatment. Although much has been published about program models and their successes, little detail is available to policy makers and community stakeholders on the resources required to start and implement a jail diversion program and which agencies bear how much of the burden. The current study used data on a model jail diversion program in San Antonio, Texas, to address this research gap. Data on staff costs, client contacts, planning, and implementation were collected for three types of diversion: pre-booking police, post-booking bond, and post-booking docket. An activity-based costing algorithm was developed to which parameter values were applied. The start-up cost for the program was $556,638.69. Pre-booking diversion cost $370 per person; 90% of costs were incurred by community mental health agencies for short-term monitoring and screening (>80% of activities). Post-booking bond and docket diversion cost $238 and $205 per person, respectively; the majority of costs were incurred by the courts for court decisions. Developing a multiple-intercept jail diversion program requires significant up-front investment. The share of costs varies greatly depending on the type of diversion.     

A new evaluation of impacts of prevailing wage law repeal

A recent academic study claims that repeal of the Davis-Bacon Act, the federal prevailing wage law covering construction of public works, would cost more in lost taxes than could be recovered in lower construction expenditures and would also result in an increased number of construction injuries and deaths. Those claims are not supported by the facts. Indeed, the opposite is true. The facts support savings to the federal government from repeal of Davis-Bacon in excess of $1.5 billion annually, and, if anything, a lower rather than a higher frequency of construction injuries. Furthermore, states still having prevailing wage laws would also realize significant savings from repeal. Aggregate savings from eliminating all prevailing wage laws could exceed $4 billion a year. The author gratefully acknowledges the assistance of David Denholm, President, Public Service Research Council, and Derrick Max, Staff Economist, U.S. House of Representatives, in finding sources of data and helping structure this paper, and of Dr. Herbert R. Northrup, Professor Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania, for his guidance and advice.     

Do davis-bacon minimum wages raise product quality?

The Davis-Bacon Act requires labor on most federally financed construction projects to be paid a minimum wage, often equal to the union wage. Since contractors are apt to employ higher quality labor at this higher wage, Davis-Bacon supporters argue that higher quality output will result. Contrary to this reasoning, our paper shows that a Davis-Bacon type rule need not improve output quality. The switch to higher quality labor, combined with a competitive bidding process, produces an important possibility of perverse output quality results from Davis-Bacon.     

OPTIMAL BAIL AND THE VALUE OF FREEDOM: EVIDENCE FROM THE PHILADELPHIA BAIL EXPERIMENT

This article performs a cost‐benefit analysis to determine socially optimal bail levels for felony defendants. We consider jailing costs, the cost of lost freedom to incarcerated defendants, and the social costs of flight and new crimes committed by released defendants. We estimate the effects of changing bail using data from a randomized experiment. We find that the typical defendant in our sample would be willing to pay roughly $1,000 for 90 d of freedom. While imprecise, our optimal bail estimates are similar to the observed levels of bail prior to bail reform. (JEL J17, J19, K14, K42)     

The distribution of a federal entitlement: The case of adoption assistance

Adoption assistance entitlements support children whose birth parents cannot care for them. The entitlements are meant to offset the extra cost to adoptive families of raising children whose early adverse experiences leave them with special needs. Unlike other Social Security Act programs, adoption assistance is not federally administered but is administered by states or localities. State-to-state variation in administration of this federal entitlement leads to unequal treatment of similar children. Moreover, although adoption assistance is an entitlement for children, payments made by many states are systematically correlated with the characteristics of adoptive families.     

A model of collaborative programming to address wildlife issues: The northeast wildlife damage management research and outreach cooperative

Wildlife abundance has grown for several species that are adapted to human-dominated landscapes. Overabundant wildlife may cause nuisance concerns and property damage, or spread zoonotic diseases such as West Nile virus, particularly at the suburban-rural interface of many communities. Consequently, wildlife damage management has become an important component of the wildlife profession. The complicated biological and human dimensions of human-wildlife conflicts often require partnerships between state and federal agencies, universities, local governments, communities, and private wildlife control professionals. The Northeast Wildlife Damage Management Research and Outreach Cooperative (WDM Coop) was formed to enhance coordination and collaboration among wildlife agencies, universities, and other cooperators to promote consistent, multi-state approaches for resolving wildlife-related concerns. During 2001–2004, 12 projects have been funded to examine issues associated with white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), black bear (Ursus americanus), Canada geese (Branta canadensis), and beaver (Castor canadensis). These projects have focused on a diverse array topics from community-based efforts to control deer populations, to aversive conditioning techniques for black bears. The Northeast Fish and Wildlife Agency Directors decided to exclude projects focusing on zoonotic diseases and human health issues from the list of WDM Coop activities. There have been focused efforts concerning human dimensions inquiry and outreach publications for wildlife management professionals. As state fish and wildlife agency budgets grow tighter and staff numbers are reduced, we believe more regional centers or wildlife management cooperatives will be formed to meet the increasing demand for services from multiple states with shared issues and concerns.     

The cost of implementing a 2-1-1 call center-based cancer control navigator program

ObjectivesDetermine the cost of implementing a call center-based cancer screening navigator program.MethodsSocial service call centers in Houston and Weslaco, TX, assessed cancer risks and implemented cancer screening promotion and navigation. Micro costing was used to estimate the program costs. Staff logs and call records tracked personnel time and material costs, including a standard 30% overhead rate. Sensitivity analysis examined the effect of varying uncertain cost parameters. Scale effects were simulated for larger population coverage.ResultsThe total cost to recruit and navigate 732 persons, out of 2933 individuals who called the center was $215,847. The participant time cost was $19,503, and the personnel cost was $116,523. The cost per navigated participant was $295 (95% CI, $290.56–$298.07). The average cost per participant for recruitment and referral only, was $36 (95% CI, $34.9–$36.9). Average cost declines to $34 for recruitment and referral, and to $225 for recruitment, referral, and navigation when the number of participants increases to 15,000 individuals.ConclusionsExpanding 2-1-1 referral services with opportunistic cancer screening promotion takes advantage of existing infrastructure but requires substantial additional staff time, participant time, and budget. Cost estimation is the first step in a full economic evaluation and informs program planners and decision-makers on the resource and budgetary requirements of this innovative strategy for increasing cancer screening in low income communities.     

A Davis-Bacon musicale: Symphony orchestras as migrant labor

One of the original arguments in support of the Davis-Bacon Act was that local construction labor would be protected from wage-busting on federal projects by “ruthless non-local contractors” using low-wage, itinerant labor. A related, current claim is that Davis-Bacon prevents lower quality non-local firms from winning contracts by underbidding local labor; thus, Davis-Bacon helps to ensure the quality of construction. This paper first evaluates whether the use of itinerant non-local firmsnecessarily results in lower quality output. Using the “traveling” symphony orchestra as an analogy, the answer is clearly “no.” Second, if higher quality output may be produced by non-local firms, is this likely to happen in construction? Third, does a Davis-Bacon type of wage floor ensure that local projects will be built by local firms or crews?     

States call on HHS to immediately change year‐1 bupe cap

A coalition of 22 states and territories is requesting that the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) lift restrictions on providing buprenorphine, one of the only three federally approved medications to treat opioid use disorder (OUD). “Buprenorphine is an essential tool in the fight to end the opioid epidemic,” said Howard Zucker, M.D., commissioner of health for New York state, which is leading the initiative. “Removing federal restrictions on prescribing buprenorphine will ultimately save lives and eliminate unnecessary barriers that prevent people with opioid use disorder from having access to treatment,” he said.     

Costs of colorectal cancer screening provision in CDC’s Colorectal Cancer Control Program: Comparisons of colonoscopy and FOBT/FIT based screening

We assess annual costs of screening provision activities implemented by 23 of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Colorectal Cancer Control Program (CRCCP) grantees and report differences in costs between colonoscopy and FOBT/FIT-based screening programs. We analysed annual cost data for the first three years of the CRCCP (July 2009–June 2011) for each screening provision activity and categorized them into clinical and non-clinical screening provision activities. The largest cost components for both colonoscopy and FOBT/FIT-based programs were screening and diagnostic services, program management, and data collection and tracking. During the first 3 years of the CRCCP, the average annual clinical cost for screening and diagnostic services per person served was $1150 for colonoscopy programs, compared to $304 for FIT/FOBT-based programs. Overall, FOBT/FIT-based programs appear to have slightly higher non-clinical costs per person served (average $1018; median $838) than colonoscopy programs (average $980; median $686). Colonoscopy-based CRCCP programs have higher clinical costs than FOBT/FIT-based programs during the 3-year study timeframe (translating into fewer people screened). Non-clinical costs for both approaches are similar and substantial. Future studies of the cost-effectiveness of colorectal cancer screening initiatives should consider both clinical and non-clinical costs.     

Expenditures on children by female-headed households

The 1982–84 Consumer Expenditure Survey data are used to analyze expenditures made by nonpoor female-headed households for child-related goods and services. These child costs are measured using Engel's (1895) food share equivalency methodology, previously used by Espenshade (1984) to analyze child-related expenditures in two-parent households. Results show that single, female-headed households on average spend about $112,000 to $142,000 in 1990 dollars to raise a single child to age 18. Findings are also compared with those of two other recently published studies of single-parent child cost estimates. Professor Douthitt's research interests include analysis of the effects of family composition on money and time expenditures. Professor Huh's current research interests include analysis of gender roles and family time use.