The Impact of Gaming on the Indian Nations in New Mexico*

Objective. This study examines the economic and social impact of Indian gaming on the residents of the 22 pueblos and tribes in New Mexico. Method. We employ a naturally occurring quasi‐experimental design that classifies each of the Indian Nations into one of two groups, gaming and nongaming, depending on the continuous operation of a “Las Vegas” style casino for multiple years in the 1990s. For these two groups we compare aggregate, primarily U.S. Census, data spanning 25 indicators in both 1990 and 2000. Results. Although improvements were evident for both groups, nine of the 12 economic measures and six of the 13 social measures revealed a growing disparity favoring gaming nations during the 1990s, while six other measures suggested declining but continuing differences. These findings persisted in light of controls for population and urbanization, though many of the economic differences disappeared for the rural nations. Conclusion. Gaming has had a positive economic and social impact on the gaming pueblos and tribes in New Mexico, especially for the more urbanized nations. The gaming nations are enjoying higher incomes, lower levels of poverty, and improvements in selected social areas compared to those nations opting not to pursue casino gaming in the 1990s.     

The impact of ethnicity on attitudes toward health care reform in New Mexico

Latinos tend to have significantly lower levels of access to general and top quality medical care than do non-Latino whites, and although disparities in access to health care have diminished for all other minority groups over time, they have widened for Latinos. Given these trends, current attempts to provide universal health care at both the national and state levels across the United States have large implications for the health status of Latinos. The objective of this analysis is to determine whether Latinos have different attitudes regarding health reform than non-Latino whites. Our data are from a statewide random digit dialing telephone survey of New Mexico residents, age 18 and older, conducted in the Fall of 2007. With a Latino population of 44% and ongoing health care reform efforts by the state legislature, New Mexico is an ideal location for this analysis. After controlling for a host of individual level factors, our findings suggest that while Latinos are less likely to identify health care as a salient state issue relative to the economy and crime, they are more likely than non-Latino whites to believe affordable health care programs are important. Finally, Latinos view employers, more than government or individuals, to be responsible for expanding health care coverage.     

The determinants of tobacco control in Europe: A research note

A series of Probit regressions are estimated to assess the determinants of tobacco control laws in a cross-section of European countries. Although significance is sparse amongst several of the variables included in the analysis, we do find a tendency for the probability of tobacco control to be higher in lower income non-EU countries, with larger shares of government health care expenditures.     

The geographic distribution of gaming machine proceeds in New Zealand

ABSTRACT

Within NZ gambling and its associated harms are well-researched topics. However, most studies to date have relied upon the use of survey methodology or have focused on individual regions. In this paper we distribute gaming machine proceeds (GMP) from gaming venues to the surrounding localities in order to derive estimates of GMP per capita. It is hoped these estimates will enable the trusts who operate the electronic gaming machines (EGMs), and who are responsible for reinvesting a proportion of proceeds back into the community, to more accurately target funding towards the areas most affected by the harms of EGM gambling. Our estimates of GMP per capita also provide a means of assessing the criterion validity of the recently developed Dynamic Deprivation Index. Furthermore, although it is well known that Māori and Pacific Island populations have a higher incidence of problem gambling, our results imply that when controlling for socio-economic deprivation and the geographic location of EGMs the associations between ethnicity and GMP per capita are weak. From a policy perspective, this suggests the most effective way of limiting the harms of EGM gambling on these populations is to place tighter controls on the number of venues within their communities.     

Indian gaming and Tribal Revenue Allocation Plans: Socio-economic determinants of policy adoption

As the Indian gaming industry has experienced unprecedented growth over the past two decades, tribes have pursued different paths regarding the utilization of gaming revenues within parameters established by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Since 1993, more than 100 tribes have received approval through the Department of the Interior to distribute revenues directly to tribal members through per capita payments governed by a Tribal Revenue Allocation Plan (RAP). This paper improves our understanding of nations with payment plans by exploring whether socio-economic tribal features are associated with the successful adoption of a RAP. We find that tribes who gained approval of a RAP in the 1990s have higher per capita incomes, while also having smaller populations and lower levels of educational attainment. Population is the strongest predictor of RAP adoptions in both the 1990s and 2000s, with the impact of other tribal features being less meaningful in explaining adoption in the second decade.     

The impact of kin support on urban American Indian families

Scholars believe that family ties extending out to previous generations, called kin support, may have allowed American Indians to withstand traumatic events. Although a series of traumatic and historical events disrupted the social structures of family life, kin support was found to be a major factor in the survival of American Indians. This study utilized the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to compare American Indians and whites (n = 1227) in factors that impact kin support. While urban American Indian mothers were similar to whites in a number of elements, American Indian mothers that were not married, fell below the poverty threshold, were younger in age and co‐resided with kin were more likely than their white counterparts to receive kin support. Implications for urban American Indian mothers suggest that maintaining their role as kin keeper may serve as an intrinsic reward and motivation for caring for kin. The role of a kin keeper may also promote the unique contribution in their families and the preservation of their culture. Given the minimal research in this area, results of this study can be used to guide future research and the development of intervention strategies for practitioners working with American Indian families.     

The impact of Oportunidades on human capital and income distribution in Mexico: A top-down/bottom-up approach

To analyze the effects of the Mexican Oportunidades conditional cash transfer program on school attendance and household income distribution, this paper links a microeconometric simulation model and a general equilibrium model in a bidirectional way, so to explicitly take spillover effects of the program into account. Our results suggest that partial equilibrium analysis alone underestimates the distributional effects of the program. Extending the coverage of the program to the poor increases school attendance, reduces child labor supply, and increases the equilibrium wages of children who remain at work. With a relatively low fiscal cost, Mexican social policy could further reduce income inequality and poverty.     

The limits of uncertainty: A note

Discussions of decision making by individuals and organizations invariably touch on the issue of uncertainty. Decision theory axiomatizations are based on the assumption that uncertainty cannot be unlimited, but that there must exist a minimal interval of value stability. This note makes explicit that assumption for individual choice. For group and organizational decision making, a proof is presented which deduces a limit to uncertainty from the existence of deliberate social action.     

A note on decisions under uncertainty: the impact of the choice of the welfare measure

The paper addresses the question, how policy decisions under uncertainty depend on the underlying welfare concept. We study three different welfare measures: The first is directly based on the ex ante (expected) utility of a representative consumer whereas the second relies on an ex ante and the third on an ex post valuation of policy changes compared to the status quo. We show that decisions based on these measures coincide if and only if risk-neutral expected utility maximization is applied. Differences between the decisions are analyzed for both, risk-averse expected utility maximization and the MaxiMin criterion. For risk-averse decision makers, differences between the first and the second concept arise if the absolute risk-aversion of the decision maker is not constant in income. For risk-aversion and the MaxiMin criterion, the effort levels to provide a public good based on an optimization of ex post utility changes exceed those based on the first or second concept. Implications for environmental policy decisions based on the concepts of abatement costs and benefits from abatement are discussed.     

Travelling from New Spain to Mexico: Mapping Practices of Nineteenth-Century Mexico

James Horn, Adapting to a New World: English Society in the Seventeenth‐Century Chesapeake (1994), xv + 461 (University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, $60.50).

Marguerite W. Dupree, Family Structure in the Staffordshire Potteries, 1840–1880 (1995), xx + 405 (Clarendon Press, Oxford, £48.00).

David B. Copian, In the Time of Cannibals: The Word Music of South Africa's Basotho Migrants (1994), xxi + 300 (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, $55.00, paperback $18.95).

Ellen Meiksins Wood, Democracy Against Capitalism: Renewing Historical Materialism (1995), 300 (Cambridge University Press, London, £35.00).     

Institutional constraints on legislative lobbying: The case of Indian casino advocacy in New York

Prevailing theory holds that lobbyists primarily lobby their legislative allies, yet the literatures on advocacy and legislative organization suggest that we should not always expect this to be true. Institution design gives some legislators disproportionately greater power, and jurisdictional requirements often create a contentious environment forcing lobbyists to lobby their ideological opponents. Drawing on these literatures, I revise the basic lobbying model to predict conditions where we might expect to see advocates lobby their foes. I test my hypotheses with data on campaign contributions made in New York on the contentious issue of American Indian gambling casinos. I find that while advocates often lobbied their allies, they were more likely to contribute heavily to legislative leaders regardless of position, and often even contributed to rank-and-file opponents as the environment became more competitive. I also find some evidence that this was different for Indian nations, who may have employed a more naïve advocacy strategy than more traditional interest groups.     

The impact of residential placement on child development: research and policy implications

The accumulated knowledge on the development of children in residential settings covers a lot of ground but leaves a great deal unturned. The article summarises what is known about child development in the context of residential settings and concludes that there is little evidence to draw on to make clear recommendations about what types of children are likely to benefit from what types of residential settings. It maintains that, in the absence of evidence, policy and practice regarding residential care often has been guided by ideology. Residence has become a place of last resort for young people who cannot receive the support and/or safety they need from their own families or from foster families, or who pose a danger to others. The article calls for more rigorous evaluations of the impact of residence on child outcomes as well as concerted efforts to apply research evidence to policy and practice.     

The impact of rice research expenditure policy in Thailand

This study explored the economic, social and environmental impact of Thai rice research expenditure (categorized as breeding expenditure, production expenditure and processing expenditure) during 2008–2015, using the simultaneous equation modeling technique. The results showed that production-research expenditure was the most explicit to reduce the amount of nitrogen fertilizer usage, while breeding-research expenditure was the most explicit in terms of increasing farmers’ economic status from planting rice. Processing expenditure seemed to be the least effective spending among the three types.     

Sex differences in single vehicle fatal crashes: a research note

Single vehicle traffic fatality data spanning the years 1982–1991 appear to support the convergence hypothesis: that women are becoming more like men in their behaviors. However, diminishing differences between male and female fatalities do not support a risk-taking model of convergence. Male drivers killed in single vehicle crashes have reduced risk-taking as measured by driving at night, driving on weekends, prior traffic convictions and crashes, and drunken driving. Female single vehicle fatalities have not risen because of increased risk-taking; rather, a greater proportion of women are now licensed to drive and they are driving more miles per year, which supports an exposure model over a risk-taking one.     

The role of funding on research and science: The impact of glyphosate herbicides on health and the environment

The objective of this research is to determine the factors that influence the outcomes of previous scientific research on the potential adverse effects of glyphosate-based herbicides (GBH) on human and animal health and the environment. The emphasis is placed on answering the questions about the causal linkages between who funds and performs the research and the research outcomes. A lack of change in use of the GBHs in agriculture stems directly from public (Government) support of the position how the GBHs are safe for humans and the environment. The results of our meta-analysis clearly demonstrate how large and growing majority of influential research on the subject suggests otherwise. Early research on the subject, prior to 2010, done by private and public sector researchers was strongly indicating how GBHs are safe for humans, animals and the environment. It is possible that there is inertia in food safety policy leading to this large gap and disconnect between the results of hundreds of more recent studies and the (current) course of public policy. This study helps us better understand why science on this subject has not been conclusive and thus not the main driver of “science-based” policies about the GBH based production of genetically modified foods. The importance and the implications of this research are obvious: Evidence-based decisions and policies informed by rigorous research and unimpeded by other interested parties are necessary when it comes to developing public policy that affects food safety and in turn human and animal health, and the environment.     

中国人研究印度的传统

本文系作者为 2 0 0 1年 4月在新德里召开的“印度与东亚 :文化和社会”国际会议而作。原文系英文。1中国人注意并研究印度具有悠久的历史 ,形成了优良的传统。本文回顾了中国从古迄今研究印度学的历程、成就与特点。     

The Black Regulars: Buffalo Soldiers during the Indian war era as crime fighters and peacekeepers on the Western frontier, 1866–1892

The purpose of this review of the Buffalo Soldier is to explore their peacekeeping and crime fighting duties on the Western frontier during the period of 1866–1892. The Army was called upon to play a role in a number of controversial areas of American life and society: Southern Reconstruction fighting against the Native Americans, strikebreakers; and finally the railroad strikes of 1877. Following the Civil War, while performing some of these roles, the Army faced a great deal of hostility. It is one of the ironies of American History, as historians Foner [Foner, J. D. (1970). The United States soldier between two wars: Army life and reforms, 1865–1898. New York: Humanities Press] and Jackson and Katz [Jackson, S. D., & Katz, W. L. (1969). Preface of the Arno edition in under fire with the tenth U.S. cavalry. New York: Arno Press] have noted, that the Buffalo Soldier to earn their esteemed reputation as honorable fighting men, had to assist in the suppression of the Native American people and to act as strikebreakers. However, the literature shows that they also brought peace and civilization to the West through their law enforcement and other peacekeeping duties.     

Ethical guidelines for research with children: A review of current research ethics documentation in New Zealand

Abstract

Children's rights to participate in matters affecting them, including research, have gained increasing recognition over recent decades. This recognition, and the growth in research with children as participants, has given rise to greater attention from researchers to ethical issues related to child research. This article reviews the current ethics documentation in New Zealand. The findings indicate that considerable variation exists between ethical codes and guidelines in relation to research with children. The dominant focus is on attending to issues of consent and protection from harm, at the outset of the research, rather than recognition of the ongoing nature of ethical issues throughout the research process. Although the findings indicate an increase in the consideration of ethical issues, the existing documentation is inconsistent and inadequate in attending to specific child‐related issues. Suggestions are made to enhance children's participation in research and demonstrate a respect for their participation rights.