Presidential Popularityand Presidential Elections

Current Research This section of POQ is reserved for brief reportsof research in progress, discussions of unresolved problems,methodological studies, and public opinion data not extensivelyanalyzed or interpreted. Succinct case histories are welcomed,as well as hypotheses and insights that may be useful to otherstudents of public opinion. Usually, materialin this sectionis shorter, more informal, and more tentative than in precedingpages.     

RATIONING BY SELLER'S PREFERENCE AND PACIAL PRICE DISCRIMINATION

This paper investigates the behavior of a seller who has a preference for a certain group of customers. The seller maintains stable prices over time and supplements price rationing with a nonprice rationing. In this situation the preferred buyers would have priority over nonpreferred buyers in purchasing the commodity, and if the latter purchase the commodity they may be paying higher prices. It is proposed here that the premium paid by the nonpreferred buyers is a necessary bribe to induce the seller to forego his search for the preferred buyers.     

Three paradigms of childhood

Le conflit social contemporain au sujet des relations parents-enfants, et spécialement en ce qui concerne la sexualité de l'enfant, est analysé ici à l'aide de trois paradigmes théoriques sur la construction sociale de l'enfance: a/ les enfants en tant que propriété, une définition sociale trouvant son origine dans la société pré-industrielle; b/ la protection des enfants, légitimée par l'industrialisation; et c/ l'enfant en tant que personne, une conception défendue par de récents mouvements de libération. Des exemples pour chaque paradigme sont tirés de sources canadiennes contemporaines. L'intensité actuelle de la révolution paradigmatiqué est expliquée sous l'image d'un noeud de tabous étreignant la construction sociale de la sexualité aussi bien que du pouvoir.
Contemporary social conflict over parent-child relationships, especially concerning child sexuality, is analysed using three theoretical paradigms of social construction of childhood: a/ children as property, a social definition originating in pre-industrial society; b/ protection of children, legitimated by industrialism; and c/ the child as person, advocated by recent liberation movements. Examples of each paradigm are drawn from contemporary Canadian sources. The current intensity of 'paradigmatic revolution' is explained in terms of a nexus of taboos surrounding social construction of both sexuality and power.     

WORKERS SHOULD WANT TO PAY MORE FOR SOCIAL SECURITY

One controversial aspect of the current Social Security system has been the relative distribution of its net costs and benefits between employers and workers. Using simple supply and demand analysis, we demonstrate that proponents and opponents of the current system are making arguments that support the position of their adversaries. In particular, proponents of the existing Social Security system should be arguing that workers pay all of the Social Security tax and then some with lower wages, while opponents should be arguing that employers are paying most of the tax. (JEL H55 , D78 )     

Expectation/Disillusion and Presidential Popularity: The Reagan Experience

The Sigelman-Knight analysis of the "expectation/disillusion"interpretation of recurring declines in presidential popularityis replicated with data on the Reagan presidency. There is aconnection between Reagan's popularity and expectations aboutwhat he would be able to accomplish, but (just as was the caseduring the Carter presidency, and directly counter to predictions)it was the more highly educated whose expectations of presidentialperformance were initially highest. Moreover, as time passedthe size of the education-based gap in expectations of Reaganincreased over time. These findings leave the expectation/disillusioninterpretation in considerable doubt.