THE TERMS OF TRADE AND THE INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION OF FISCAL POLICY

This paper develops an example of a noncooperative game between fiscal authorities in two countries. The key strategic link between countries is the terms of trade. An equilibrium without cooperation is characterized by excessive tax rates and public spending levels in each country. The outcome is analogous to the Nash equilibrium of the static optimal tarif game in trade theory. But in this model there is also a dynamic distortion caused by noncooperative behaviour. This dynamic distortion depresses capital accumulation and reduces the equilibrium capital stock in each country. Numerical examples suggest a significant welfare benefit of cooperation.     

Local Government and the Politics of Decency*

Objective. Local government officials exhibit a variety of responses to morality issues involving “decency” (i.e., pornography, prostitution, sexually explicit businesses). The purpose of this research is to account for these differences. Methods. This research analyzes a subset of data from a larger study of morality policy making at the local level, that is, all cases of decision making on decency issues (e.g., pornography, prostitution, regulation of sexually explicit businesses, etc.) that occurred in the period 1994–2000 in 10 of the 52 largest cities in the United States. Results. In mayoral settings, decision making on decency cases is likely to evoke pro‐decency action from officials when a high level of issue salience is combined with high levels of church adherence, low levels of women's political empowerment, low levels of fundamentalist religious attachment, and higher levels of per capita income. Officials in city manager settings act more favorably toward decency activists if (1) higher levels of salience combine with a lower prevalence of fundamentalist religious adherents and higher levels of per capita income or (2) there is an interaction of salience and low levels of female political empowerment and high unemployment. Conclusions. Although exploratory in nature, the results confirm conventional expectations concerning the importance of salience and the prevalence of church affiliation; the results are counterintuitive with respect to the prevalence of fundamentalist forces and the extent of female political empowerment.     

Dynamic allocation as a balancing act

The CPMP Points to Consider on Adjustment for Baseline Covariates recently came into operation. As well as providing sound guidance, this document states a strong position against dynamic allocation. This paper reviews the most important issues involved and aims to stimulate interest in further investigating alternative allocation methods in clinical trials. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

RESEARCHING INTERNATIONAL LABOR MIGRATION IN ASIA

This article focuses on research on international labor migration in Asia, a region marked by intense migration in the last four decades. The review covers migration research undertaken from the post-1970s to the present. The growing significance of international migration in the region has stimulated the production of evidence-based knowledge on Asian migration in Asia. This is indicated by the growing literature on migration-related questions, the development of research centers focused on migration, and the development of research networks in the region. Although migration research is thriving, future efforts should aim toward theory building and establishing the links between internal and international migration.     

EXAMINING THE MULTIFACETED NOTION OF ISOMORPHISM IN MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPY SUPERVISION: A QUEST FOR CONCEPTUAL CLARITY

The notion of isomorphism has been recommended as a comceptual framework to guide the practice of marrige and family therapy (MFT) supervision. The term is frequently cited in the MFT training literature but is often used in different ways. A panel of MFT supervirors rated the impotance and relevance to both therapy and supervision of a large pool of variables. The majority of variables were found to be a equally relevant or isomorphic to the domains of MFT and MFT supervisoin. A qualitative interview with a small subset of the panelists suggested that the concept, to varying degrees, has influenced their work as supervisors. The implications of the results for theory development, research, and supervisory practices are discussed.