OPTIMAL COPYRIGHT LENGTH AND EX POST INVESTMENT: A MICKEY MOUSE APPROACH

This paper considers a theoretical model of copyright protection in which the value of an intellectual work changes over time because of depreciation and value‐enhancing ex post investments. The first main finding is that, in the case of a single project, granting infinitely lived copyright protection maximizes social welfare when the return on ex post investments is high relative to the return on the initial investment. We also provide simulation results of our model for the case of multiple heterogeneous projects that show how social welfare varies with the length of copyright protection and the returns on initial and ex post investments. We then consider what our framework says concerning the social‐welfare effects of the 1998 Copyright Term Extension Act. Here we show that, depending on the importance of ex post investments, the act may have either increased or decreased social welfare. Our final analysis considers the social‐welfare implications of replacing fixed‐length copyright protection with Landes and Posner's (University of Chicago Law Review, 70(2), 2003, 471–518) idea of indefinitely renewable copyright protection. We find that implementing indefinitely renewable copyright protection frequently increases social welfare provided the returns on ex post investments are sufficiently large. We also provide a brief history of Disney's Mickey Mouse and argue that the history of that character matches quite well with the predictions of our theoretical approach. (JEL O34, K00, L82)     

EMERGENT EXTREMISM IN A MULTI‐AGENT MODEL OF RELIGIOUS CLUBS

This paper extends the club model of religion to better account for observed patterns of extremism. We adapt existing models to a multi‐agent framework and analyze the distribution of agents and clubs. We find that extremism is more successful when religious groups are able to produce close substitutes for standard goods and that increased access to publicly provided goods can reduce the extremist population share. Quantile regression modeling of data from a multi‐nation survey and institutional indices corresponds to the model's key results. Our findings offer a potential theoretical mechanism behind research linking terrorist origination to civil liberties. (JEL C63, Z12, H56, D71)     

Dreadful Moments: Existential Thoughts on Doing Social Work

Summary Dreadful moments often happen in social work. This is when theordinary, reliable, taken-for-granted world is called into questionby a calamitous or hopeless situation. In order to respond thesocial worker has to relocate himself after momentarily plunginginto a vortex of trouble that destroyed the client's and, fora short time, his own sense of relatedness. Existentialism,which focusses on the whole structure of personal and interpersonalbeing and the necessity to act in the knowledge of freedom andresponsibility, does help with this relocation. Two cases, basedon actual social work, are reconstructed dramatically in orderto illustrate the positive use of the idea of dreadful moments.These are ideal-typical examples of successful social work whichcould be a model for a general phenomenological-existentialperspective in social work in which the author is at presentengaged.     

Some Implications of Legal Approaches to Welfare Rights

Summary Legal reforms to welfare systems are analysed as either involving‘legalization’, the formulation of rules, or ‘judicialization’,the improvement of procedures. The implications of these typesof reform for the supplementary benefits system are examined.It is suggested that there are likely to be severe drawbacksto ‘legalization’ which does not involve, in effectthe elimination of selectivity. Judicialization, on the otherhand, is seen to offer needed procedural reforms, but it issuggested that there has been a failure to recognize the inherentlimitations of innovations of this kind, where the poor mayneed so much more than merely the guarantee of a fair hearing     

THE USE OF INDUSTRIAL SOFTWARE TO CREATE EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING ACTIVITIES IN OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT COURSES

Computer-based manufacturing planning and control (MPC) systems are widely used in industry to gain competitive advantage through integration and coordination of managerial activities. In collegiate business schools, important operations management activities are taught and studied, often by sequential examination of discrete topics such as aggregate production planning, master production scheduling, capacity planning, material planning, and production activity control. This paper explores the potential use of industrial MPC software in the classroom to create experiential learning activities that address the dynamic and integrative nature of operations management. Experiences with this pedagogical approach over the past decade are reported.     

EFFECTS OF QUESTIONNAIRE LENGTH, RESPONDENT-FRIENDLY DESIGN, AND A DIFFICULT QUESTION ON RESPONSE RATES FOR OCCUPANT-ADDRESSED CENSUS MAIL SURVEYS

An experimental study of alternatives to the current U.S. decennialcensus questionnaire shows that shortening the questionnaireand respondent-friendly questionnaire design improve response,whereas asking a potentially difficult and/or objectionablequestion, that is, social security number, lowers response.This national study of 17,000 household addresses also demonstratesthat relatively high mail survey response can be achieved withoutaddressing correspondence to individual names of residents.     

A POSITIVE THEORY OF INFLATION AND INFLATION VARIANCE

Empirically, inflation and the variance of inflation are positively associated. This paper develops a model that provides a potential explanation for this relationship in tern of the incentives facing the policymaker in a "discretionary equilibrium." The model can also account for an empirical association between inflation and measures of real output instability. There is, however, no direct causal link whatever from the average rate of inflation to either the variance of inflation or that of real output.     

RELIEF FOR THE ENVIRONMENT? THE IMPORTANCE OF AN INCREASINGLY UNIMPORTANT INDUSTRIAL SECTOR

Deindustrialization, stagnant real incomes of production workers, and increasing inequality are latter day features of many economies. It is common to assume that such developments pressure policymakers to relax environmental standards. However, when heavily polluting industries become less important economically, their political importance also tends to diminish. Consequently, a regulator may increase the stringency of environmental policies. Like some other studies, we find that declining industrial employment translates into stricter environmental standards. In contrast to previous studies, but consistent with our argument, we find that greater income inequality is associated with policies that promote a cleaner environment. ( JEL Q58, P16, J31, C23)