Inequality,Unemployment and Crime: A Cross-National Analysis*

In order to contribute to the development of an international perspective on crime and to examine a central tenet similar to many theoretical perspectives on the etiology of crime, cross-national data on inequality, unemployment, and crime rates were analyzed. It was hypothesized that nations having a high rate of unemployment and an inequitable distribution of income would have a high crime rate. The results of the correlational analyses indicate a moderate positive relationship between the rate of unemployment and homicide rates, whereas there are small negative relationships between unemployment rates and (1) the rates of property crime, and (2) the total crime rates. The variable of inequality is strongly related to the three indices of crime and the directions of the relationships are consistent with those involving unemployment rates. The results were further investigated to examine the possibility that the observed relationships were due to the effects of industrialization. The direction of the zero-order correlations involving property crime rates and total crime rates are not changed in the partial correlations and the strength of the relationships are not consistently reduced. These results are discussed in reference to their implications for criminological theory and the development of a comparative criminology.     

Race,Political Empowerment,and Minority Perceptions of Judicial Fairness*

Objective. Recent studies of the impact of black elite electoral success on the system‐supporting attitudes of black citizens have yielded mixed, but generally unimpressive, empirical results. We extend this limited research by examining the effects of the presence of black judicial officials on public attitudes toward a state judicial system. Methods. We employ data from a telephone survey of citizens in Mississippi and develop multivariate models to test for the effects of black judges on citizens' evaluations of the fairness of judges, equity in sentences, and overall impartiality of the state judicial system. Results. We find no systematic evidence that the election of black judicial officials ameliorates the suspicions of the black public regarding the fairness of the state courts. Conclusions. Our findings are in line with other recent studies on the limited effects of black elite electoral success on the attitudes of the black public and generally support a “political reality” model of political trust rather than an “empowerment model.”     

Cost Efficiency Benchmarking for Operational Units with Multiple Cost Drivers

We consider the activity‐based costing situation, in which for each of several comparable operational units, multiple cost drivers generate a single cost pool. Our study focuses on published data from a set of property tax collection offices, called rates departments, for the London metropolitan area. We define what may be called benchmark or most efficient costs per unit of driver. A principle of maximum performance efficiency is proposed, and an approach to estimating the benchmark unit costs is derived from this principle. A validation approach for this estimation method is developed in terms of what we call normal‐like‐or‐better performance effectiveness. Application to longitudinal data on a single unit is briefly discussed. We also consider some implications for the more routine case when costs are disaggregated to subpools associated with individual cost drivers.     

THE EMPIRICAL DETERMINANTS OF INVENTORY LEVELS IN HIGH-VOLUME MANUFACTURING

This study uses survey data on several hundred automotive suppliers in North America to evaluate the determinants of inventory levels in high-volume discrete parts manufacturing. We assess the magnitude of raw materials, work-in-process, and finished goods inventories held at automotive supply plants. Inventories are shown to be jointly determined by technological and managerial factors in a manner roughly consistent with classical inventory theory. Several categories of managerial practices are found to be important. Low inventories are linked to employee problem solving and frequent communication with customers. More unexpectedly, we find the absence of inventory differences between U.S.-owned and Japanese-owned plants in North America. This contrasts with substantial differences in inventory holding between US plants and those in Japan.     

On the Generality of the PERT Average Time Formula

It is well known that the PERT average time formula approximation is related to the Beta distribution assumption. In this note, it is shown that if the formula is modified to use the median instead of the mode, then it becomes a good approximation regardless of distribution assumptions. Applications of the formula beyond project management are highlighted.     

Concepts,Theory, and Techniques ON THE USE OF THE GEOMETRIC MEAN IN LONG-TERM INVESTMENT

Application of the geometric mean to holding-period returns is discussed from a statistical theory standpoint. The population geometric mean is considered a parameter of the probability distribution of returns its relationship to moments of the distribution is discussed. The sample geometric mean and its relation to sample moments is assessed through its sampling distribution it is viewed as an estimator of the population geometric mean. For application to long-term investment where a geometric mean is maximized, the distributional properties of the geometric mean should be used. The terms statistic, approximation, and parameter are differentiated.