AGENT COMPENSATION AND THE LIMITS OF BONDING

Agents in positions of trust may engage in malfeasance which is difficult to detect. This paper develops a model in which employers seek to control malfeasance by paying wages contingent on imperfect monitoring and agents may be required to pay entry fees or post bonds. We conclude that entry fees which exceed agents' assets are ineffective in controlling malfeasance. As a result, conditions exist in which it is optimal to pay agents more than their opportunity cost. Such conditions lead to an excess supply of applicants and allow employers to engage in discrimination at zero cost to themselves.     

INTERVIEW MODE EFFECTS IN SURVEYS OF DRUG AND ALCOHOL USE: A FIELD EXPERIMENT

This research explores the impact of interview mode on respondents'willingness to reveal illicit or undesirable behavior and mechanismsby which interview mode influences response tendencies. A fieldexperiment was designed to control mode effects due to samplingand screening so that the impact of response anonymity (throughuse of self-administered questionnaires ([SAQs]) and socialdistance in the interviewer-respondent relationship (telephonevs. personal communication) could be tested. Respondents aged18–45 were randomly as-signed to interview mode: telephone,face-to-face, or self-administered. Admission of illicit druguse and alcohol use was most likely in the personal mode withSAQs, slightly less likely in personal mode without SAQs, andleast likely in the telephone mode. The magnitude of the modedifferentials was larger for blacks than for whites, and largeramong respondents who are more mistrustful of others. Resultssupport the notion that response effects due to mode of interviewderive, at least in part, from interview mode differences inability to assuage respondents' confidentiality concerns. Greatersocial distance between interviewer and respondent in the telephoneinterview, compared with face-to-face communication, makes itmore difficult for the researcher to make convincing confidentialityguarantees. The response anonymity provided by SAQs also appearsto increase respondents' willingness to reveal sensitive behavior,especially among racial/ethnic minorities.     

The Power of The Right Stuff: A Quasi-Experimental Field Test of the Docudrama Hypothesis

A field test of 966 moviegoers found that a significant numberof them were favorably influenced toward John Glenn's candidacyfor president by the film The Right Stuff. The docudrama reinforcedpositive images of Glenn and sustained those impressions fora longer than expected period.     

Class, work, and politics*

Le texte explore la relation entre la classes sociale et l'idéologie politique en utilisant les résultats d'un sondage-échantillon effectué parmi environ 1800 Canadiens au travail. En se basant sur les catégories de classe de Marx et les développements théoriques de Carchedi, l'auteur fait ressortir des différences modérées entre les classes pour ce qui a trait à l'appui du mouvement ouvrier, les dépenses encourues pour le bien-être social et pour une nouvelle répartition des revenus. Une analyse de régression démontre qu'une attitude plus gauchiste dans la classe ourvière reflète certains aspects des conditions de travail. En effet, la situation au travail joue un rôle considérable dans l'attitude politique, endehors des différences associées à la classe sociale. Par contre, la famille et l'instruction ne se révèlent pas comme étant des facteurs importants pour expliquer la relation entre la classe et l'idéologie politique.
The paper explores the relation between social class and political ideology using data from a simple survey of approximately 1800 Canadians with jobs. Using Marxist class categories, following theoretical developments by Carchedi, moderate class differences are found to support the labour movement, social welfare expenditures, and redistribution of income. A regression analysis shows that the more left-wing position of the working class reflects a number of aspects of working conditions. Indeed, aspects of the work situation have a considerable impact on political attitudes beyond those differences associated     

CONTRACTING PROBLEMS AND THE ADOPTION OF REGULATORY CARTELS

Since 1966 a USD A marketing order has governed the sales volume of domestic hop growers. Despite offering cartel-like advantages, a hop marketing order proposal was defeated in a 1965 referendum of growers. Using individual grower votes from this referendum this paper identifies the sources of opposition to the 1965 marketing order. The analysis proceeds to examine the types of recontracting that transpired enabling the adoption of a revised proposal in 1966.