THE INCENTIVES TO ORGANIZE AND DEMAND REGULATION: TWO ENDS AGAINST THE MIDDLE

A consumer versus business view of regulation frequently is too simplistic. Producers as a group may also be able to obtain rents from non-consumer surplus sources, and therefore may have relatively strong aggregate incentives to organize and seek favorable regulation as compared to consumers' incentives to avoid such regulation. This occurs in an increasing cost industry where producers purchase inputs whose supply curves are not infinitely elastic. The rents obtained by producers through regulatorily initiated output restrictions then include transfers from resource suppliers as well as from consumers, and exceed the potential losses consumers face.     

On the importance of genetic knowledge

SUMMARY. Taking up the argument in Eric Blyth's paper, this article claims that the secrecy which currently prevails in the practice of donor insemination in the UK seems to serve the interests of all parties except the child. It analyses the arguments for replacing secrecy with confidentiality in terms of the adverse consequences of deception, the risks of unnecessary mental suffering and the infringement of children's rights. It expresses concern lest the needs of children for genetic knowledge may receive low priority in the Code of Practice of the new Licensing Authority     

NONECONOMIC CRITERIA AND THE DECISION PROCESS*

This paper describes a method for systematically including consideration of noneconomic criteria in the decision-making process. It focuses on the Space Applications Program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, but is intended as a general outline applicable to decision problems in both government and business. The methodology involves four stages. First, a Criteria Set is developed by a panel of members with diverse backgrounds. Second, the criteria are made operational by posing a series of carefully worded questions to appropriate experts. Then the responses are scaled according to the degree of refinement considered necessary and appropriate. To allow flexibility and to accommodate differences in the degree of precision considered feasible, a number of scaling methods are identified. These range from a simple positive-negative response checkoff to summation of individually-weighted criteria with interaction among criteria. Finally, projects are selected on the basis of predetermined standards of choice.