Voting cycles and the structure of individual preferences

Empirical studies have shown that cyclical preferences are infrequent, but they have been less clear about why. Using thermometer ratings from nationally-representative samples of the U.S., we examine preferences for presidential candidates in order to determine what it is about them that leads to few cycles. Single-peaked preferences as usually construed (meaning that all of a set of preferences satisfy single-peakedness criteria) are, of course, rare. Yet we find a high degree of unidimensionality in the sense that for any given set of preferences, a relatively high proportion of the preference orders are consistent with single-peakedness. We also find that the highest amounts of unidimensionality often do not occur along partisan or left/right lines. Strong feelings for or against candidates, often not derived from an issue base, form the basis for the dimensionality discovered.We would like to thank Daniel Severance for programming the random model calculations and three anonymous referees, whose comments were very helpful in clarifying the presentation in this paper.     

WHY THE DEMOCRAT-REPUBLICAN PARTISANSHIP GAP VARIES FROM POLL TO POLL

Polls taken in late 1980 and 1984 varied by up to 20 pointsin the spread they reported between Democratic and Republicanidentifiers. We found three systematic and sizable differencesacross polls: polls that sample only voters, polls that emphasize"today" or the present in their question wording, and pollsthat are taken close to election day (at least in circumstanceslike those of 1984) tend to favor the party currently advantagedin the presidential race.     

不同权力结构下碳税对供应链减排水平的影响

随着我国生态文明建设的不断推进,促进供应链协同减排成为生产和消费领域落实绿色发展理念的重要举措。在绿色供应链的管理实践中,不同类型的供应链核心企业在进行减排决策时会有不同的侧重点,因此供应链权力的结构成为影响供应链减排水平的关键因素。本文在一个由两个制造商和一个零售商组成的两级供应链中研究了不同权力结构下的供应链最优减排和定价决策问题,分别给出了零售商主导和制造商主导的Stackelberg-Nash博弈均衡解,并分析了产品的单位生产成本、单位批发价格、碳税税率等参数对供应链最优决策的影响。本文的研究结果表明：（1）在两种供应链权力结构下,当产品的单位批发价格固定时,降低产品的生产成本都可以促使制造商提高减排水平;但是当产品的单位生产成本固定时,提高产品的批发价格却不一定总是能够激励制造商提高减排水平;（2）在两种供应链权力结构下,对于低排放行业的制造商来说,提高碳税税率可以增加产品的减排水平,但是对于高排放行业的制造商来说,提高碳税税率反而会降低产品的减排水平;（3）一般来说,零售商占主导地位的供应链中产品减排水平和供应链总利润相对较高,供应链碳排放总量相对较低。最后,与供应链集中决策模式相比,随着产品批发价格的增加,两种分散决策模式下的供应链双重边际效应逐渐增强。数值实验结果显示：在碳税税率的一定取值范围内,这种双重边际效应会使得两种分散决策模式下的产品最优减排水平和供应链碳排放总量均优于集中决策模式。本文的研究可为碳税政策下供应链的协同减排提供有益的管理启示。     

跨界搜寻对新创科技企业绩效的影响

跨界搜寻是新创科技企业突破资源短缺和技术匮乏双重束缚的重要途径,然而其内在作用机理尚待挖掘剖析。基于资源拼凑理论视角,构建了跨界搜寻影响新创科技企业绩效的中介模型,进而采用多元回归分析和Bootstrap等方法,对201份企业样本数据进行了实证分析。研究结果表明:（1）前瞻型搜寻与反应型搜寻对新创科技企业绩效均具有显著正向影响;（2）前瞻型搜寻与反应型搜寻之间存在互补效应,该互补效应显著正向影响新创科技企业绩效;（3）在作用机制方面,资源拼凑在前瞻型搜寻与新创科技企业绩效之间起到部分中介作用,而在反应型搜寻与新创科技企业绩效之间发挥完全中介作用。     

Poisson regression with misclassified counts: application to cervical cancer

"Errors in disease classification can give misleading inferences for covariate effects when the probability of error is itself related to the covariates. More accurate inferences are possible using supplemental data on both true and fallible disease counts at various covariate levels. We present a method for incorporating such supplemental data into disease rate regression and use it to show that, although observed intercountry differences in European cervical cancer mortality rates are exaggerated by errors in death certification, they are not completely explained by such errors." The data concern Belgium, England and Wales, France, and Italy.     

Marriage and conjugal roles in Swaziland: persistence and change

"This paper examines one set of relationships central to the Swazi household--marriage and conjugal roles--and how those relationships have changed over the last half century. Information has been analyzed on such topics as types of marriages contracted, the age at marriage, choice of spouse, attitudes towards and participation in polygyny, the nature of conjugal roles, and the question of divorce. This study has drawn upon a wide range of sources including (1) an analysis of civil records from the office of the District Commissioner in Manzini, Swaziland; (2) data collected previously by other social scientists; and (3) survey data gathered especially for this study. The study concludes that while changes have occurred, many traditional patterns of marriage and family continue to be important in contemporary Swazi society."     

The seasons of a CEO's tenure

This article proposes a model of the dynamics of the CEO's tenure in office. The central argument is that there are discernible phases, or seasons, within an executive's tenure in a position, and that these seasons give rise to distinct patterns of executive attention, behavior, and, ultimately, organizational performance. The five delineated seasons are (a) response to mandate, (b) experimentation, (c) selection of an enduring theme, (d) convergence, and (e) dysfunction. The theoretical and practical implications of the model are discussed.