AN ANALYSIS OF INFORMATIONAL RESTRICTIONS ON THE LENDING DECISIONS OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

Lenders are assumed to use formal credit scoring schemes in order to evaluate borrower credit worthiness. Variables used in these schemes may be measured with error resulting in credit scores which include the effects of biased parameter estimates, and in lending decisions that appear to be discriminatory although lenders are not prejudiced. Regulations which restrict the information used in credit scoring schemes may produce undesirable credit supply results. Theoretical models are supplemented with illustrative empirical analysis of mortgage lending in which use of information on property location is prohibited. The empirical results indicate that the quantitative impact of such regulations is modest.     

PRIVATE INTEREST SUPPORT FOR EFFICIENCY ENHANCING ANTITRUST POLICIES

Recent discussions of antitrust based on the private interest theory of government conclude that the real, as opposed to the stated, purpose of antitrust legislation is to protect politically influential industries against competition. Yet several prominent antitrust scholars who accept the private interest theory of government in general see antitrust legislation serving the public interest by increasing competition. We argue that the private interest theory of government is consistent with the view that antitrust legislation promotes competition. Indeed antitrust legislation may be supported by organized interest groups because such legislation increases the competition they face.     

THE AGGREGATE PERMANENT INCOME CONSUMPTION FUNCTION

This paper presents new evidence on the aggregate (timeseries) variant of the permanent income hypothesis. Using flexible-lag procedures, estimates are derived that suggest that permanent income depends largely upon recent income receipts, thus calling into question a central assumption of the original Friedman theory. The results of the study also raise doubts about the empirical validity of other elements of the aggregate variant of the permanent income theory.     

Status dissatisfaction and out-group rejection: cross-cultural comparisons within Canada*

Le texte présente une analyse de données sur les sentiments négatifs vis-à-vis certains groupes religieux, raciaux et ethniques. Une hypothèse concernant l'effet de la dissatisfaction quant au statut sur les attitudes vis-à-vis les groupes minoritaires guide l'analyse. Celle-ci porte sur des souséchantillons de Catholiques et de Protestants anglophones et de Catholiques francophones, tous nés au Canada. La variable indépendante, la dissatisfaction quant au statut, est mesurée de quatre façons différentes. L'éducation et le statut professionnel servent de variable de contrôle dans l'analyse de chacun des trois groupes linguistico-religieux. On observe dans les évaluations que font les Catholiques francophones une relation, faible mais statistiquement significative, et directe entre la dissatisfaction quant au statut et des sentiments négatifs vis-à-vis les Juifs et les Noirs. Ces résultats ne sont pas obtenus, cependant, avec les deux autres groupes linguistico-religieux. Certaines interprétations et implications de ces résultats sont discutés. An analysis of data on negative affect towards selected religious, racial, and ethnic out-groups is reported. This is guided by an hypothesis from the literature concerning the effect of status dissatisfaction on attitudes towards minority out-groups. The analysis is for working subsamples of English-speaking Catholics and Protestants and French-speaking Catholics, all native born. The independent variable, status dissatisfaction, is measured by four alternative procedures. Education and occupational status are control variables employed in analyses within each of the three linguistic-religious groups. There are some slight, but statistically significant, direct relationships between status dissatisfaction and negative affect toward Jews and Blacks in evaluations by French Catholics. However, these findings do not obtain for the other two linguistic-religious subgroups. Interpretations and implications of the findings are discussed.     

The Promise and the Pitfalls of Learned Helplessness Theory for Social Work Practice

Summary Because it articulates a psychology of powerlessness and becauseit focuses on the interactions between the individual and thesocial environment, Learned Helplessness Theory deserves tobecome an important new practice theory within social work.However, the theory also suffers from certain unresolved problemswhich currently limit its usefulness. This paper reviews LearnedHelplessness Theory for social workers and directs the attentionof practitioners to some crucial theoretical issues to be bornein mind when applying the theory to practice.     

A Theory of Love and Sexual Desire

The experience of being in love involves a longing for union with the other, where an important part of this longing is sexual desire. But what is the relation between being in love and sexual desire? To answer this it must first be seen that the expression ‘in love’ normally refers to a personal relationship. This is because to be ‘in love’ is to want to be loved back. This much would be predicted by equity and social exchange theories of interpersonal attraction. Findings suggest however that love differs fundamentally from liking and, consequently, distinct approaches to the theory of love have been developed. A phenomenological theory is then put forward which suggests that the experience of being in love involves a complex of desires for reciprocal vulnerability in order to care and be cared for. Sexual desire is then seen to involve the physical expression of these desires in the form of desires for mutual baring in order to caress and be caressed. Unlike love, however, sexual desire need not refer to the other person's desires. This is supported by the existence of sexual desires like fetishism. It is concluded that other desires which often appear in instances of being in love are not basic to the experience of being in love.     

INTERNATIONAL R&D SPILLOVERS AND PRODUCTIVITY TRENDS IN THE ASIAN MIRACLE ECONOMIES

This paper examines the importance of the domestic research and development stock and foreign knowledge spillovers on total factor productivity for six Asian miracle economies over the period from 1955 to 2006. The productivity effects of international knowledge spillovers through the following channels are considered: imports, exports, inward foreign direct investment, patents, geographical proximity, and the general channel. The general channel is a transmission mechanism where knowledge spillovers occur automatically and do not pass through any specific channel. The estimates show that knowledge has been transmitted through all the channels considered but that the import channel and the general channel have probably been the most important ones for the Asian miracle economies. (JEL O10, O30, O40)