From the Editor: Data: The Foundation on Which We Build

Sociological Forum -     

The estimated cost of project labor agreements on federal construction

I estimate the cost of President Clinton’s June 1997 executive memorandum encouraging federal departments and agencies to use project labor agreements (PLAs) on “large and significant” construction projects. Based on the higher wage costs associated with PLAs, the cost of federally owned construction will rise by 1.7 to 7.0 percent annually. Over the three years for which the memorandum will apply, federally owned construction costs will increase by $844 million to $3.44 billion. If the memorandum is interpreted to apply to state and local construction projects funded with federal money, the cost could range between $3.2 and $13.0 billion. The author thanks Ken Deavers, Anita Hattiangadi, Edward Potter, and Gary Shiu for their suggestions and help in the preparation of this paper.     

IN SEARCH OF WHAT IS RIGHT: THE MORAL DIMENSIONS OF THE DRUG DEBATE

The protagonists in the drug debate are talking past one another. While some argue that the drug debate is a health and social issue and should primarily be analytical and based on empirical evidence, others, explicitly or implicitly, treat it as a moral issue: overwhelmingly, in Australia, based on Christian beliefs. The aim of this paper is to set out a framework for the debate which explicitly recognises its moral as well as its empirical and analytical dimensions. It is hoped that greater transparency will facilitate the debate and may help the formulation of common positions. Heroin maintenance is used as an example to illustrate the arguments.     

On the Robustness of the Winner’s Curse Phenomenon

We set out to find ways to help decision makers overcome the “winner’s curse,” a phenomenon commonly observed in asymmetric information bargaining situations, and instead found strong support for its robustness. In a series of manipulations of the “Acquiring a Company Task,” we tried to enhance decision makers’ cognitive understanding of the task. We did so by presenting them with different parameters of the task, having them compare and contrast these different parameters, giving them full feedback on their history of choices and resulting outcomes, and allowing them to interact with a human opponent instead of a computer program. Much to our surprise, none of these manipulations led to a better understanding of the task. Our results demonstrate and emphasize the robustness of the winner’s curse phenomenon.      

A Continuous‐Review Inventory Model with Disruptions at Both Supplier and Retailer

We consider a continuous‐review inventory problem for a retailer who faces random disruptions both internally and externally (from its supplier). We formulate the expected inventory cost at this retailer and analyze the properties of the cost function. In particular, we show that the cost function is quasi‐convex and therefore can be efficiently optimized to numerically find the optimal order size from the retailer to the supplier. Computational experiments provide additional insight into the problem. In addition, we introduce an effective approximation of the cost function. Our approximation can be solved in closed form, which is useful when the model is embedded into more complicated supply chain design or management models.     

The Evolution of the One-Way Screen

Technology can both reflect and contribute to new theoretical formulations and new methods. This phenomenon is examined in relation to one-way screens. While the screen itself has undergone only modest physical transformation, there have been several important changes in ways of thinking about its therapeutic significance. These changes are identified.     

Managing “forced” technology transfer in emerging markets: The case of China

This paper explores how foreign multinational corporations (MNCs) manage risks associated with “forced” technology transfer (“FTT”) policies in emerging markets. Although MNCs are increasingly exposed to appropriability risks from these policies, how they respond is relatively understudied in international business (IB) research. We explore this topic based upon a survey and interviews with Western MNCs doing business in China, as well as a discussion about the recent US-China trade war. We find that, as traditional IB theory would predict, internally-oriented strategies (e.g., internalization, maintenance of informal intellectual property (IP), and control of technological centrality and sophistication) are often used to respond to FTT policies; however, the risks from such policies can sometimes be more efficiently managed by externally-oriented strategies (e.g., non-market activities and reliance on formal IP). We discuss how the co-evolution of MNCs' risk management strategies alongside changing value chains, IP institutions, and conditions determining the leverage of FTT policies appear to contribute to this phenomenon. We argue that IB research should more prominently recognize the role of externally-oriented strategies, not only internally-oriented ones, in managing the complex IP-related institutional challenges present in emerging markets today.     

Compensating communities for industrial disamenities: The case of shale gas development

Governments often compensate communities for hosting disruptive industries. Sometimes compensation comes with restrictions that preclude highly-valued investments. I exploit policy discontinuities at the Pennsylvania-Ohio border to understand how restrictions affect local investment. Ohio delivers unrestricted revenues to schools and municipalities with shale development. Pennsylvania leaves out schools, and requires that municipalities address the industry's impacts. Municipalities in both states save most of the revenues. Ohio schools leverage them to increase borrowing and finance capital investments. This suggests that affected residents have greater demand for school investments, and that broad use of compensation may benefit communities more than allocating it narrowly.