CARRYOVER EFFECTS IN ATTITUDE SURVEYS

Answers to attitude questions in surveys can vary markedly dependingon the preceding items in the questionnaire. This study concernssuch context effects. More than 1,100 respondents were askedabout six target issues in a telephone survey. Before answeringthe target questions, most of the respondents had been askedabout one of two sets of related issues; the remainder receivedunrelated, "neutral" context items. For five of the six targetissues, the two groups receiving different sets of context itemsdiffered significantly in their answers to the target questions.However, only one of the substantive context groups differedsignificantly from the group that received the neutral contextitems. Additional results indicated that context effects werelarger when respondents reported that their beliefs about thetarget issue were both mixed and important. Coding of openendedresponses to follow-up questions suggested that the contextitems may have changed how respondents thought about the targetissues.     

Building democratic public spheres? Transnational advocacy networks and the social forum process

What, if anything, can transnational advocacy networks (TANs) contribute to the democratization of public spheres outside Westphalian frameworks? On the one hand, TANs excel at turning international public campaigns into political influence – connecting people and power across borders. On the other hand, the increasingly policy‐orientated nature of TANs raises questions about their legitimacy in speaking on behalf of multiple publics. In this article, I suggest that a TAN's success in ensuring the political efficacy of public spheres, while at the same time undermining their normative legitimacy, reflects two sides of the same coin. This is a consequence of the recent internal professionalization of advocacy networks. Framing professionalization as a particular form of communicative distortion within TAN decision‐making, I suggest that networks should incorporate internal deliberative mechanisms, adapted from international social forums, to enhance the normative legitimacy of democratic public spheres.     

A Z-theorem with Estimated Nuisance Parameters and Correction Note for 'Weighted Likelihood for Semiparametric Models and Two-phase Stratified Samples, with Application to Cox Regression'

Abstract.  We state and prove a limit theorem for estimators of a general, possibly infinite dimensional parameter based on unbiased estimating equations containing estimated nuisance parameters. The theorem corrects a gap in the proof of one of the assertions of our paper 'Weighted likelihood for semiparametric models and two-phase stratified samples, with application to Cox regression' [ Scand. J. Statist . 34 (2007) 86–102].     

New Books

Psychology in Action, by Margaret O. Hyde and Edward S. Marks. Theories of Career Development, by Samuel H. Osipow. Guide to Success in College, by Bernice W. Einstein. A Popular Guide to Government Publications, (3rd edition), by W. Philip Leidy. Wall Street Careers, by Paul Sarnoff. Guide to Careers Through Vocational Training, by Edwin A. Whitfield and Richard Hoover. San Diego: Robert R. Knapp The Negro and the American Labor Movement, edited by Julius Jacobson. Opportunities in an Accounting Career, by Raymond G. Ankers; Opportunities in a Forestry Career, by E. L. Demnon; Opportunities in an Optometry Career, by Frank M. Kitchell; Opportunities in a Chiropractic Career, produced with the cooperation of the ACA and ICA. The Counseling of College Students, edited by Max Siegel.     

TEACHING TOOLS: SIMULATING MONEY SUPPLY CREATION IN CLASS

Students in introductory economics or intermediate macroeconomics can learn and experience the process of creating money through an interactive simulation in which students play the roles of bankers, loan customers, and business firms. The simple version of this simulation is easy to set up, though many instructors will find the more structured version worth the additional setup cost. During the structured simulation, students encounter other macroeconomic concepts such as the marginal efficiency of investment curve, and broad versus narrow money. This simulation offers some experiential learning and adds variety to a macroeconomics course. (JEL A22)     

FISCAL DECENTRALIZATION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH: SPENDING VERSUS REVENUE DECENTRALIZATION

This article examines whether the efficiency gains accompanying fiscal decentralization generate higher growth in more decentralized economies, applying pooled‐mean group techniques to a panel dataset of 23 Organization for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) countries, 1972–2005. We find that spending decentralization has tended to be associated with lower economic growth while revenue decentralization has been associated with higher growth. Since OECD countries are substantially more spending than revenue decentralized, this is consistent with Oates' (1972) hypothesis that maximum efficiency gains require a close match between spending and revenue decentralization. It suggests reducing expenditure decentralization, and simultaneously increasing the fraction financed locally, would be growth‐enhancing. (JEL E62, H71, H72)