Some Implications of an Integrated Model of Social Work for Theory and Practice

Summary This paper is an attempt to assess the significance of the introductioninto this country of an ‘integrated’ or ‘unitary’approach to social work. An attempt is made to clarify the relationshipbetween paradigms, theories and models. The author claims thatan integrated approach to social work may represent a shiftfrom a predominantly individualistic conceptual model of practiceto an interactionist one. These conceptual models are comparedand critiques of the integrated model are examined. The questionis posed: is it possible to have an integrated model of practicewithout an integrated theory? Some suggestions are made concerningthe essential characteristics of such a theory and the possiblecontribution of sociology to its development Finally, some implicationsof the model for practice and for social work education arediscussed.     

THE STATE OF THE FEDERAL BUDGET AND THE STATE OF THE ECONOMY

This paper tests systematic responses of the Federal budget to forecasts of inflation and unemployment. Estimated coefficients from fiscal policy reaction functions are examined to determine whether there are such systematic responses. Additionally, the coefficients of these estimated fiscal policy reaction functions are used to test several hypotheses concerning fiscal policy which have been advanced in the political business cycle and public choice literatures.     

DEREGULATING RELIGION: THE ECONOMICS OF CHURCH AND STATE

Traditional religious research fails to recognize religion as a market phenomenon. It especially overlooks supply-side factors that shape the incentives and opportunities of religious firms, emphasizing instead demand-side shifts in the perceptions, tastes, and needs of consumers. This paper reviews the effects of government actions that alter religious supply. Our examples demonstrate that simple deregulation lies at the root of major religious trends and that the vitality of a religious market depends critically upon its competitiveness.     

TAXATION, AGGREGATE ACTIVITY AND ECONOMIC GROWTH: CROSS-COUNTRY EVIDENCE ON SOME SUPPLY-SIDE HYPOTHESES

Data from sixty-three countries are used to examine the impact of average and marginal tax rates on the level and growth of economic activity. Apparent negative effects of tax rates on growth disappear upon controlling for (1) potential endogeneity of average tax rates to per capita income and (2) the relation between economic growth and per capita income. However, controlling for average tax rates, increases in marginal tax rates have negative effects on the level of economic activity. This evidence supports the hypothesis that reductions in the "progressivity" of tax rates induce a parallel shift upward in the growth path.     

CONTRAST EFFECTS AND SUBTRACTION IN PART-WHOLE QUESTIONS

Responses to a question about the state economy changed whenthe question followed a similar item about the economy of therespondent's local community. The overall distribution of theanswers changed, as well as the correlation between the twoitems. Prior work has suggested that respondents may excludespecific aspects of a general issue from consideration whena question about the general issue follows a question aboutthe specific aspect of it. Responses to an open-ended item indicatethat respondents may have excluded a salient characteristicof the community economy when subsequently assessing the stateeconomy, even though this characteristic figured prominentlywhen respondents evaluated the state economy first.     

THE CYCLICALITY OF PRICE‐COST MARGINS IN BANKING: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF ITS DETERMINANTS

We study the determinants of the cyclical behavior of banks' price‐cost margins in the United States banking sector, using time series quarterly data for the period 1979–2005. We contribute to the literature by building an empirical model of the countercyclical behavior of these margins first documented by Aliaga‐Díaz and Olivero (2010a) . Doing so we are able to explore potential explanations for this behavior, and to show that margins are consistently countercyclical, even after controlling for the effects of credit risk and monetary policy. As a mechanism for the propagation of aggregate shocks, the countercyclical nature of margins in banking can provide additional support to stabilization policy. (JEL E32, E44, G21)     

ADVERTISING AND PRODUCT QUALITY IN POSTED-OFFER EXPERIMENTS

Sellers selected both price and quality but buyers had limited information about those choices in the experiments reported here. Market efficiency was high under full information with truthful advertising of prices and qualities, but was much lower with no advertising of price or quality. Efficiency did not improve when sellers were permitted to advertise price, but not quality, and in half of these experiments "lemons" outcomes occurred. Although the range of outcomes is great, it cannot be claimed that price advertising improves efficiency when quality is unknown.     

Does Area Team Organization Make a Difference?

Correspondence to Roger Fuller, Senior Research Fellow, University of Stirling, Social Work Research Centre, Stirling FK94LA, Scotland Summary The paper describes early stages of a programme of researchdesigned to investigate the effects of different ways of organizingsocial work teams. Initially conceived as an attempt to studythe relative effectiveness of specialist and generic team organization,the focus has been broadened to encompass a range of wider andsometimes cross-cutting organizational variables. After a briefreview of attempts to specify organizational characteristicsand of the methodological problems they pose to the researcher,a preliminary study is reported. This compared services to theelderly delivered by teams exemplifying some of the more prominentorganizational types. The study tentatively identifies a numberof factors which distinguished between teams in social workactivities and in rudimentary measures of client outcome. Thedimensions of further work which would fill out these earlyfindings and explore further organizational effects are sketched.