BEYOND EDUCATION AND FAIRNESS: A LABOR MARKET TAXATION MODEL FOR THE GREAT GATSBY CURVE

Applied researchers have been drawn to models that attribute the demonstrated cross‐country differences in intergenerational income transmission to government failures to invest in the human capital of poor children. To highlight another potential mechanism, the disincentive effects of labor market taxation and redistribution, we present a simple model that can explain cross‐country differences in intergenerational mobility and other previously observed empirical patterns. Empirical tests using data on income mobility, tax rates, and public expenditures largely support the model predictions. We conclude that the common presumption that intergenerational mobility largely measures fairness or opportunity, and the resultant policy recommendations, are premature. (JEL D31, J24, J62)     

Individual differences in the perception of occupational stress and their association with blood pressure status

Casual blood pressure (BP) was recorded in a sample of 217 working adults. A questionnaire was used to obtain subjective reports of job stress. comparisons were made between a group with elevated BP and a normotensive group. The high BP group appeared to perceive more stress. In particular, scores on the role conflict, job versus non-job conflict and type A scales reliably differentiated the groups. In contrast, for the job satisfaction items, no difference between the groups was observed. There appeared to be some association between reported occupational stress and BP level.     

Random Drug Testing and Religion*

Research recently has begun to examine the link between religion and social control. It has been noted that religion, in particular Protestant conservatism, does play a role in shaping public opinion, and as a result, public policy on crime, crime control, and justice. The present research examines the issue of public support for random drug testing by focusing on the role of religion, specifically religious affiliation, in shaping public opinion. Analysis of survey data from a city in the Southwest identifies two separate dimensions of public support for random drug testing–a utilitarian dimension that is grounded in safety concerns, along with a normative dimension that reflects conservative moral beliefs, including a concern with the “evil” of drugs. Evidence from the data also indicates that conservative Protestants, compared to liberal-moderate Protestants, Catholics, and those with no affiliation, display higher levels of normative-based support for random drug testing. Researchers are encouraged to further explore the role of religion in shaping public support for the development of drug policies and other more general social control policies.     

The roles of vertical and shared leadership in the enactment of executive corruption: Implications for research and practice

Recent scandals involving executive leadership have vaulted the topic of executive corruption to a central concern in the organizational literature. History suggests that power can corrupt and that absolute power can be an especially toxic influence. In this paper we propose that the propensity for corruption (as measured by CEO responsibility disposition) of leaders and the degree to which leadership is shared are key factors in understanding the potential for executive corruption. More specifically, shared leadership is proposed as a moderator that can deter corruptive tendencies by providing checks and balances capable of reducing the potential for corrupt behavior. A conceptual model is offered along with propositions to help guide future research and practice.     

Tourist profiles using discriminant analysis

How similar are tourists from the audiences of two or more advertising vehicles? The method of N-way multiple discriminant analysis was used for predicting magazine readership from key tourist variables from two samples of 300 coupon inquiries. Results of the analysis indicated similar tourist profiles existed among the readerships of the three magazines. Application of the method used in this study may be useful in the development of promotional themes to attract tourists from selected advertising vehicles and in identifying unique tourism characteristics for particular vehicles.     

Effects of group therapy on female adolescent survivors of sexual abuse: a pilot study

Treatment interventions for female sexual abuse survivors was explored through a pilot study examining the relationship between group treatment and adolescent self-image. Self-image was defined as body image, self-reliance, self-control, and impulse-control. An experimental pre-post design was utilized. Participants were 13 female adolescent high school drop-outs with a history of sexual abuse who participated in the National Guard Youth Challenge Program at Camp Shelby in Mississippi. Participants completed the Offer Self- Image Questionnaire for Adolescents. The hypothesis that group therapy was an effective intervention for sexual abuse survivors was not supported; however, this is likely due to the small sample size. Because this was a pilot study, mean trends were observed to see directional changes that may assist future researchers. Observation of mean trends revealed that participants who received group therapy increased in levels of impulse control while the group that did not receive group therapy remained the same. Mean trends also revealed that the experimental group had a decrease in self-reliance whereas the control group maintained their levels of self-reliance.     

Forecasting and conditional projection using realistic prior distributions

This paper develops a forecasting procedure based on a Bayesian method for estimating vector autoregressions. The procedure is applied t o 10 macroeconomic variables and is shown to improve out-of-sample forecasts relative to univariate equations. Although cross-variable responses are damped by the prior, considerable interaction among the variables is shown to be captured by the estimates

We provide unconditional forecasts as of 1982:12 and 1983:3. We also describe how a model such as this can be used to make conditional projections and to analyze policy alternatives. As an example, we analyze a Congressional Budget Office forecast made in 1982: 12

Although no automatic causal interpretations arise from models like ours, they provide a detailed characterization of the dynamic statistical interdependence of a set of economic variables, information that may help in evaluating causal hypotheses without containing any such hypotheses.     

Horse Races,Governance and the Chance to Fight: On the Formation of Organizational Agendas

We consider the formation of issues on the organizational agenda of a manufacturing firm. We find that the patterns of issue formation vary markedly and we develop an analytic framework to examine a number of emerging, potentially ambiguous issues. We emphasize the importance to the organization of perceptions of collective freedom to construct an issue, the role of issue labelling and perceptions of emerging consensus over the construction of an issue. Jointly, these considerations affect whether an issue gains salience on the agenda and whether it is resolved constructively.