Comparing products using data envelopment analysis

Using an application of linear programming known as Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), a method is described to compare products which vary in excellence along a number of dimensions, and for each of which there might be a number of associated “costs”. The method is illustrated by comparing published benchmarks of 37 computer printers. Potential uses of a DEA analysis of products might be: to assist corporate buyers who may need to reconcile a diversity of present and future uses in one standardised purchase; in competitor analysis; in determining unexplored market niches; and as a normative model of product excellence against which product purchasing behaviour could be compared.     

PURCHASING POWER PARITY AND BLACK-MARKET EXCHANGE RATES

This paper develops a theory of black-market exchange rate determination as a function of the market-clearing rate, the official rate and changes in official reserve levels. The model is tested for three countries over the period 1952–1971 by using purchasing-power-parity calculations as approximations of the equilibrium rate. The results indicate that relative rates of inflation are the dominant forces influencing equilibrium exchange rates.     

Social Conservatism, New Republicans, and the 1980 Election

Using data from the 1980 National Election Study, we examinethe claims (1) that those voters who shifted to Ronald Reaganin 1980 ("New Republicans") were drawn disproportionately fromthe lower to middle strata of the population: (2) that theywere social conservatives motivated by issues like abortionand ERA: and (3) that they were more religious and alienatedfrom the federal government than average. Our results stronglysuggest that all of these assertions are false and thus questionthe emergence of a "neopopulist" or "Middle American Radical"political constituency on the right wing of American politics.Our findings also have implications for prominent theories aboutconservative political movements and about the changing natureof party politics in a postindustrial society.     

TESTING COMMITMENT COST THEORY IN CHOICE EXPERIMENTS

In choice experiments, it is commonly assumed that individuals make choices in static and certainty decision‐making conditions. Real‐world choices, however, are usually made in a dynamic setting. Committing a purchase decision under conditions of uncertainty might have a “Commitment Cost” (CC). In this study, we test CC theory using a nonhypothetical choice experiment. Specifically, we test whether choice behavior and willingness to pay estimates differ when individuals have the option to gain present or delayed information or reverse the transaction. Our results suggest that the construction of a dynamic decision context can be relevant in the design of choice experiments. (JEL C90, C93, Q18)     

EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CHILD SAFETY SEATS AND SEAT BELTS IN PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM INJURY

Young children are required to use child safety seats, and the age threshold at which children can legally graduate to seat belts has steadily increased. This article tests the relative effectiveness of child safety seats, lap‐and‐shoulder seat belts, and lap belts in preventing injuries among motor vehicle passengers aged 2–6 yr. We analyze three large, representative samples of crashes reported to police, as well as linked hospital data. We find no apparent difference in the two most serious injury categories for children in child safety seats versus lap‐and‐shoulder belts. Child safety seats provide a statistically significant 25% reduction in the least serious injury category. Lap belts are somewhat less effective than the two other types of restraints but far superior to riding unrestrained. (JEL I18)     

Dynamic issues in the planning and control of integrated manufacturing hierarchies

Integrated manufacturing operations typically are organized along hierarchical lines. Characterized by product aggregation and time horizon, hierarchical decompositions aim at easing problems associated with the complexity and scale of the manufacturing function taken as a whole. Static models have been developed and employed which facilitate the analysis and functioning of these organizations. Existing models are valuable aids in assisting goal-planning functions, but provide little guidance for directing the pursuit of goals. This paper presents a new hierarchical model of integrated manufacturing operations based on concepts of management control. The model is congruent with commonly used static planning models, while at the same lime depicting real-time, goal-achievement efforts within a dynamic operating environment. Emphasizing the interactions between goal planning and goal achievement, the dynamic model provides a means of assessing the effects of decentralization and autonomy on the goal planning and achievement process. The model is used to identify two resource-consuming chain reactions linked to replanning and goal pursuit within the hierarchy. A simple example based on the dynamic extension of a typical static decomposition illustrates the key findings.     

Does a helping hand put others at risk?: affirmative action,police departments,and crime

Will increasing the number of minority and women police officers make law enforcement more effective by drawing on abilities that have gone untapped and creating better contact with communities and victims? Or will standards have to be lowered too far before large numbers of minorities and women can be hired? Using cross‐sectional time‐series data for U.S. cities for 1987, 1990, and 1993, I find that hiring more black and minority police officers increases crime rates, but this apparently arises because lower hiring standards involved in recruiting more minority officers reduces the quality of both new minority and new nonminority officers. The most adverse effects of these hiring policies have occurred in the areas most heavily populated by blacks. There is no consistent evidence that crime rates rise when more women are hired, and this raises questions about whether norming tests or altering their content to create equal pass rates is preferable. The article examines how the changing composition of police departments affects such measures as the murder of and assaults against police officers.