PRESSURE GROUPS AND PUBLIC EXPENDITURES: THE FLYPAPER EFFECT RECONSIDERED

A model of government budgeting is developed in which lobbying by interest groups can divert the allocation of funds away from the one preferred by the median voter. The model is applied to state and local governments to show that the "flypaper effect"–the tendency for lump-sum grants to increase public expenditures by more than an equivalent increase in the community's pretax income–can be explained without the customary assumption of voter fiscal illusion. Furthermore, the model predicts variation in the extent of the flypaper effect among expenditure categories, as found in previous empirical studies.     

THE EFFECT OF A NEGATIVE INCOME TAX ON RISK-TAKING IN THE LABOR MARKET

Theory argues that negative income taxes will increase the economic risks that workers take in the labor market. Data from the income maintenance experiments is analyzed to reveal that those workers subject to a NIT seemed to bear more risks than their control group counterparts. Implications and reservations about this finding are offered.     

THE GROWTH OF SOCIAL SECURITY: ELECTORAL PUSH OR POLITICAL PULL?

The social security program has grown more than a thousand fold since its inception. Even fnter the increased number of retired persons and inflation are accounted for, average real social security benefit levels more than tripled from the late 1940s to the early 1980s. What accounts for this growth? This paper finds that increased retirement benefit levels are generated by changes in the constraints faced by the median voter rather than by changes in the political power of special interest groups. The results suggest that the median voter has a finite planning horizon.     

Economic and Social Aspects of the Literary Situation

On the basis of a recent large survey of American authors, wereport on the general economic condition of this unstructuredand differentiated occupation, as well as the economic conditionsof various types of authors. With few exceptions, authors earnlittle from their writing; only those who can "afford" to spendlong hours writing stand a reasonable chance of making a modestincome from it. The unusual nature of the occupation is suggestedby the fact that a wide range of the authors' personal characteristics(demographic and socioeconomic attributes), as well as seeminglyimportant aspects of their writing careers, account for verylittle variation in economic success.     

STRUCTURAL EFFECTS AND INDIVIDUAL ATTITUDES: RACIAL PREJUDICE IN ENGLISH CITIES

Responses to a questionnaire concerning attitudes of Englishcitizens toward "colored immigrants" provided the data for thefollowing analysis of the differential impact of social contexton individual opinion.     

Job and Employee Support Groups: Past and Prologue

This article explores the nature and scope of support groups that focus on job and career issues. A review and analysis of such groups in single organizations, on the Internet, and in other venues is presented, as well as related writings drawn from both the support group and career development literature. Implications for career development practice and research are then offered. Although the purposes, structure, formats, and outcomes of these groups vary, when viewed collectively, they represent potentially helpful adjunctive support for clients who are receiving assistance from professional career counselors and developers.