The Lottery and Income Inequality in the States*

Objective. Since the early 1970s, income inequality in the United States has increased dramatically. We examine the impact of state lotteries on income inequality in the American states from 1976–1995. Methods. We use cross‐sectional time‐series data to evaluate the effect of lotteries as well as those of other state tax policies, redistributive programs, and demographic factors on income inequality. Results. We find that state lotteries foster income concentration. Ceteris paribus, states with lotteries have higher levels of income inequality than those states without a lottery. We also find that additional demographic and policy factors have an impact on income inequality in the states. Conclusions. One of the most important policy‐oriented determinants of income inequality is the lottery and a significant portion of the increase in income inequality over our two‐decade time period is attributable to the increasing prevalence and popularity of state lotteries.     

Range management and production on the fringe: The Caldenal, Argentina

North American problems in coming to terms with the management of the semi-arid Plains environment are well known. Less documented are those of Argentina's equivalent on the fringe of the Humid Pampas. Argentine agricultural aid and research has been focussed on the Humid Pampas, and little understanding of the special problems of the dry zone is apparent. Issues of production and conservation are in urgent need of attention. In addition to the limits posed by the natural environment, a number of human factors affect the ability of ranchers to produce from the dry lands. In a field study of the Caldenal, some indications are that the factors are different from other environments in Latin America. Large properties are not less productive per hectare than small, and standard technology does not guarantee good results from ranching. Tenant farming is not a problem, but there is an impoverished group, those ranchers without other means of earning a livelihood. A recommendation is for encouragement to be given to larger ranch units, and for more research into relevant technology, which is likely to include conservationist measures, whose introduction to the ranches should be financially supported.     

CORPORATE DIVERSIFICATION REVISITED: The Political–Legal Environment,the Multilayer‐Subsidiary Form,and Mergers and Acquisitions

This article examines causes of product‐line diversification in the largest 200 U.S. corporations between 1986 and 1996. The analysis shows that some corporations decreased their level of diversification. However, in contrast with previous studies, other corporations became more diversified. Change in the number of first‐level subsidiaries and the value of mergers and acquisitions influenced corporate diversification. In contrast with the multidivisional form, the organizational characteristics of the multilayer‐subsidiary form give management greater capacity to socialize capital, pursue mergers and acquisitions, and manage a large and diversified corporation. This multilayer‐subsidiary form limits the managerial problem of bounded rationality by organizing product lines and product groups in legally independent subsidiary corporations that are embedded in their respective markets.     

Reference citations in B. F. Skinner’s Verbal Behavior

The Analysis of Verbal Behavior -     

ABSTRACTS

Andolfi, M. Redefinition in family therapy. American Journal of Family Therapy ,
Clance, P. R. & Imes, S. A. The imposter phenomenon in high achieving women: dynamics and therapeutic intervention. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice ,
Feinstein, A. D. Personal mythology as a paradigm for a holistic public psychology. American Journal of Orthapsychiatry ,
Hatfield, A. B. The family as partner in the treatment of mental illness. Hospital and Community Psychiatry ,
McGuire, J. M. & Borowy, T. D. Attitudes toward mental health professionals. Professional Psychology ,
Olson, D. H., Sprenkle, D. H. & Russell, C. S. Circumplex model of marital and family systems: I. Cohesion and adaptability dimensions, family types, and clinical applications. Family Process ,
Perr, M. Social and cultural influences on the doctor's family. American Journal of Psychoanalysis ,
Russell, C. S. Circumplex model of marital and family systems: III. Empirical evaluation with families. Family Process ,     

Abstracts

Bennett, D., Fox, C, Jowell, T., & Skynner, A. C. R. Toward a family approach in a psychiatric day hospital.
Blechman, E. A., Olson, D. H. L., & Hellman, I. D. Stimulus control over family problem-solving behavior: The family contract game.
Butler, J. F. The toilet training success of parents after reading "Toilet Training in Less Than a Day."
Dell, P. F., & Appelbaum, A. S. Trigenerational enmeshment: Unresolved ties of single-parents to family of origin.
Kalter, N. Children of divorce in an outpatient psychiatric population.
Kelly, J. B., & Wallerstein, J. S. Divorce counseling: A community service for families in the midst of divorce.
Kelly, J. B., & Wallerstein, J. S. Brief interventions with children in divorcing families.
Klein, M. H. Feminist concepts of therapy outcome.
Krell, R., & Miles, J. E. Marital therapy of couples in which the husband is a physician.
Leiber, L., Plumb, M. M., Gerstenzang, M. L., & Holland, J. The communication of affection between cancer patients and their spouses.
Rubenstein, R. Briefing on inner space.
Strean, H. S. The extramarital affair: A psychoanalytic view.
Turkel, A. R. The impact of feminism on the practice of a woman analyst.
Wincze, J. P., Caird, W. K. The effects of systematic desensitization and video desensitization in the treatment of essential sexual dysfunction.
Wyatt, G. E., Strayer, R. G., & Lobitz, W. C. The treatment of sexually dysfunctioning couples of Afro-American descent.     

A Bayesian view of assessing uncertainty and comparing expert opinion

A Bayesian approach to the problem of comparing experts or expert systems is presented. The question of who is an expert is considered and comparisons among well-calibrated experts are studied. The concept of refinement, in various equivalent forms, is used in this study. An informative example of the combination of the opinions of well-calibrated experts is described. Total orderings of the class of well-calibrated experts are derived from strictly proper scoring rules.     

Technical Uncertainty in Quantitative Policy Analysis — A Sulfur Air Pollution Example

Expert judgments expressed as subjective probability distributions provide an appropriate means of incorporating technical uncertainty in some quantitative policy studies. Judgments and distributions obtained from several experts allow one to explore the extent to which the conclusions reached in such a study depend on which expert one talks to. For the case of sulfur air pollution from coal-fired power plants, estimates of sulfur mass balance as a function of plume flight time are shown to vary little across the range of opinions of leading atmospheric scientists while estimates of possible health impacts are shown to vary widely across the range of opinions of leading scientists in air pollution health effects.