THE IMPACT OF ENTITLEMENTS AND EQUITY ON COOPERATIVE BARGAINING: AN EXPERIMENT

In some bargaining situations—for example, collaborative policy making and compulsory arbitration—a third party imposes a backstop position that differs from the status quo. Axiomatic models of cooperative bargaining presume that the status quo in such cases will have no effect on the negotiated outcome, especially if it is Pareto inferior to the backstop. Recent literatures on equity and entitlement, however, suggest that the status quo may establish a focal point that acts as an “anchor” in current negotiations, affecting any ultimate agreement. In a two‐party, two‐attribute experiment, in which subjects jointly select from up to 200 options, we find evidence (1) that the status quo matters, perhaps because of “entitlement effects” and (2) that parties prefer egalitarian outcomes to the Nash bargain. (JEL C92, D74, H44, Q58)     

INFLUENCE OF AN INVITATION TO ANSWER BY TELEPHONE ON RESPONSE TO CENSUS QUESTIONNAIRES

An experimental test was made of whether completion rates fora census questionnaire could be improved by offering the optionof calling a toll-free number and providing the requested informationto an interviewer as an alternative to mailing it back. Conductedon a national probability sample of house holds, five treatmentpanels were created to examine the effect of delivering, indifferent ways, the invitation to respond by telephone or mail.Offering such invitations did not improve completion rates exceptwhen included with a follow-up letter that did not also includea replacement questionnaire.     

TAXONOMY AND THE EFFECTS OF FISCAL AND MONETARY POLICY

This paper reviews the development of monetarist theory and the circumstances under which emphasis shifted to "fiscalism," discusses Bent Hansen's view that the controversy is largely a sham dispute, and suggests two types of research needed to assess, historically and theoretically, the relative practical importance of the two approaches to reduction or elimination of economic instability.     

Self-determination and Paternalism in Community Care: Practice and Prospects

Correspondence to Dr Chris Clark, Senior Lecturer in Social Work, Adam Ferguson Building, George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9LL, Email: Chris.Clark{at}ed.ac.uk Summary Self-determination is long established as a key principle ofsocial work ethics, but has seldom been the subject of empiricalresearch. This article reports on a qualitative study of theprinciples and beliefs of community care social workers in alocal authority. It is shown that, while workers retain strongattachment to traditional ideas about self-determination, theyalso appreciate that paternalistic intervention is sometimesjustified. The more recently fashionable concept of empowermentappears to have had little useful impact. The paper argues that,while the persistence of self-determination is a strength ofsocial work and should be defended, traditional practice ethicsare weak on the political issues embedded in community care.Five key issues are identified: the threat to individualizedservice under care management; the problematic determinationof mental competence; social ambivalence about the extent offamily responsibility for dependent adults; the threat to equityarising from variable interpretations of self-determination;and the excessively elastic interpretation of empowerment.     

REENGINEERING CHANNEL REORDERING PROCESSES TO IMPROVE TOTAL SUPPLY-CHAIN PERFORMANCE

This paper discusses the relationship between business process reengineering and channel performance for firms implementing electronic data interchange (EDI) linkages within the U.S. grocery industry. Both quantitative and qualitative data sources are combined to test the hypothesis that channel transformation involving adoption of EDI and redesign of replenishment processes enables performance improvements more than an order of magnitude greater than implementation of EDI alone. This new process, enabled by EDI, provides retailers with 50- 100% higher inventory turns for products on continuous replenishment processes (CRP) relative to retailer performance using traditional ordering processes. Firms adopting EDI without using CRP to reengineer the ordering processes have failed to realize any statistically significant improvements in either inventory levels or warehouse stockouts. This research provides evidence to support the claims of process reengineering that are common in the popular business press, but for which statistically significant empirical evidence is minimal. The findings of the research also demonstrate the potential improvements that firms can realize through extending the business process reengineering concept to include the firms' entire supply chain.     

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE NATIVITY WEALTH GAP*

We investigate the relative wealth position of immigrant households residing in Australia, Germany, and the United States. In Germany and the United States, wealth differentials stem from differences in the educational attainment and demographic characteristics of the native and immigrant populations, rather than income differentials. In contrast, the small nativity wealth gap in Australia exists because immigrants to Australia do not translate their relative educational and demographic advantage into a wealth advantage. Overall, we find substantial disparity in the economic well‐being of immigrant and native families which is largely consistent with domestic labor markets and immigration policies. (JEL F22, D31)     

EFFECTS OF QUESTIONNAIRE LENGTH, RESPONDENT-FRIENDLY DESIGN, AND A DIFFICULT QUESTION ON RESPONSE RATES FOR OCCUPANT-ADDRESSED CENSUS MAIL SURVEYS

An experimental study of alternatives to the current U.S. decennialcensus questionnaire shows that shortening the questionnaireand respondent-friendly questionnaire design improve response,whereas asking a potentially difficult and/or objectionablequestion, that is, social security number, lowers response.This national study of 17,000 household addresses also demonstratesthat relatively high mail survey response can be achieved withoutaddressing correspondence to individual names of residents.