THE NATURE OF OUTSOURCING RELATIONSHIPS: EVIDENCE FROM OAP PRICES

This paper studies the extent and variation in production cost pass‐through for U.S. outsourcing imports. Data from 4,676 products imported through the U.S. overseas assembly program show that outsourcing imports were characterized by incomplete pass‐through of production and trade costs to import prices. Notably, pass‐through was higher for products assembled in high education countries while the response of outsourcing import prices to competing suppliers' prices was largest for products sold by firms in capital‐intense industries. The reasons for these cross‐country and cross‐industry differences, as they relate to theories of outsourcing and trade, are explored. (JEL F1, F2)     

RACE AND TRUST IN GOVERNMENT: TESTING THE POLITICAL REALITY MODEL

Ever since the Institute for Social Research began measuringpolitical trust more than twenty years ago, racial differenceshave been noted. Since 1968 blacks have been notably less trustingthan whites. The explanation most commonly offered is the politicalreality model. This note directly tests the political realitymodel by comparing the relationship of race to trust in twosettings. One is the nation in 1984 and the second is a citywhere a black mayor and black administration had been in officefor eight years. If the political reality model is correct,the relationship of being black to trust should be positivein the local setting, precisely the opposite of the negativedirection in national samples. The political reality model performedwell under this direct comparison. As others have found, theCPS trust questions measure in large part one's evaluation ofincumbents. These incumbent evaluations are part of the politicalreality that blacks respond to in answering the trust questions.     

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)     

Migration,development and inequality: Eastern Punjabi transnationalism

Abstract Drawing on original, ethnographic research in India and the UK, in this article we discuss the impact of transnational activity on the Doaba region of East Punjab, India. We argue that some recent studies have underplayed some of the less progressive consequences of Indian transnationalism. In particular, we contend that they have underestimated the extent of division between transnational migrants and Indian non‐migrants and downplayed the relationship between transnationalism and caste inequality. This empirical study of transnationalism, when placed in the context of the dynamic caste relations of East Punjab, supports those who contend that access to international migration is becoming an increasingly significant component of contemporary global social stratification, with the ‘broad’ transnational processes of capitalist globalization driving the ‘narrow’ transnationalism studied here. In this article, we question any straightforwardly progressive relationship between transnationalism and ‘development’ within East Punjab, and suggest that the arguments presented have a resonance beyond northwest India.     

Using Career Information With Dropouts and At-Risk Youth

A survey of sites using the Career Information System identified successful career development programs for dropouts and potential dropouts. Model programs and program development guidelines are described.