School Competition and Efficiency with Publicly Funded Catholic Schools

The province of Ontario has two publicly funded school systems: secular schools (known as public schools) that are open to all students, and separate schools that are limited to children with Catholic backgrounds. A simple model of inter-system competition predicts that incentives for effort are higher in areas where there are more Catholic families who are relatively uncommitted to one system or the other. We measure the willingness of Catholic families to switch systems by studying the effect of school openings on enrollment at nearby schools in the competing system. The results suggest that families in rapidly growing areas have the weakest attachment to a particular system. We then relate student test score gains between 3rd and 6th grade to measures of potential cross-system competition. We find that competition for Catholic students has a significant effect on test outcomes in both systems, particularly in fast-growing areas. Our estimates imply that expanding competition to all students would raise average test scores in 6th grade by 6-8% of a standard deviation.school competition; student achievement

Whither Criminology?: On The State of Criminology\u27s Paradigm

What is the condition of criminology’s paradigm? The reply to this question has implications bearing on the profession’s bona fides as a science as well as its sustainability as an independent academic enterprise. The work attempts to capture the elusive term through the use of five themes: theoretical consensus, methodological consensus, boundaries, the departure from sociology, and the current and future status of the field. In approaching this question the work presents an analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seventeen renowned criminologists. The centerpiece of the latter data set was assembled and analyzed in prior research (Savelsberg et al. 2002). A content analysis of 2,109 peer reviewed articles appearing in the field’s top journals from 1951 to 2008 produced numerous findings. Criminology lacks a hegemonic theoretical orientation but a consensus is evident in the peer-reviewed publication data in terms of its methodology. The field defends its prerogative to draw from any tradition it sees fit to. A review of the content of the field’s research and the debates discussed with the interviewees suggests a somewhat amorphous, yet still discernible, definition of the field’s identity, one that is dedicated to the process of science. This can be seen in terms of the parameters of the seminal theoretical and empirical debates recounted by the interviewees. What is clear is that the field has successfully emancipated itself from the discipline of sociology both professionally and in terms of its content. Concerns were offered in terms of potential threats to the continued growth of the profession resulting from a reduction in funding and its becoming fractured and isolated organizationally but there are reasons for optimism in terms of the expansion of its research horizons into exploring state crime, overcoming the macro/micro divide and incorporating biological, international, cultural/anthropological, and power oriented themes. Discussion of the prospects for how the current work may come to inform a large scale research agenda conclude the work

The Revived Bretton Woods System: The Effects of Periphery Intervention and Reserve Management on Interest Rates & Exchange Rates in Center Countries

In this paper we explore some implications of the revived' Bretton Woods system for exchange market intervention and reserve management in periphery countries. Financial policies in these countries are seen as a component of a more general portfolio management policy in which the formation of an efficient domestic capital stock is a key objective. Because intervention in financial markets is an important part of their development strategy, intervention in exchange and financial markets has, and we argue will continue to be, large and persistent enough to generate predictable deviations of exchange rates and relative yields in industrial country financial markets from normal cyclical patterns. We argue that management of the currency composition of international reserves by emerging market governments and central banks is unlikely to alter these conclusions.

Bulk Fuel Distribution Costs For Cooperatives in North Dakota

Economic-engineering cost data and a simulation model were used to analyze the impact of sales density, size of sales area, sales volume, and equipment configuration on costs of bulk fuel delivery by cooperatives. Fixed costs accounted for the majority of delivery costs regardless of sales density or size of sales area, at least for the relevant range of these variables for North Dakota. Increasing the radius of a sales area from 5 to 50 miles increased average costs only $.02 to$.09/gal. Doubling sales by either doubling the size of the sales area or the sales density reduced average total costs by nearly 50%. Thus, cooperatives with excess delivery capacity could achieve significant savings if they consolidate to operate closer to the capacity of delivery equipment. Small storage facilities (say 50,000 gal.) place little or no restriction on operations because deliveries from bulk fuel terminals are reliable and on a timely basis. Therefore, the economic rationale for building larger storage facilities would include speculation on price changes and as a response to future expectations rather than current operating requirements. The impact of the size of load-out pipes (2" or 3") and delivery trucks (2,000 or 4,000 gal.) is significant in some instances. The larger load-out pipes are most economical for high sales densities. Larger trucks have a comparative advantage in large sales areas with lower sales densities.cooperatives, fuel distribution, delivery costs, market area size, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Agribusiness,

Interest Rates, Exchange Rates and International Adjustment

In this paper we examine the behavior of interest rates and exchange rates following a variety of shocks to the international monetary system. Our analysis suggests that real interest rates in the US and Europe will remain low relative to historical experience for an extended period but converge slowly toward normal levels. During this adjustment interval, the US absorbs a disproportionate share of world savings. After a substantial initial appreciation of floating currencies relative to the dollar, the dollar and other floating currencies remain constant relative to each other. An improvement in the investment climate in Europe during the adjustment period would generate an immediate depreciation of the euro relative to the dollar. In real terms, the dollar and the floating currencies will eventually have to depreciate relative to the managed currencies. But most of the adjustment in the US trade account will come as US absorption responds to increases in real interest rates.