Affirmative Action and Its Mythology

For more than three decades, critics and supporters of affirmative action have fought for the moral high ground ­ through ballot initiatives and lawsuits, in state legislatures, and in varied courts of public opinion. The goal of this paper is to show the clarifying power of economic reasoning to dispel some myths and misconceptions in the racial affirmative action debates. We enumerate seven commonly held (but mistaken) views one often encounters in the folklore about affirmative action (affirmative action may involve goals and timelines, but definitely not quotas, e.g.). Simple economic arguments reveal these seven views to be more myth than fact.

Can Empathy Promote Cooperation When Status and Money Matter?

In the present study we ask, Does empathy also support cooperative behaviors when the status (high, low) of an individual differs relative to other group members and is determined by either chance or effort? In response to this unexplored question, the present study involved a series of 4 experiments using a linear public goods game (Experiment 1–3, 4-player; Experiment 4, 2-player). Regardless of the way in which status was achieved (chance, effort), those with low status cooperated more compared with their high-status counterparts. Empathy in and of itself revealed very small overall increases in cooperative behavior. Overall, status and monetary incentives appear to be more salient than empathy in guiding behaviors in a social dilemma task.</p

Prospectus, September 15, 1993

https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1993/1013/thumbnail.jp

Prospectus, September 29, 1993

https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1993/1014/thumbnail.jp

Adjusted Tornado Probabilities

Tornado occurrence rates computed from the available reports are biased low relative to the unknown true rates. To correct for this low bias, the authors demonstrate a method to estimate the annual probability of being struck by a tornado that uses the average report density estimated as a function of distance from nearest city/town center. The method is demonstrated on Kansas and then applied to 15 other tornado-prone states from Nebraska to Tennessee. States are ranked according to their adjusted tornado rate and comparisons are made with raw rates published elsewhere. The adjusted rates, expressed as return periods, arestates, including Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. The expected annual number of people exposed to tornadoes is highest for Illinois followed by Alabama and Indiana. For the four states with the highest tornado rates, exposure increases since 1980 are largest for Oklahoma (24%) and Alabama (23%)

Reverse discrimination and efficiency in education

This article shows that reverse discrimination policies can find a justification purely on efficiency grounds. We study the optimal provision of education when households belong to different groups, differing in the distribution of the potential to benefit from education among individuals, which is private information. The main result is that high-potential individuals from groups with relatively few high-potential individuals should receive more education than otherwise identical individuals from groups with a more favorable distribution of these benefits

Golden Years? The Labor Market Effects of Caring for Grandchildren

The number of Americans raising grandchildren has been rising steadily. In this paper, we add to what is known about the implications of this trend by focusing on the economic effects of raising a grandchild. We make use of a unique data set compiled from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics along with its Parent Identification File. Using this nationally representative sample of 3,240 grandparents who are heads of households, we estimate the effect of taking in a grandchild on a grandparent's labor force participation and hours worked. We estimate ordinary and two-stage models that distinguishing between grandparents living only with grandchildren (skipped generation families) and those who also have taken in their own children (three-generation families). The results suggest that caring for grandchildren leads to greater attachment to the labor force, especially in skipped-generation families, for grandfathers, and among married grandparent

Access Charges, Vertical Separation, and Lobbying

We examine how vertical separation affects the lobbying activities for the access charge of essential facilities. First, when investigating a model where the number of new entrants is fixed, we find that vertical separation either increases or decreases the access charge, and that this depends on the relative efficiency between the incumbent and the new entrants, and the number of entrants. Second, when investigating a freeentry market, we find that vertical separation always reduces the access charge in such a market. The vertically integrated firm has a stronger incentive to lobby in this market because a higher access charge reduces the number of competitors

Time and Financial Transfers Within and Beyond the Family

Research on time and financial transfers is often conducted along two distinct lines—transfers within the family and transfers beyond the family—without considering the fact that these transfers are actually interrelated. Using longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), this article investigates the links between the two groups of transfers. Transfers within and beyond the family were found to be complements. Income and wealth are strong predictors of financial transfers. Black and Hispanic families lag systematically in the generosity to help the people both within and beyond their families.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43105/1/10834_2006_Article_9013.pd