The South-Nonsouth Faculty Salary Differential

Faculty salaries at American educational institutions are often assumed to be lower in the South than in the non-South. This paper presents a model inclusive of faculty and job characteristics for estimating the regional differential at community colleges (local markets) and at institutions awarding the bachelor's degree and above (national market). Differentials are estimated at the end points (1975, 1985) of a decade of more rapid Southern than non-Southern faculty employment-growth. Nominal salaries in the South are lower at both dates in the two types of institutions. When model-adjusted and estimated in real terms, Southern salaries are higher in the national market at 1975 and 1985 and reach parity in the community colleges by 1985.Salaries; Salary

A framework for the first‑person internal sensation of visual perception in mammals and a comparable circuitry for olfactory perception in Drosophila

Perception is a first-person internal sensation induced within the nervous system at the time of arrival of sensory stimuli from objects in the environment. Lack of access to the first-person properties has limited viewing perception as an emergent property and it is currently being studied using third-person observed findings from various levels. One feasible approach to understand its mechanism is to build a hypothesis for the specific conditions and required circuit features of the nodal points where the mechanistic operation of perception take place for one type of sensation in one species and to verify it for the presence of comparable circuit properties for perceiving a different sensation in a different species. The present work explains visual perception in mammalian nervous system from a first-person frame of reference and provides explanations for the homogeneity of perception of visual stimuli above flicker fusion frequency, the perception of objects at locations different from their actual position, the smooth pursuit and saccadic eye movements, the perception of object borders, and perception of pressure phosphenes. Using results from temporal resolution studies and the known details of visual cortical circuitry, explanations are provided for (a) the perception of rapidly changing visual stimuli, (b) how the perception of objects occurs in the correct orientation even though, according to the third-person view, activity from the visual stimulus reaches the cortices in an inverted manner and (c) the functional significance of well-conserved columnar organization of the visual cortex. A comparable circuitry detected in a different nervous system in a remote species-the olfactory circuitry of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster-provides an opportunity to explore circuit functions using genetic manipulations, which, along with high-resolution microscopic techniques and lipid membrane interaction studies, will be able to verify the structure-function details of the presented mechanism of perception

Terrorism and the Alchian-Allen Theorem

The Alchian-Allen “effect” occurs when the fixed cost of purchasing a good is altered. Initially fixed costs imposed on consumers of airline flights due to terrorism were low. Coach airfares increased relative to business and first class fares due to security costs. Since air fares are flexible, the ratio of coach fares to business or first class fares should fall. Using quarterly fare data for the period 1995-2005 from DOT’s Database 1B, analysis shows a significant effect on relative shares of air travel. The sign of the effect is negative indicating that first class declined relative to coach trave

An Empirical Note on the Impact of College Athletics on Tuition Revenues

The economics and sociology literature has given much attention to the proper role of athletics in the mission of institutions of higher education. This discussion has turned into a debate; one argument holds that athletics fit nicely into the mission of most colleges. However, it has also been argued that athletics impede the students and faculty from achieving their academic potential. We argue that college athletics can increase the demand to attend the institution and lower the price elasticity of demand of non-resident students. This, in turn, increases the level of financial resources available to the institution. We model the percentage of out-of-state students as being dependent upon athletic success (among other variables) and find a positive and significant relationship between the two. In addition, potential net revenue gains from athletic success are provided for specific institutions

Loyal Political Cartels and Committee Assignments in Congress: Evidence from the Congressional Black Caucus

This study presents a political model which suggests that monopoly legislators form cartel-like organizations (referred to as memberships\u27\u27) in an effort to extract greater benefits in the political process. Based on a model by Coker and Crain (1994) that provides theoretical and statistical arguments for congressional committees as loyalty-generating institutions, the instant research examines committee placement of members\u27\u27 of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) in the U.S. House by Democrat leaders. Voting records indicate that the CBC is uniform in its voting patterns, indicating cartel-like behavior. Because of this, the Democratic leadership in the House chooses to place CBC members on important committees in order to support their policy agenda. The general finding of this study is that black representation\u27\u27 may be greater than simply the proportion of seats held by black Representatives

Female earnings and the divorce rate: a simultaneous equations model

Economists have contributed a great deal of research, both theoretical and empirical, to the study of marital formation and dissolution. Many empirical examinations of marriage and divorce rates exist based on Becker's seminal contributions to the literature. All of these divorce studies are single equation models, with female earnings assumed exogenous. As discussed by Becker (1981), however, causality may run in the opposite direction as well: the divorce rate may influence female earnings. This paper estimates a simultaneous equations model in which divorce rates and female earnings are the jointly endogenous variables. Data are by state, for 1960, 1970, 1980 and 1990. The state-wide divorce rate equation is an extension of Waters and Ressler (1999), and the specification of a state-wide earnings equation follows standard human capital theory. The specification of joint endogeneity between female earnings and the divorce rate allows valid inferences to be made regarding the effect of female earnings on divorce for the first time. Most previous single equation studies of divorce have found that increases in female earnings significantly increase divorce rates. A simultaneous equations model will allow inferences to be made regarding the possibility of joint determination, which may cause a reevaluation of previous results.