Frank Knight and original sin.

Frank Knight was the key person in founding the Chicago school of economics. In this respect he was a seminal figure in the history of twentieth century economics. Yet, few current economists know much about Knight. After his early success in 1921 with Risk, Uncertainty and Profit - Knight's work best known to current economists -- he wrote more in the manner of a moral philosopher than an economic scientist. This paper examines the thinking of the later Knight, the approach to social analysis that he adopted for most of career and including all of his years in the Chicago economics department. Knight was known for his antagonism to traditional Christian religion. Yet, penetrating only slightly below the surface, his thinking is revealed to follow closely in a Christian mode. Indeed, Knight's moral philosophy was a secular form of Calvinism. Rather than the pursuit of pleasure, human actions are driven by the fallen character of human nature since the expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Rather than maximization of utility, Knight's writings depict a world in which a more fundamental force in human behavior and events is a secular equivalent of original sin. As Knight developed the implications of this world view, he increasingly rejected the scientific management approaches of the mainstream of the economics profession and instead worked out his own brand of libertarian philosophy - anticipating and influencing later libertarian directions of thought that would emerge at Chicago.Moral philosophy; Chicago school; intellectual history; normative economics; religion

Policy issues effecting entrance and lodging fees at National parks: options for Zimbabwe The Southern African Experiment.

The National Park System of Zimbabwe is a main attraction for foreign tourists and an important contributor to the economic well being of the country. It contains large numbers of elephants, lions and other types of magnificent African wildlife. The entrance and lodging fees currently charged of foreign visitors to Zimbabwe parks should be significantly altered. They are too low to serve as an effective restraint on the demands made by humans on ecological systems. They forego large potential revenues that could be achieved with a higher fee structure. The current charge at Victoria Falls of US $10 per foreign visitor per day, for example, could be increased to US$25 without much effect on total levels of visitation. Significant increases in entrance fees, as well as lodging rates, could also be made at other Zimbabwe parks. The higher revenues could be employed to provide better park visitor services and greater protection of park resources. Other desirable changes in policies for entrance fees and lodging rates for foreign visitors include: (1) wider variability in fees from one park to another; (2) smaller discounts for longer stays in a park; (3) half-price discounts for children up to age 18; (4) increased charges for noncommercial vehicles; (5) significantly higher rates for lodging facilities in Zimbabwe parks; and (6) major improvements in booking arrangements for park lodging. It is estimated that revised park entrance fee and lodging rate policies along these lines could roughly double the total revenues earned by the National Park System of Zimbabwe to a new level of perhaps US $10 million per year or more.Zimbabwe; national parks; tourism; economic development; ecological protection

Collective private ownership of American housing:a social revolution in local governance.

In 1970 only one percent of American housing units were located in a homeowner association, condominium or cooperative - the three main instruments of collective private ownership of housing. By 1998, this figure had risen to 15 percent. In major metropolitan areas, 50 percent of new housing units is being built and sold as part of a collective ownership regime. The rapid spread of collective private ownership of American housing is creating a social revolution in local governance. Private organizations are becoming responsible for collecting garbage, providing security, maintaining common recreation areas and many other collective tasks within the neighborhood area of common property ownership. The private enforcement of covenants takes the place of municipal zoning in regulating the quality of the immediate exterior environment. Private neighborhoods operate under different "constitutional" ground rules than traditional local governments in the public sector. The allocation of voting rights in private associations, for example, is based on property ownership rather than numbers of adult residents. The greater flexibility in governing arrangements of private neighborhoods has many advantages. The paper concludes by suggesting that collective private property rights should be made available to many existing neighborhoods in place of their current zoning controls. It would amount to the "privatization" of zoning.Housing; Local Governance; Collective Action; Community Associations; Privatization

Effects of Low Cell pH and Elevated Inorganic Phosphate on the pCa-Force Relationship in Single Muscle Fibers at Near-Physiological Temperatures

Intense muscle contraction induces high rates of ATP hydrolysis with resulting increases in Pi, H+, and ADP, factors thought to induce fatigue by interfering with steps in the cross-bridge cycle. Force inhibition is less at physiological temperatures; thus the role of low pH in fatigue has been questioned. Effects of pH 6.2 and collective effects with 30 mM Pi on the pCa-force relationship were assessed in skinned fast and slow rat skeletal muscle fibers at 15 and 30°C. At 30°C, pH 6.2 + 30 mM Pi significantly depressed peak force in all fiber types, with the greatest effect in type IIx fibers. Across fiber types, Ca2+ sensitivity was depressed by low pH and low pH + high Pi, with the greater effect at 30°C. For type IIx fibers at 30°C, half-maximal activation (pCa50) was 5.36 at pH 6.2 (no added Pi) and 4.98 at pH 6.2 + 30 mM Pi compared with 6.58 in the control condition (pH 7, no added Pi). At 30°C, n2, reflective of thick filament cooperativity, was unchanged by low cell pH but was depressed from 5.02 to 2.46 in type IIx fibers with pH 6.2 + 30 mM Pi. With acidosis, activation thresholds of all fiber types required higher free Ca2+ at 15 and 30°C. With the exception of type IIx fibers, the Ca2+ required to reach activation threshold increased further with added Pi. In conclusion, it is clear that fatigue-inducing effects of low cell pH and elevated Pi at near-physiological temperatures are substantial

Private Property Rights to Wildlife: The Southern African Experiment.

In most nations around the world wildlife are owned and managed by the State. However, in the past 30 years Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa have altered their legal regimes to give full control over the use of wildlife to the private owners of the land on which the wildlife are located. Following the privatization of wildlife management in southern African nations, wildlife tourism on private lands has boomed. In Zimbabwe, a majority of many desirable species - including 94 percent of eland, 64 percent of kudu, 63 percent of giraffe, 56 percent of cheetah, and 53 percent of both sable and impala - are found on commercial ranch properties. In Namibia, wildlife populations on private lands have risen by 80 percent since the creation in 1967 of a regime of private wildlife ownership. Privatization of control over use of wildlife has had more success in promoting biodiversity in the southern African region than any other policy measure. Other parts of the world may be able to benefit from the lessons learned from the successes of southern African nations in privatization and commercialization of wildlife. Based on the southern African experience, many wildlife managers should reconsider whether positive incentives might not be more effective in the future in promoting wildlife populations than the past club of state commands and controls.Wildlife; Privatization; Africa; Biodiversity; Economic Development