Should we expect a race to the bottom in welfare benefits? Evidence from a multistate panel, 1979-1995

Evidence exists that welfare recipients migrate between states to seek more generous benefits, potentially leading states to lower AFDC benefits to avoid such welfare migration. Taken further, this raises the specter of states competitively lowering benefits in reaction to similar moves by other states. The naïve model of policymaking assumes that benefits are solely a function of state characteristics. If benefits depend on the threat of welfare migration or other interstate competition, however, one must account for possible spillovers. This paper presents tests for the presence of welfare-policy spillovers in a panel of 47 states over the period 1979-1995. I find weak evidence of spillovers even in the presence of state fixed effects and political and budgetary-control variables.income support; United States; welfare benefits; Temporary Assistance to Needy Families; Aid to Families with Dependent Children; spatial spillovers

The role of economics in the QUERI program: QUERI Series.

Background: The United States (U.S.) Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI) has implemented economic analyses in single-site and multi-site clinical trials. To date, no one has reviewed whether the QUERI Centers are taking an optimal approach to doing so. Consistent with the continuous learning culture of the QUERI Program, this paper provides such a reflection. Methods: We present a case study of QUERI as an example of how economic considerations can and should be integrated into implementation research within both single and multi-site studies. We review theoretical and applied cost research in implementation studies outside and within VA. We also present a critique of the use of economic research within the QUERI program. Results: Economic evaluation is a key element of implementation research. QUERI has contributed many developments in the field of implementation but has only recently begun multisite implementation trials across multiple regions within the national VA healthcare system. These trials are unusual in their emphasis on developing detailed costs of implementation, as well as in the use of business case analyses (budget impact analyses). Conclusion: Economics appears to play an important role in QUERI implementation studies, only after implementation has reached the stage of multi-site trials. Economic analysis could better inform the choice of which clinical best practices to implement and the choice of implementation interventions to employ. QUERI economics also would benefit from research on costing methods and development of widely accepted international standards for implementation economics.implementation science; cost analysis; cost-effectiveness; health care cost; health systems;

Enlightenment Thinker Cesare Beccaria and His Influence on the Founders: Understanding the Meaning and Purpose of the Second Amendment’s Right to Keep and Bear Arms

Often hailed as the father of modern criminology, the writings of the prominent eighteenth-century Italian thinker Cesare Beccaria were deeply influential on the American Founders’ views of criminal law and theory. Courts, lawyers, and legal observers recently have begun to appreciate Beccaria’s influence, including on such timely topics as the pardon power, the theory of criminal sentencing, and the moral implications of the death penalty. But another topic Beccaria wrote about with great influence has been largely neglected: the individual right to keep and bear arms. This article seeks to correct this gap in the current scholarship surrounding Beccaria’s thought and influence on the right to keep and bear arms. I first demonstrate that Beccaria’s writings were known by the Founding generation and deeply influenced them. Next, I highlight the areas of criminal law and theory where courts and commentators have begun to appreciate Beccaria’s important guidance. Finally, I point out that Beccaria’s equally significant writings on the right to keep and bear arms, and the law concerning firearms, have gone largely ignored in the literature and judicial opinions, and argue that the same considerations that have spurred courts and scholars to revisit Beccaria’s writings in other areas should lead them to recognize, and be affected by, his contributions in the area of Second Amendment jurisprudence

Second-Class Rights and Second-Class Americans: Applying Carolene Products Footnote Four and the Court’s Enforcement of Nationally Accepted Norms Against Local Outlier Jurisdictions in Second Amendment Enforcement Litigations

In the years since deciding District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) and McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010), the Supreme Court has largely abandoned the role of protecting American gun owners despite the text, history, and tradition of the Second Amendment’s right to keep and bear arms. The Supreme Court has failed to use the jurisprudential tools at its disposal to ensure that the fundamental right to arms is protected as robustly as other enumerated constitutional rights. This failure is an acute one. And it is unjustifiable across a wide variety of jurisprudential methodologies, from originalism to the non-originalist approaches that were dominant during the era of the Warren and Burger Courts. The Supreme Court must do more to protect this right. There are two important lines of American jurisprudence that, while historically influential, are not receiving their due in contemporary debates about the scope and enforcement of the Second Amendment. The first line of precedent stems from Footnote Four of the Supreme Court’s 1938 decision in United States v. Carolene Products Co. The second line of authority, also outlined in Footnote Four, arises from the Supreme Court’s traditional role of enforcing nationally accepted norms against outlier local majorities that are oppressing distinct and insular minorities. Today, certain outlier jurisdictions dominated by large urban majorities are depriving gun owners, who are a distinct and disfavored minority in many of those jurisdictions, of Second Amendment rights that are fully recognized in the vast majority of states and localities. This article discusses both lines of precedential authority. Today’s Supreme Court can and should deploy these two principles to vindicate Second Amendment rights from continued attacks and to roll back outlier laws enacted by only a few jurisdictions that intentionally choose to ignore the U.S. Constitution as written and refuse to be bound by Supreme Court precedent

Partial Oxidation of Hydrocarbons in a Segmented Bed Using Oxide-based Catalysts and Oxygen-conducting Supports

Two objectives for the catalytic reforming of hydrocarbons to produce synthesis gas are investigated herein: (1) the effect of oxygen-conducting supports with partially substituted mixed-metal oxide catalysts, and (2) a segmented bed approach using different catalyst configurations. Excess carbon deposition was the primary cause of catalyst deactivation, and was the focus of the experiments for both objectives. The formation and characterization of deposited carbon was examined after reaction for one of the selected catalysts to determine the quantity and location of the carbon on the catalyst surface leading to deactivation.;A nickel-substituted barium hexaaluminate (BNHA), with the formula BaAl 11.6Ni0.4O18.8, and a Rh-substituted lanthanum zirconate pyrochlore (LCZR) with the formula La1.89Ca0.11 Zr1.89Rh0.11, were combined with two different doped ceria supports. These supports were gadolinium-doped ceria (GDC) and zirconium-doped ceria (ZDC). The active catalyst phases were combined with the supports in different ratios using different synthesis techniques. The catalysts were characterized using several different techniques and were tested under partial oxidation (POX) of n-tetradecane (TD), a diesel fuel surrogate. It was found that the presence of GDC and ZDC reduced the formation of carbon for both catalysts; the optimal ratio of catalyst to support was different for the hexaaluminate and the pyrochlore; a loading of 20 wt% of the pyrochlore with ZDC produced the most stable performance in the presence of common fuel contaminants (\u3e50 h); and, the incipient wetness impregnation synthesis method of applying the active catalyst to the support produced more stable product yields than the catalyst prepared by a solid-state mixing technique.;Different hexaaluminate and pyrochlore catalysts were used in different configurations in a segmented bed approach. The first strategy was to promote the indirect reforming mechanism by placing a combustion catalyst in the reactor inlet, followed by a reforming catalyst. This approach demonstrated that BNHA can be used in the reactor inlet to promote combustion with 1 wt% Rh-substituted pyrochlore in the reactor outlet, but the combustion catalyst should fill less than 50% of the reactor. The second approach placed specific catalysts in regions of the reactor that have conditions in which they are less likely to deactivate. This showed the most benefit in the use of a sulfur-tolerant noble metal catalyst in the reactor outlet.;The carbon formation study was conducted on a 2 wt% Rh-substituted pyrochlore. POX of TD for various run times, followed by temperature programmed oxidation, revealed two different types of carbon deposits in the catalyst bed: carbon that burned off at relatively low temperature (LTC), and carbon that burned off at higher temperatures (HTC). The LTC reached a steady state level within two hours of reaction, and was determined not to lead to catalyst deactivation. The HTC continued to accumulate with time on stream. A mathematical expression was developed to predict the rate of formation of the HTC for a given set of reaction conditions (O/C = 1.25). This expression was modified from data from a test under different reaction conditions (O/C = 1.1) for one length of time, and was found to predict the carbon formation for a different run time within 3%

IRS-sanctioned Secrecy for Religious Nonprofits: Stepstone or Stumbling Block?

Internal Revenue Service code automatically confers 501(c)3 nonprofit charity status on religious nonprofits which appear to be “A church, convention of churches, or association of churches described in section 170(b)(1)(A)(i),” as labeled in the IRS Form 990. Additionally, religious charities functioning as a part of a church have no requirement to report any financial information or policies to the IRS or anyone else. This acquiescence to secrecy keeps most of the data on these nonprofit organizations unavailable for research or to inform legislative action or agency policies. This automatic status may also lead to complacency in organizations in financial accountability, use of recent research and tools to help nonprofits be more effective, and the development of policies which protect vulnerable people. A small survey of a niche category of “church” nonprofits which endorse ministers to the federal government to serve as chaplains demonstrates this concern. Literature reviewed affirms the value of transparency and nonprofit improvement tool use, as well as raises concern about possible changes to legal and agency standards. Both transparency and legal standing also affect the ability of these nonprofit organizations to raise money, particularly at a time when religious donations are flat or constrained, and church affiliation is falling. Substantive recommendations are offered to better place religious nonprofits in these arenas and contribute to balanced societal progress