Taxing Under the Influence? : Corruption and U.S. State Beer Taxes

This article examines the effect of state level corruption on state beer taxes in the United States. Our lobby group model predicts that corruption reduces the beer tax, but this effect is conditional on the level of alcohol-related vehicle deaths. Using a panel of state level data from 1982 to 2001, we find that increased corruption is associated with lower state beer tax rates. The magnitude of the effect, however, declines with increases in alcohol-related traffic deaths. Our findings suggest that future empirical work estimating the effect of alcohol taxes on alcohol-related traffic fatalities should treat alcohol taxes as endogenous

Breaking Bad in Bourbon Country: Does Alcohol Prohibition Encourage Methamphetamine Production?

This paper examines the influence of local alcohol prohibition on the prevalence of methamphetamine labs. Using multiple sources of data for counties in Kentucky, we compare various measures of meth manufacturing in wet, moist, and dry counties. Our preferred estimates address the endogeneity of local alcohol policies by exploiting differences in counties’ religious compositions between the 1930s, when most local-option votes took place, and recent years. Even controlling for current religious affiliations, religious composition following the end of national Prohibition strongly predicts current alcohol restrictions. We carefully examine the validity of our identifying assumptions, and consider identification under alternative assumptions. Our results suggest that the number of meth lab seizures in Kentucky would decrease by 34.5 percent if all counties became wet

Breaking Bad: Are Meth Labs Justified in Dry Counties?

This paper examines the influence of local alcohol prohibition on the prevalence of methamphetamine labs. Using multiple sources of data for counties in Kentucky, we compare various measures of meth manufacturing in wet, moist, and dry counties. Our preferred estimates address the endogeneity of local alcohol policies by using as instrumental variables data on religious affiliations in the 1930s, when most local-option votes took place. Alcohol prohibition status is influenced by the percentage of the population that is Baptist, consistent with the “bootleggers and Baptists” model. Our results suggest that the number of meth lab seizures in Kentucky would decrease by 24.4 percent if all counties became wet

Breaking Bad in Bourbon Country: Does Alcohol Prohibition Encourage Methamphetamine Production?

This paper examines the influence of local alcohol prohibition on the prevalence of methamphetamine labs. Using multiple sources of data for counties in Kentucky, we compare various measures of meth manufacturing in wet, moist, and dry counties. Our preferred estimates address the endogeneity of local alcohol policies by exploiting differences in counties’ religious compositions between the 1930s, when most local-option votes took place, and recent years. Even controlling for current religious affiliations, religious composition following the end of national Prohibition strongly predicts current alcohol restrictions. We carefully examine the validity of our identifying assumptions, and consider identification under alternative assumptions. Our results suggest that the number of meth lab seizures in Kentucky would decrease by 34.5 percent if all counties became wet

Breaking Bad: Are Meth Labs Justified in Dry Counties?

This paper examines the influence of local alcohol prohibition on the prevalence of methamphetamine labs. Using multiple sources of data for counties in Kentucky, we compare various measures of meth manufacturing in wet, moist, and dry counties. Our preferred estimates address the endogeneity of local alcohol policies by using as instrumental variables data on religious affiliations in the 1930s, when most local-option votes took place. Alcohol prohibition status is influenced by the percentage of the population that is Baptist, consistent with the “bootleggers and Baptists” model. Our results suggest that the number of meth lab seizures in Kentucky would decrease by 24.4 percent if all counties became wet

Sale Force Automation Systems: The Correspondence Between The Perception Of Productivity Gains And The Perception Of Management Control Among Salespeople

Sales force automation (SFA) technologies have many apparent benefits, but the adoption of SFA systems often fails because the sales force holds poor perceptions of these technologies. Understanding how these perceptions affect adoption of SFA systems is important because negative perceptions held by the sales force can often adversely influence the successful adoption and implementation of such systems. This paper examines how the sales force’s  perceptions of productivity gains resulting from the adoption of an SFA system can be affected by their corresponding  perception of the SFA system as a tool employed by upper-level management to more closely manage the activities of the sales force. The results are based on a national survey of 1,657 salespeople. The findings indicate a negative relationship between salespeople’s perceptions of the potential gains associated with the adoption of an SFA system and their corresponding perception of the use of the system by upper-level management to more closely manage the activities of the sales force

Sales Force Automation Acceptance: An Exploratory Study Of The Role Of Job Experience

User perceptions of new technologies may ultimately affect their acceptance of that technology. Recent research has identified a clear connection between user perceptions of Sales Force Automation and their acceptance of Sales Force Automation technologies.  Anecdotal evidence suggests that relative to less experienced salespeople, more experienced salespeople tend to have more negative perceptions of sales force automation.  This paper examines the relationship between job experience and perceptions of a sales force automation system.  The results are based on a survey of 1,657 salespeople about their perceptions of several aspects of a sales force automation system in a large sales organization.  This study finds significant differences by sales experience in areas such as perceived productivity/efficiency gain, perception of sales force automation as a micromanagement tool, and user satisfaction with system functionality.  Based on these results several important managerial implications for the adoption of a sales force automation system are suggested

PREVENTIVE CARE AND INSURANCE COVERAGE

This article examines how having a choice of health plans, HMO enrollment, and health status affect the use of preventive services. For preventive services use, HMO enrollment is endogenous for workers with a choice of plans, but is exogenous for workers who do not have a choice. Relative to a model that ignores the effect of a choice of plans, the effect of HMO enrollment on the use of preventive treatments is reduced. Individuals who do not have a choice of plans but are enrolled in HMOs are more likely to use preventive services than are individuals who choose HMOs. (JEL "I10", "I11", "I12") Copyright 2005 Western Economic Association International.