Ryan C. Amacher

Cycles in senatorial voting behavior: implications for the optimal frequency of elections

The effect that the length of electoral periods has on the behavior of elected officials is examined. The hypothesis is that the longer the period between elections the less responsible or the more independent representatives will behave relative to the desires of their polity. The hypothesis is tested by examining the behavior of U.S. Senators. It is found that their independence follows a cyclical behavior which conforms to the electoral period. As a result it is by no means clear that decreasing the frequency of elections reduces the cost of elections. The effect of this independence cost on the optimal frequency of elections is discussed.

On the integration of labor markets: A definition and test of the radical — Segmentation hypothesis

The empirical results of this paper are indicative of overall labor market integration. Segmentation theories are not supported by the high covariability of wage rates supported by this test. If segmentation theories are to mean more than that relative wages differ among industries, proponents of such theories must argue that segmented markets are cut off from other markets and able to resist the forces of supply and demand. Indeed if labor unions are to be able to insulate workers from market forces they must also segment their markets. The results of this paper indicate that unions are not able to insulate their workers from market forces.

Purchasing-Power Parity Theory and Economic Reform in Yugoslavia

This study tests the applicability of purchasing-power parity theory to movements in the exchange rates between the Yugoslav dinar and two West European currencies during the 1950s and 1960s. The purpose is to determine whether these exchange rates were administered without regard to underlying economic conditions, as is commonly thought, or whether they actually reflected changes in economic fundamentals within the selected countries. Although an absence of accessible, appropriate data precludes an examination of currency exchange rates and purchasing powers within Eastern Bloc countries, one of these Socialist countries, Yugoslavia, has been introducing market-oriented reforms more rapidly than other countries in Eastern Europe and has produced a set of economic statistics more readily comparable with those of Western countries. These developments provide an opportunity to examine the exchange rates between this one East European currency and Western currencies. 1 Accordingly, this study examines the exchange rates between the currency of Yugoslavia and those of her major Western trading partners, Italy and West Germany. The framework for analysis is the purchasing-power parity theory, which holds that the equilibrium exchange rate between two currencies is determined primarily by their relative purchasing powers.2 The theory became widely known following World War I, when it was formulated and expounded by Gustav Cassel. Cassel originally contended that

Structural disequilibrium and growth retardation in the Soviet Union

ZusammenfassungStrukturelles Ungleichgewicht und Wachstumsverzögerung in der Sowjetunion. — Diese Arbeit berechnet eine CMS-Produktionsfunktion auf der Basis der sowjetischen Industriedaten der Nachkriegszeit. Die CMS-Produktionsfunktion wird benutzt, weil sie auch relevant ist, wenn weder der Kapitalmarkt noch der Arbeitsmarkt als im Gleichgewicht befindlich angesehen werden können. Die Hypothese, da\ abnehmende KapitalertrÄge in der sowjetischen Industrie wachstumshemmend gewirkt haben, wird nicht bestÄtigt. Es zeigt sich dagegen, da\ ein strukturelles Ungleichgewicht bestand, da\ aber die Fehlallokation der Ressourcen keine ernsthaften Produktionsverluste hervorrief. Au\erdem verringert sich das Ausma\ des Ungleichgewichts im Laufe der Zeit.RésuméLe deséquilibre structurel et le retard de croissance dans l’Union Soviétique. — Cet article applique la fonction de production de part-constantemarginale (PCM) aux données industrielles Soviétiques pendant la période d’aprèsguerre. Nous utilisons la fonction de production PCM à cause de sa importance de manière que ni le marché de capitaux ni le marché de travail ne peut Être regardé comme Être équilibré. La hypothèse que les rendements diminuants au capital ont opéré comme retard de croissance dans l’industrie Soviétique n’est pas consolidée. Le fait, qu’un deséquilibre structurel existe, émerge, mais la mauvaise allocation des ressources ne causait pas des graves pertes en production. De plus, la mesure de ce deséquilibre s’abaisse en cours de temps.ResumenDesequilibrio estructural y retardamiento del crecimiento en la Union Soviética. — En este artículo se ajusta la funciön de producción de participación marginal constante (constant marginal share-CMS) a los datos industriales de la Union Soviética en el período de post guerra. Se utiliza la función de producción CMS por su relevancia en una situación donde ni el mercado de capitales ni el mercado laboral se encuentran en equilibrio. La hipótesis de que retornos decrecientes del capital han actuado como retardadores del crecimiento de la industria soviética no tiene fundamento. Lo que emerge es el hecho que un desequilibrio estructural existe pero que la mala asignación de recursos no produjo una pérdida de producción seria. Adicionalmente, la dimensión de este desequilibrio está disminuyendo con el tiempo.

Property Rights within Government and Devices to Increase Government Efficiency

This paper demonstrates that bureaucratic decision-making is a more complex process than the literature that focuses narrowly on the lack of appropriability of gains and losses from efficient decision-making implies. The paper delineates some of the other types of constraints under which the governmental decision maker operates. These factors lead to the conclusion that there are many devices (like the volunteer army) that can move decision makers toward significantly more efficient decisions without the presence of appropriability (narrowly defined).