Sharon B. Megdal

Sex differences in the academic labor market in the affirmative action era

Abstract To examine the relative pay of women in the academic labor market between about 1965 and about 1985, we analyse data from several national surveys as well as information from individual institutions. We also review extensively the published research on this issue. We find that although the relative pay of women in higher education has improved since the late 1960s, womens salaries still fall short of mens salaries. Many theories imply that labor market discrimination not only lowers the pay of women but also increases the pay of men. We examine this issue using a new technique that generalizes the well-known Oaxaca decomposition. We estimate that discrimination in higher education has had little effect on mens salaries. We also examine trends in employment and the segregation of women and men faculty by field.

The Flypaper Effect Revisited: An Econometric Explanation

Monte Carlo evidence is presented which supports the conclusion that when a block grants variable in an ordinary least squares (OLS) model is endogenously constructed due to the closed-ended nature of matching aid, estimates of the propensity to spend lump-sum aid are biased upward. The findings suggest that OLS estimates lead to erroneous conclusions regarding the existence of a flypaper effect and support the use of maximum likelihood models in situations where budget constraints are piecewise-linear.

The determination of local public expenditures and the principal and agent relation: A case study

The principal and agent relationship is important in the public sector. There, elected or appointed representatives act on behalf of the citizens of their jurisdictions. This paper examines the importance of the budget referendum, which allows the principals to approve or disapprove the proposal of a set of agents, in the context of local public expenditure decisions. We test the null hypothesis that the institution of referendum, when compared to a nonreferendum institution, does not lead to significantly different expenditure behavior.

A model of local demand for education

Abstract A careful modeling of the spending behavior of local school districts in New Jersey is presented. The theoretical model relies on the common hypothesis of political competition leading to a median outcome as well as the assumption that school superintendents act as budget maximizers. The model is estimated for a sample of 177 school districts under three different aid formulas. Pooling of the cross sections suggests that the response of school expenditures to changes in variables other than those associated with school aid parameters has remained constant over time. The results are discussed in the context of recent theories regarding the effect of intergovernmental aid on the level of public expenditure.

The role of the public and private sectors in water provision in Arizona, USA

Sustainable water management is a critical concern in the semi-arid portions of the American Southwest. This paper explains the decentralized approach to water supply management in this region, including the traditional roles of the public and private sectors. With Arizona as a focus, it explores how the water supply challenges of the twenty-first century require new approaches and partnerships for funding infrastructure, obtaining new water supplies, water banking, and water treatment.

Estimating a public school expenditure model under binding spending limitations

Abstract A model explaining desired expenditure on education is estimated for a sample of New Jersey school districts. Because the limit on annual increases in school spending is binding for a subsample of jurisdictions, the Tobit estimation procedure is used. We test for equality of the pre- and postlimitation structures and find substantial similarity. The cap on expenditure increases was part of a court-ordered reform of New Jersey school finance law. The results can be used to explain the failure of the existing school finance laws in lessening expenditure disparities at the lower end of the distribution.

Desalination and water security in the US–Mexico border region: assessing the social, environmental and political impacts

ABSTRACT In the western US–Mexico border region, both countries’ authorities look to desalination as a means to meet increased demands for dwindling supplies. In addition to several existing or planned desalination plants, plans exist to develop projects along Mexico’s coasts to convert seawater into freshwater primarily for conveyance and consumption in the United States. Even though desalination systems have the potential to increase water supply in the region, there are associated consequences, costs and constraints. To understand the impacts of such binational desalination systems, this paper assesses, through a water-security framework, the case of a proposed desalination plant on the Upper Gulf of California. The analysis suggests that for binational desalination systems, there are several key areas of impact against which the benefits of increased water supply must be weighed.

The control of large-scale nonlinear econometric systems

After pointing out the special characteristics of existing econometric models which form the basis of the application of optimal control techniques for macroeconomic policy analysis and formulation, this paper surveys the use of econometric models for the projection of the economic consequences of alternative policies and the formulation of optimal policies. It presents both the theory and the computational aspects of a particular approach of applying feedback control to study policy options using large-scale nonlinear systems of simultaneous econometric equations. It then illustrates this approach by solving an optimal control problem using the Michigan Quarterly Econometric Model Some topics of further research are suggested in the conclusion.

Groundwater Visibility: The Missing Link

Groundwater Visibility: The Missing Link published within Column Theme: Groundwater Management Directions—Stewardship to Sustain Our Water Resources, edited by Vicki Kretsinger Grabert and Dawn Samara Kaback.

Building Common Ground for Environmental Flows using Traditional Techniques and Novel Engagement Approaches.

Abstract Despite increased understanding of the science of environmental flows, identification and implementation of effective environmental flow policies remains elusive. Perhaps the greatest barrier to implementing flow policies is the framework for water management. An alternative management approach is needed when legal rights for environmental flows do not exist, or are ineffective at protecting ecosystems. The research presented here, conducted in the U.S. state of Arizona, provides an empirical example of engagement to promote social learning as an approach to finding ways to provide water for the environment where legal rights for environmental flows are inadequate. Based on our engagement process we propose that identifying and then building common ground require attention to the process of analyzing qualitative data and the methods for displaying complex information, two aspects not frequently discussed in the social learning or stakeholder engagement literature. The results and methods from this study can help communities develop an engagement process that will find and build common ground, increase stakeholder involvement, and identify innovative solutions to provide water for the environment that reflect the concerns of current water users.