Thomas E. Lambert

Ex-Urban Sprawl as a Factor in Traffic Fatalities and EMS Response Times in the Southeastern United States

Many writers have covered the negative consequences of sprawl on community life and urban development in the US over the years. This paper looks at how sprawl impacts traffic fatalities and EMS response times in the Southeastern United States. (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Louisville's Enterprise Zone

Louisville, Kentucky, has one of the oldest and largest enterprise zones (EZs) in the United States, yet until recently, the program had not been independently evaluated. Perhaps because no clearly superior evaluation methodology has emerged in the literature, the efficacy of EZ programs around the United States remains a contentious subject among scholars and policy makers alike. The authors take a quasi-experimental approach in evaluating Louisville’s EZ, using many different measures to give the program every chance to show success. Program tax exemptions and administrative costs of more than

New and fringe residential development and emergency medical services response times in the United States

55 million within the 13-year period studied are identified. The measures reveal that one of the EZ’s three objectives was obtained in one geographic subset of the zone, but not because of the EZ policy treatment. The research adds one more case study to the EZ literature and provides another indication of the questionable benefits of EZ programs.

Immigration restrictions and the American worker: An examination of competing interpretations

Much has been written over the years about longer emergency medical services (EMS) response times in rural areas as opposed to urban areas. Yet within urban areas, outside of case studies of certain cities, not much has been written about longer EMS response times in newer, fringe suburban or ex-urban areas. Examining first the largest county within each metro area and next the municipalities and unincorporated areas of all of the counties of metropolitan areas, the findings of this exploratory research note show that the density and age of different residential areas or jurisdictions explain some of the variation in average EMS response times between urban and suburban or ex-urban locations. Holding other things constant, those who live in more sparsely settled and newer developments tend to have longer waiting times for EMS. The implications for regional growth management are discussed.

Thorstein Veblen and the Higher Learning of Sport Management Education

This paper examines three competing interpretations of support for tougher immigration restrictions. One interpretation posits that tighter restrictions are favored by those in direct competition with immigrants for jobs, namely low or unskilled workers who toil in labor markets that are low-paying and often unstable. A second line of thought is that greater restrictions are favored by workers who perceive immigrants as potential competitors in labor markets, even though there may be no real basis for such perceptions. The third interpretation explaining support for tougher restrictions is rooted in a broad based cultural nativism or nationalism, and relies heavily on traditional theories of prejudice and discrimination. Data for the study are derived from the 1992 National Election Survey, Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research. Contrary to theoretical expectations, neither actual nor perceived economic insecurity explain variations in current levels of support for tougher immigration restrictions among American workers. The theoretical significance of the findings are discussed and elaborated. Suggestions are made for future research in this important area of inquiry.

Monopoly Capital and Capitalist Inefficiency

Since 1999 marks the 100th anniversary of Thorstein Veblens The Theory of the Leisure Class, it is both interesting and informative to consider how much (or how little) American society has changed since the publication of this economics classic. This paper focuses on three areas dealt with in Leisure Class: sports, higher education, and the mingling of the two institutions. In 1966, there was only one degree program in sport management/administration offered in the United States. By 1993, the number of colleges offering degrees in this field had grown to 193, with degrees ranging from the associate to doctoral level. These programs have their own accreditation associations and are usually taught and administered collectively by colleges. of business, education, and arts and sciences [NASSM and NASPE 1993]. These programs provide the professionals required,as sports, fitness, gaming, and related activities have grown into multibillion dollar industries. In this paper, I offer a brief review of Veblens understanding of the institutions that promote sports, predatory prowess, conservatism, and leisure class values in American society. Growth in sport management education will be examined as an extension of these institutions into modem day higher education and the sports industry. The essay then concludes with a few observations on the possible impacts of the growth of sports and gaming on contemporary American culture and values.

An exploratory evaluation of state road provision to commuters and shippers

This paper examines the arguments and assertions of Baran’s and Sweezy’s Monopoly Capital: An Essay on the American Economic and Social Order (1966) by assessing the degree of economic efficiency or inefficiency in how surplus value and economic surplus were created by 16 major capitalist economies during the 2000s using data envelopment analysis (DEA). After assigning a score to the degree of economic efficiency/inefficiency for each country, one can then assess which factors influence the degree of efficiency/inefficiency. This paper finds empirical support for many of the arguments put forth by the authors, Baran and Sweezy, as well as others regarding the inefficiency of the use of some forms of economic activity to help absorb economic surplus and to create surplus value.

The Impact of Stagnating Casino Revenues on State and Local Governments Tax Receipts

Abstract Due to mounting fiscal pressures over the last few years, the federal government as well as many state and municipal governments in the United States (U.S.) have had to re-examine their transportation policies and programs. Tax increases and/or spending cuts which aim to trim budget deficits are major preoccupations of most policy makers and legislative bodies nowadays. With regard to the task of building new or rehabilitating bridges, highways, and toll gates, cost-benefit analysis and economic impact studies are often undertaken by various government entities to rank and prioritize spending in the hopes of maximizing fiscal efficiency and road usage benefits. Since most highway construction and maintenance expenditures are absorbed by state governments, it is mostly up to state policy makers to decide transportation priorities. However, no research to date has been conducted to evaluate the comparative efficiency of state road provision to commuters and shippers. Such research would be useful to a state government’s budgetary allocation and spending plans. This paper is one of the first to assess and rank the comparative efficiency of all 50 states in the U.S. by using data envelopment analysis and then to explain variations in efficiency ratings by using Tobit regression analysis.

Benchmarking and improving mass transit systems in the United States based on best-in class practices

After the Great Recession, the popular press has noted a rebound in casino revenues in some states and localities, and some expect growth like before. However, there were trends indicating stagnating revenues before the recession, and casinos were shown not to be “recession-proof” as revenues declined. Revenues have stagnated partially due to a saturation point being reached with regard to casino gaming. The growth rate of revenues and tax proceeds may follow a product life cycle curve. Introducing more venues may give a temporary boost to tax receipts, but trends indicate that large gains are over unless casinos re-invent themselves.

The Use of Quasi-Experimental Design in Urban and Regional Policy Research and Political Economy

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to find ways to develop more efficient mass transit systems across the USA and, thus, make the best use of state/federal/municipal government funds and taxpayers’ monies. This paper conducts benchmarking studies. In doing so, this paper identifies the best-in class mass transit practices that every regional mass transit system can emulate. Design/methodology/approach The continuous underutilization of a mass transit system can increase public scrutiny concerning the increased investment in mass transit services. To defuse such scrutiny, this paper analyzes the past (in year 2011) performances of 515 mass transit agencies in the USA using data envelopment analysis (DEA). Also, to identify which factors influences those performances, the authors paired DEA scores for transit efficiency at the state level against a set of independent variables using a special form of regression analysis called Tobit regression. Findings The authors found that the greater population density of the service area, the greater number of riders can be served in a short amount of distance and time. Also, the authors discovered that the transportation mode of mass transit services could affect mass transit efficiency. On the other hand, the authors found no evidence indicating that the public ownership or private operation of transit systems could make any differences in the transit efficiency. Originality/value This paper is one of the few that assessed the performance of mass transit systems in comparison to their peers using a large-scale data and identify the leading causes of mass transit inefficiency. Thus, this paper helps transit authorities in handling juggling acts of protecting the conflicting interests of government policy makers against the general public and, then, make sensible future investment decisions.