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The Great Lakes represent a precious natural resource that holds approximately twenty percent of all the fresh water on earth. Its sheer size creates an inherent regional connectedness among eight states and two Canadian provinces. While each of these actors rely heavily on the health of the Great Lakes for its individual economic well-being and quality of life, proper regional management of the Lakes has historically proven difficult. The passage of the Great Lakes Compact marks a significant step towards the successful management of the Great Lakes water resources. The Compact's structure recognizes modern science and creates a unique balance of regional protection and state autonomy. Its ultimate effectiveness will depend on the states' abilities to cooperate on a regional level. A 2008 state constitutional amendment passed in Ohio, however, demonstrates how local protectionist attitudes can erode the spirit of cooperation necessary to implement an effective regional water management regime.

In Western societies, we can observe a social order of knowledge between adults and children which involves the adults' knowledge (e.g., on social matters) being investigated, made accessible, and distributed. Children's knowledge, on the other hand, has not been studied in its own right. In this article, we therefore wish to focus on children's social knowledge by analyzing passages from qualitative interviews with 15 elementary school children (age 8-10; different social backgrounds) on their understanding first, of differences in academic achievement, and second, of wealth and poverty, as well as their ideas on how these two topics are related and (therefore) their belief in meritocracy and knowledge about inequality. By exploring the children's perspectives, we aim to get a better understanding of societal power structures and dynamics. Our findings reveal a distinct understanding of societal stratification issues on the part of children which is strongly linked to their position as children and not so much to their social class affiliation. Moreover, the results hint at children making a stabilizing contribution to the generational and social order of society.

This report from the South Carolina Education Oversight Committee gives budget and other recommendations to the General Assembly.

THE AUTHOR CONSIDERS JEFFREY REIMAN'S VIEW OF THE PUNISHMENT OFFENDERS DESERVE BEFORE TURNING TO HIS MORAL SCRUPLES, ALLEGED TO JUSTIFY LESSER PUNISHMENTS, AND TO THE DISCRIMINATORY DISTRIBUTION OF THE DEATH PENALTY WHICH STEPHEN NATHANSON STRESSES. REIMAN BELIEVES THE DEATH PENALTY IS DESERVED BY SOME MURDERERS, BUT SHOULD NEVER BE IMPOSED. MORAL SCRUPLES SHOULD PRECLUDE IT. IF THE PUNISHMENT DESERVED ACCORDING TO THE LEX TALIONIS IS MORALLY REPUGNANT, WE MAY IMPOSE LESS, PROVIDED THE SUFFERING IMPOSED IN LIEU OF WHAT IS DESERVED IS PROPORTIONAL TO THE SUFFERING INFLICTED ON THE CRIME VICTIM. HOWEVER, SUFFERING EXCEEDING THAT OF HIS VICTIM CAN NEVER BE DESERVED BY THE OFFENDER; TO IMPOSE IT WOULD BE "UNJUST FOR THE SAME REASONS THAT MAKE PUNISHMENT OF THE INNOCENT UNJUST."

Election violence is common in many developing countries and has potentially detrimental implications for democratic consolidation. Drawing on political psychology, we argue that citizens' fear of campaign violence undermines support for democracy while increasing support for autocracy. Using individual-level survey data from 21 electoral democracies in Sub-Saharan Africa, we find robust support for our argument. Citizens fearing campaign violence are less likely to support democracy and multi-party competition, more likely to favor a return to autocracy, and less likely to turn out to vote. Our findings have important implications for democratic survival and provide further impetus for reducing electoral violence.

AbstractThis paper analyzes the relationship between unexplained racial/ethnic wage differentials on the one hand and social network segregation, as measured by inbreeding homophily, on the other. Our analysis is based on both the US and Estonian surveys, supplemented with the Estonian telephone communication data. In the case of Estonia we consider the regional variation in economic performance of the Russian minority, and in the US case we consider the regional variation in black--white differentials. Our analysis finds a strong relationship between the size of the wage differential and network segregation: Regions with more segregated social networks exhibit larger unexplained wage gaps.

This paper considers the implications of complementarity in private production and constraints on government for optimal fiscal policy. Using an endogenous growth model with public finance, it derives three central results which modify findings in the literature under standard assumptions. First, it shows that optimal public spending composition and taxation are interrelated so that first- and second-best fiscal policies differ. Second, it shows that the growth-maximizing fiscal policy is affected by preference parameters. Third, it shows that with budget rigidities and informational limitations, knowledge about the optimal fiscal policy parameter values is not necessary for growth-enhancing fiscal policy adjustments.

This paper considers the implications of complementarity in private production and constraints on government for optimal fiscal policy. Using an endogenous growth model with public finance, it derives three central results which modify findings in the literature under standard assumptions. First, it shows that optimal public spending composition and taxation are interrelated so that first- and second-best…fiscal policies differ. Second, it shows that the growth-maximizing fiscal policy is affected by preference parameters. Third, it shows that with budget rigidities and informational limitations, knowledge about the optimal fiscal policy parameter values is not necessary for growth-enhancing fiscal policy adjustments.

The purpose of this study is to understand confounding information regarding homework and schoolachievement. Recent research has sought to identify specific factors impacting student success as itrelates to homework including parental involvement, parental education, gender, socio-economicstatus, computer and internet use, extra-curricular activities, and other factors. Unfortunately, the resultsof these studies have lacked consensus. The review of the literature shows attempts have been madeto isolate co-variates along with important factors such as gender, parental involvement, and studentcharacteristics, but the results have been unclear. This study utilized a qualitative design withinterviews, observations, and collection of artifacts to attempt to isolate and understand possiblefactors influencing homework among seventh grade, high achieving science students and address thegaps in the literature. Interviews with teachers, parents, and students were designed to learn from thesevarying perspectives possible relationships or similarities that may lead to a better understanding ofthe relationship between parental involvement, gender, homework, and school achievement.