Suchergebnisse

John Portz and Peter Eisinger have provided a valuable conceptual overview of state government initiatives for economic development through biotechnology. Their three major models of policy choice - - based on interest-group processes, strategic planning, and competing interest groups in the allocation of planned development initiatives — seem to be sound theoretically and are convincingly examined empirically. Further, Portz and Eisinger provide a wealth of information regarding comparative state efforts at stimulating economic innovation, the differing state political dynamics underlying alternative development strategies, and differences in how such strategies have been implemented. Their analysis represents an important contribution to the current literature on comparative state economic development policy.

The authors examine the results of 48 national public opinion polls measuring support for George Bush and Michael Dukakis throughout the 1988 presidential campaign conducted or reported by five major media polling organizations. Polling trends are discussed, and the consistency of estimates across polls are assessed, across seven distinct time periods defined by key events during the 1988 election year, while accuracy is assessed by comparing final pre-election polls against election results. Time series transfer function methods are employed to assess the short-term and long-term effects of the two major national party conventions, the two Bush-Dukakis debates, and the Ouayle-Bentsen debate on candidate support. Statistically significant positive effects on Bush support are obtained for the Republican convention and for the second presidential debate, while support for Dukakis was affected significantly, and in opposite directions, by the two party conventions. The results are discussed in the context of recent research conducted by Crespi and others.

An exploration of the influence of public policy, quality of life, & economic variables on migration patterns between 1970 & 1980 for US cities with populations of 250,000+ in 1970, based on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reports & other data. Multiple regression analysis shows that public policy variables, eg, per capita taxes & expenditures, were more significantly related to population migration than were other commonly discussed variables, eg, wages, crime, arson, & density. 2 Tables, 31 References. Modified HA

Abstract. The factors underlying patterns of partisan preference in Greece have been the subject of fairly little systematic analysis. This article uses data from a 1980 Euro‐Barometer survey, the first to include a Greek sample, to outline the structure of the Greek partisan universe. A number of demographic variables – age, family income, education, occupation, sex, size of community, and household status – together with attitudinal variables regarding both foreign and domestic policy issues are tested as predictors of party identification. The multivariate statistical technique of discriminant analysis is used to measure the relative importance of these predictor variables in influencing the direction of party preferences. The findings show that attitudinal factors for the most part are more important than demographic traits. A stepwise analysis provides a rankordering of the strongest explanatory variables. The impact of recent political and historical developments on the party system in Greece is discussed.

The difficulties surrounding research on homelessness are numerous and substantial. Using a statewide census of homelessness, this article analyzes and critiques common methodological techniques employed in that study. In addition, using cross-tabulation and loglinear modeling, the relationship between key demographic variables and the cited primary cause of homelessness, as well as the types of housing needed, are assessed. Through a multiphased process, which isolates the effects of the operationalized definition of homelessness, significant changes emerge. The operational definition of homelessness is found to affect the demographic composition of the sample, the estimation of annual incidents of homelessness, and the estimation of the statewide number of homeless individuals. The impact of the uncertainty surrounding research on homelessness on policy formation is addressed.