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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Voting In Kenya: Putting Ethnicity In Perspective, Michael Bratton, Mwangi S. Kimenyi Mar 2008

Voting In Kenya: Putting Ethnicity In Perspective, Michael Bratton, Mwangi S. Kimenyi

Economics Working Papers

Do Kenyans vote according to ethnic identities or policy interests? Based on results from a national probability sample survey conducted in the first week of December 2007, this article shows that, while ethnic origins drive voting patterns, elections in Kenya amount to more than a mere ethnic census. We start by reviewing how Kenyans see themselves, which is mainly in non-ethnic terms. We then report on how they see others, whom they fear will organize politically along ethnic lines. People therefore vote defensively in ethnic blocs, but not exclusively. In Decem- ber 2007, they also took particular policy issues into …


From Tranquility To Secession And Other Historical Sequences: A Theoretical Exposition, Paul Hallwood Sep 2007

From Tranquility To Secession And Other Historical Sequences: A Theoretical Exposition, Paul Hallwood

Economics Working Papers

A model is developed explaining many common historical sequences: inter alia, the rise and fall of empires, expansion or contraction in the geographic size of nations, wars of secession, non-contested secessions, and growth of supra-national unions. The basic unit of analysis is a transaction in international (or national) law that verifies and legitimizes transformations from one organizational entity to another. Decision-makers for national, or super-national entities as well as those at sub-levels are assumed to be welfare maximizers under cost constraints. Potential secessionists face dispute costs, and decision-makers for the higher-level entity incur persuasion costs. Both costs may include military …


Is The Compensation Model For Real Estate Brokers Obsolete?, Thomas J. Miceli, Katherine A. Pancak, C. F. Sirmans Nov 2006

Is The Compensation Model For Real Estate Brokers Obsolete?, Thomas J. Miceli, Katherine A. Pancak, C. F. Sirmans

Economics Working Papers

This study examines the traditional compensation model for real estate brokers under which both the listing and buyer brokers are paid by the seller based on a percentage of the property sales price. We argue that this model has not evolved to reflect contemporary legal agency relationships and technology-driven information availability. It therefore creates substantial transactional inefficiencies for buyers and sellers at both the matching and bargaining stages of a transaction. While there is evidence that market forces are pushing for a change in the status quo, there is also evidence that the brokerage industry is resisting this change by …


Efficiency And Efficacy Of Kenya's Constituency Development Fund: Theory And Evidence, Mwangi S. Kimenyi Apr 2005

Efficiency And Efficacy Of Kenya's Constituency Development Fund: Theory And Evidence, Mwangi S. Kimenyi

Economics Working Papers

Kenya's Constituency Development Fund (CDF) is one of the ingenious innovations of the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) Government of Kenya. Unlike other development funds that filter from the central government through larger and more layers of administrative organs and bureaucracies, funds under this program go directly to local levels and thus provide people at the grassroots the opportunity to make expenditure decisions that maximize their welfare consistent with the theoretical predictions of decentralization theory. Increasingly, however, concerns about the utilization of funds under this program are emerging. Most of the concerns revolve around issues of allocative efficiency. In this note, …


Determinants Of Poverty In Kenya: A Household Level Analysis, Alemayehu Geda, Niek De Jong, Mwangi S. Kimenyi, Germano Mwabu Jan 2005

Determinants Of Poverty In Kenya: A Household Level Analysis, Alemayehu Geda, Niek De Jong, Mwangi S. Kimenyi, Germano Mwabu

Economics Working Papers

Strategies aimed at poverty reduction need to identify factors that are strongly associated with poverty and that are amenable to modification by policy. This article uses household level data collected in 1994 to examine probable determinants of poverty status, employing both binomial and polychotomous logit models. The study shows that poverty status is strongly associated with the level of education, household size and engagement in agricultural activity, both in rural and urban areas. In general, those factors that are closely associated with overall poverty according to the binomial model are also important in the ordered-logit model, but they appear to …


The Past, Present And Future Of Community Reinvestment Act (Cra): A Historical Perspective, Akm Rezaul Hossain Oct 2004

The Past, Present And Future Of Community Reinvestment Act (Cra): A Historical Perspective, Akm Rezaul Hossain

Economics Working Papers

This paper takes a historical approach to understand the evolution of one of the most controversial banking regulations in recent history, the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) of 1978 and its effects on access to credit and banking services to community borrowers. The paper lays out the historical milieu of credit markets in the late seventies and describes the early justification of this legislation. The paper explores the implementation of the act through regulations on lending institutions and the effects of the regulations on depository lenders and community borrowers. Detailed description of the reactions to CRA regulations by different parties involved …


Continuous Lexicographic Preferences, Vicki Knoblauch Aug 2003

Continuous Lexicographic Preferences, Vicki Knoblauch

Economics Working Papers

Under what conditions are lexicographically representable preferences continuously representable? This question is actually two questions, since there are two natural definitions of continuity for lexicographic representations. A complete answer is given for one of these questions, and the other is answered for two-dimensional lexicographic representations.


Words That Kill? Economic Perspectives On Hate Speech And Hate Crimes, Dhammika Dharmapala, Richard H. Mcadams Jan 2003

Words That Kill? Economic Perspectives On Hate Speech And Hate Crimes, Dhammika Dharmapala, Richard H. Mcadams

Economics Working Papers

This paper analyzes the conditions under which the level of hate speech (expressing hostility towards racial and other minorities) in society can influence whether individuals commit hate crimes against minorities. More generally, we explore the conditions under which speech can influence behavior by revealing social attitudes. We propose a model in which potential offenders care not only about the intrinsic benefits from the crime and the expected costs of punishment, but also about the esteem conferred by like-minded individuals. The number of such individuals is uncertain, but can (in certain circumstances) be inferred from the level of hate speech. We …