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491. Parental Valuation of Charter Schools and Student Performance

Author:
James VanderHoff
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Students enrolled in charter schools increased by 81 percent from 2002 to 2007, and the number of charter schools increased by 52 percent. Nevertheless, many studies indicate students in charter schools do not score as highly on standard tests as students in traditional public schools. Do parents choose academically inferior schools for their children because other factors are more important? The significance of that question stems from the requirement of scholastically motivated parental choice for competition-induced improvement in public schools. Milton Friedman (1962) and other shave argued that parental choice would stimulate public schools to be more academically effective, because dissatisfied parents would move their children from inferior to superior schools, including public charter schools.

492. Cold Case Files: The Athenian Grain Merchants, 386 B.C.

Author:
Wayne R. Dunham
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Food price increases have always been politically sensitive. Price spikes like those that have occurred recently create the demand for action on the part of government to alleviate the problem. Yet, government intervention can often do more harm than good. This article examines one such example of a counterproductive response that occurred in 388 B.C. in Athens, Greece. In response to a negative supply shock to the grain market, regulators encouraged grain importers to form a buyers' cartel (monopsony), hoping that it would reduce retail prices by first lowering wholesale grain prices. In reality, the decrease in wholesale prices resulted in a decrease in the willingness of producers in other regions to supply grain to Athens, and retail grain prices increased substantially. Grain importers soon found themselves on trial for their lives in what is probably the earliest recorded antitrust trial. This article uses the information presented at that trial and other contemporary sources to evaluate the grain merchants' actions. More generally, it analyses the impact of a buyer's cartel or monopsony on prices and consumption.
Topic:
Food
Political Geography:
Greece

493. State Sanctions and the Decline in Welfare Caseloads

Author:
Michael J. New
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Much of the scholarship analyzing fluctuations in welfare caseloads focuses on such factors as the strength of the economy and the generosity of welfare benefits. However, with the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) in 1996, states obtained significantly more control over welfare policy. Despite this shift, there has been relatively little academic research on the role of state policy variation in welfare caseload fluctuations. This article provides solid evidence that strength of state sanctioning policies, which give caseworkers the ability to restrict the benefits of welfare recipients, has played a very significant role in recent welfare caseload declines. A comprehensive regression analysis of welfare caseloads from all 50 states from every year from 1996 to 2002, finds that strong state sanctioning policies are highly correlated with both large welfare caseload declines and low caseload levels.

494. Creating Financial Harmony: Lessons for China

Author:
James A. Dorn
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The current turmoil in global financial markets, which began with the U.S. subprime crisis in 2007, has shed a bad light on market liberalism. But it was the socialization of risk—not private free markets—that precipitated the crisis. Government sponsored enterprises (GSEs), not private enterprises, politicized investment decisions and overextended credit to high-risk households by buying up and guaranteeing subprime and Alt-A mortgages.
Political Geography:
China

495. Termites in the Trading System: How Preferential Agreements Undermine Free Trade by Jagdish Bhagwati

Author:
Daniel Griswold
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
This may sound like a “man bites dog” story—“Leading free trade economist denounces free trade agreements!”—but it is not such a strange tale in the world of international economics. Since the pioneering work of Jacob Viner in the 1950s, economists have known that bilateral and regional trade agreements can actually reduce a nation's welfare by merely diverting trade rather than creating new trade. In his latest book, Jagdish Bhagwati of Columbia University makes a tough, passionate, and concise, if not airtight, argument that the proliferation of such agreements is fatally undermining the global effort to advance free trade.

496. The Swiss National Bank: 1907–2007 by Werner Abegg, Ernst Baltensperger, et al., contributors

Author:
Kurt Schuler
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The Swiss franc is the world's best-performing currency over the last century: it has lost only about 87 percent of its value in terms of gold, compared to 97 percent for the U.S. dollar and more than 99 percent for almost all other currencies. Switzerland's avoidance of wars, which is part policy and part lucky geography, has contributed to the relative stability of the franc. So have the conservative financial habits of its citizens, which have been reflected in the country's generally prudent government finances. But some credit undoubtedly belongs to the central bank, the Swiss National Bank. It has consistently pursued monetary policies that have produced low inflation, and has made few consequential errors since it was established in 1907. Its experience therefore should be of interest far beyond the borders of Switzerland. This centennial volume, by a constellation of 40 Swiss and foreign authors, is a history and an examination of issues in monetary policy the central bank has faced. It is typically Swiss in its occasionally ponderous thoroughness, pleasing design, and high quality.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
France and Switzerland

497. Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness

Author:
Ike Brannon
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
When it comes to social policy, inertia can be a bitch. While the sentiment may not seem all that profound, its gradual realization by economists and policymakers is beginning to have an impact on public policy. It has already wreaked havoc within the economics discipline.
Topic:
Economics and Health

498. Forgotten Continent: The Battle for Latin America's Soul

Author:
Juan Carlos Hidalgo
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
For most of this decade, Latin America has been neglected by the developed world. At least that is a recurring grievance from leaders and specialists in the region. The attention of rich countries has switched to terrorism in the Middle East and poverty in Africa, while pressing needs and conflicts remain unattended in Latin America.
Topic:
Terrorism
Political Geography:
Africa, Middle East, and Latin America

499. Heads in the Sand: How Republicans Screw Up Foreign Policy and Foreign Policy Screws Up the Democrats by Matthew Yglesias

Author:
Brendan Rittenhouse Green
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Credit where credit is due: At 229 pages, Matthew Yglesias has written the world's longest blog post. The first of a generation of journalists who came to prominence through their personal weblogs, Yglesias now blogs professionally for the Center for American Progress. Heads in the Sand has all the virtues and flaws of the medium Yglesias helped pioneer. It tends toward bite-sized arguments and pith over substance, which leaves some of the chapters with a stapled-together feel. Heads in the Sand gives the impression of a Web journal read straight through, with an extremely thin set of foot-notes substituting for links. Nevertheless, the book is by and large excellent. It is full of wit and erudition, stringing together a series of incisive arguments about politics and foreign policy.
Topic:
Foreign Policy and Politics
Political Geography:
America

500. Markets vs. Monopolies in Education: A Global Review of the Evidence

Author:
Andrew J. Coulson
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Would large-scale, free-market reforms improve educational outcomes forAmerican children?That question cannot be answered by looking at domestic evidence alone. Though innumerable “school choice” programs have been implemented around theUnited States, none has created a truly free and competitive education marketplace. Existing programs are too small, too restriction laden, or both. To understand how genuine market forces affect school performance, wemust cast a wider net, surveying education systems from all over the globe. The present paper undertakes such a review, assessing the results of 25 years of international research comparing market and government provision of education, and explaining why these international experiences are relevant to theUnited States.
Topic:
Education and Government
Political Geography:
United States