We test the predictions from Becker’s (1957) seminal work on employer prejudice and find that relative black wages (a) vary negatively with the prejudice of the “marginal” white in a state, (b) vary negatively with the prejudice in the lower tail of the prejudice distribution but are unaffected by the prejudice of the most prejudiced persons in a state, and (c) vary negatively with the fraction...

The fact that technologies have unintended consequences is self-evident. But risk management managing the adverse effects of technology is both uncertain and politically contentious, since it entails making decisions about socially important issues in the face of scientific uncertainty. Originating in European environmental policy in the 1970s, the precautionary principle (PP) is embodied in ad...

This paper argues that it is crucially important to differentiate between two very distinct sets of entrepreneurs: subsistence and transformational entrepreneurs. Recent evidence suggests that people engaging in these two types of entrepreneurship are not only very distinct in nature, but that only a negligible fraction of them transition from subsistence to transformational entrepreneurship. T...

Property rights provide incentives to create information but they also provide incentives to hoard it prior to the award of protection. All-or-nothing rights, in particular, limit prior sharing. An unintended consequence is to slow, not hasten, forward progress when innovation hinges on combining disparately owned private ideas. In response, we propose a solution based on a reward definition of...

Interactive software, systems and devices are typically designed for a specific (set of) purpose(s) and the design process used ensures that they will perform satisfactorily when used as specified. In many cases users will use these systems in unintended and unexpected ways where it seems appropriate, which can lead to problems as the differing usage situations have unintended effects on use. W...

Since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the United States has sought to encourage institutional developments in Iraq that would contribute to national reconciliation and mitigate sectarian and insurgent violence. In these reform efforts, including recent “benchmarks,” the Bush administration has drawn on power-sharing and federalist models. The purpose of these efforts is to overcome the political ...

DU R I N G T H E B E G I N N I N G years of the Houston Annenberg Challenge, constructive partnerships (Schön & McDonald 1998) helped tremendously in the design and refinement of this reform initiative for public schools. Schools teamed up with evaluators in innovative ways to reflect on their reforms and improve their effectiveness. This chapter describes the context of the reform; the philoso...

In today’s globally-leveled playing field, forces such as consumer activism, demographic change and technological evolution are forcing industry leaders to continuously evaluate their strategies to achieve or retain competitive advantage. These forces are even stronger in the manufacturing industry, and they are exacerbated by the unintended consequences of accelerating globalization. For insta...

Theoretical and empirical aspects of policy failures due to subsidies are discussed in the context of international trade. A general classification of subsidies that cause environmental externalities is presented. The economic and environmental impacts of producer subsidies on international trade are examined with partial equilibrium analysis. The magnitude and economic and environmental releva...