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Public Funding (public + funding)
Selected AbstractsArt Museum Attendance, Public Funding, and the Business CycleAMERICAN JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS AND SOCIOLOGY, Issue 2 2009Sarah J. Skinner There are a number of important problems in contemporary museum finance, and this article identifies yet another possible difficulty. An aggregate statistical measure of museum attendance is calculated in this research and the attendance measure is shown to be countercyclical in nature. When set against federal and other allocations to museums, which are clearly pro-cyclical in nature, an attendance "disease" may be at least tentatively identified. Efficiency criteria, of course, require that costs are covered in real time. We find, however, that, despite the likelihood that museum attendance is income-elastic and a normal good, attendance varies countercyclically with the business cycle. We suggest that one possible explanation for this phenomenon is that a positive substitution effect on demand outweighs the income effect on demand for museum attendance over the cycle. From a policymaking perspective, these results call for a longer range planning horizon, that is, one that includes the full business cycle rather than just the financial year, as is the current U.S. government practice. [source] A Question of Morality: Artists' Values and Public Funding for the ArtsPUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REVIEW, Issue 1 2005Gregory B. Lewis In 1989, the combination of art, religion, homosexuality, ana1 public dollars set off an explosive two-year battle and a decade of skirmishes over funding for the National Endowment for the Arts. To promote artistic freedom and to avoid political controversy, federal arts policy delegates specific funding decisions to private donors and arts professionals. In an era of morality politics,hot-button issues driven by deeply held beliefs rather than by expertise,that strategy no longer works. Artists, donors, and arts audiences diverge widely from the rest of the American public in their attitudes toward religion, sexual morality, and civil liberties, as General Social Survey data show. Delegating funding decisions to them has naturally led to some subsidies of art offensive to important segments of the population. [source] A Theoretical Model of the Effects of Public Funding on Saving Decisions by Charitable Nonprofit Service ProvidersANNALS OF PUBLIC AND COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS, Issue 2 2003by Femida Handy Why do charitable nonprofit, service-providing organizations save? What are the tradeoffs between using income to build up cash reserves and serving more clients? Saving may generate income, protect the organization against a drop in donations, and increase the organization's chances of survival. Saving, though, may affect the likelihood that nonprofits receive private and public funding. We model the relationship among private and public income, economic conditions, and nonprofit savings. We find that anticipation of government help during difficult times tends to reduce the amount of saving done by the nonprofit. This effect is strengthened if government officials view unspent donations as indicative of a lack of need. Both these effects provide a strong incentive for nonprofits to spend on current consumption rather than to save for the future, and thus to increase the burden on the public purse. [source] Competing with the Public Sector in BroadcastingECONOMIC AFFAIRS, Issue 4 2000David Elstein There are two public sector broadcasters in the UK: the BBC and Channel 4. In their different ways, their behaviour attracts criticism from the private sector. However, this critique is unfocused and potentially counter-productive. A more efficient , or privatised , public sector would create greater, not lesser, problems for the private sector. The allegations of abuse of privilege and unfair competition may be justified, but the private sector needs a coherent alternative rationale for public funding of broadcasting before it can expect to win a public and political debate. [source] Doing harm reduction better: syringe exchange in the United StatesADDICTION, Issue 9 2009Don C. Des Jarlais ABSTRACT Objective To trace the growth of syringe exchange programs (SEPs) in the United States since 1994,95 and assess the current state of SEPs. Methods Annual surveys of US SEPs known to North American Syringe Exchange Network (NASEN). Surveys mailed to executive directors with follow-up interviews by telephone and/or e-mail. Response rates have varied between 70% and 88% since surveys were initiated in 1996. Results The numbers of programs known to NASEN have increased from 68 in 1994,95 to 186 in 2007. Among programs participating in the survey, numbers of syringes exchanged have increased from 8.0 million per year to 29.5 million per year, total annual budgets have increased from $6.3 to $19.6 million and public funding (from state and local governments) has increased from $3.9 to $14.4 million. In 2007, 89% of programs permitted secondary exchange and 76% encouraged it. Condoms, referrals to substance abuse treatment, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) counseling and testing and naloxone for overdose were among the most commonly provided services in addition to basic syringe exchange. Each of these services was provided by 40% or more of SEPs in 2007. Conclusions While syringe exchange has remained controversial in the United States, there has been very substantial growth in numbers of programs, syringes exchange and program budgets. Utilizing secondary exchange to reach large numbers of injecting drug users and utilizing SEPs as a new platform for providing health and social services beyond basic syringe exchange have been the two major organizational strategies in the growth of SEPs in the United States. [source] Judicial Review of Politics: The Israeli CaseJOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIETY, Issue 4 2002Daphne Barak In the tradition of studies questioning the impact of celebrated court rulings, this article discusses the effectiveness of the judicial review of politics conducted by the Israeli Supreme Court. The Israeli Supreme Court is generally viewed as a highly influential, almost omnipotent body. During the last two decades, the Court has intervened repeatedly in the so,called political domain, thereby progressively eroding the scope of realms considered non,justiciable. It has ventured to enter domains of ,pure' political power to review the legality of political agreements, political appointments (appointments of political allies to public positions), and political allocations (government funding to organizations affiliated with its political supporters). The prevalent perception is that these developments had a significant impact on Israeli political life. The present article challenges this view and argues that, on closer scrutiny, the influence of the Court on many of the issues reviewed here is negligible. First, many of the doctrines developed by the Court in order to review political measures proved ineffective. Usually, when the Supreme Court (acting as a High Court of Justice) engages in judicial review, it lacks the evidence needed in order to decide that administrative decisions on public appointments or public funding should be abolished because they were based on political or self,serving considerations. Second, the norms mandated by the Court hardly influence politicians' decisions in everyday life, and are applied only in contested cases. The reasons for this situation are not only legal but also socio,political. Large sections of current Israeli society support interest,group politics and do not accept the values that inspire the Court. [source] Endogenous Public Expenditures on EducationJOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMIC THEORY, Issue 4 2005PETER BEARSE We construct a model of the determination of public funding of education through majority voting. Households have the option of privately supplementing public education. Alternatively, they can opt out of public education completely and choose private education. We find that in general the single-crossing property cannot be used to establish existence of a majority voting equilibrium. Numerical solutions of the model reveal (i) when public education inputs and private supplements are substitutes, private school enrollment is often zero; and (ii) the funding level for public education is very sensitive to the productivity of private supplements and the elasticity of substitution between public inputs and private supplements. [source] Experimental research and surgery: Why, how, and when?MICROSURGERY, Issue 4 2001Antonio Di Cataldo M.D. Experimental research faces two great problems: the significant reduction of public funding and the firm opposition of the public opinion. The law forbids the use of large animals, so that it is possible to use small animals only, which require microsurgical techniques. However, even a skillful surgeon does not know how to perform microsurgery and has to begin a long and tiring training to master techniques. We think that experimental surgery should play a role because it tests the validity and safety of new surgical techniques and allows special pathophysiological aspects to be studied. Furthermore experimental surgery could represent an essential stage in the training of young surgeons. We should find a balance between observance of the law and respect of the animals and, on the other hand, the role of experimental surgery because we should not forget that its most important aim is the improvement of the health of the humankind. La ricerca sperimentale presenta delle difficoltà che dipendono in gran parte dalla scarsezza dei fondi ad essa destinati e dalla latente ostilità dell'opinione pubblica. Le leggi hanno ormai praticamente abolito la possibilità di utilizzare animali di grossa taglia per cui si possono impiegare solo piccoli animali, con la necessità di ricorrere a tecniche microchirurgiche, che non sono patrimonio di tutti i chirurghi, per cui per acquisirle bisogna sottoporsi a lunghi ed estenuanti tirocinii. Noi riteniamo che alla chirurgia sperimentale debba essere riconosciuto un suo ruolo per le possibilità che essa fornisce di saggiare la validità di nuove tecniche chirurgiche, di studiare particolari aspetti di fisiopatologia e di consentire un adeguato training dei giovani chirurghi. Sarebbe forse più giusto trovare un migliore equilibrio tra l'osservanza delle leggi ed il rispetto degli animali da un lato e la giusta collocazione della chirurgia sperimentale dall'altro, non dimenticando che quest'ultima ha come scopo unico ed esclusivo il miglioramento della salute dell'uomo. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc. MICROSURGERY 21:118,120 2001 [source] Personal desires of patients and social obligations of geneticists: applying preimplantation genetic diagnosis for non-medical sex selectionPRENATAL DIAGNOSIS, Issue 12 2002Guido Pennings Abstract The arguments against the use of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for non-medical sex selection are analysed. It is concluded that the distinction between medical and non-medical reasons is difficult to maintain, that the disproportionality of means and end is not a decisive counterargument and that the fear of damage to the reputation of PGD does not justify the refusal of controversial applications. Moreover, since non-medical sex selection does not belong to basic health care, it should not be equally accessible to all. The position defended in this article is founded on two basic principles: (1) medical reasons have priority on non-medical reasons, and (2) personal reasons do not qualify for public funding. In order to respect both principles, it is proposed that restrictions should be installed to control the number of requests for social sexing and that a tax should be imposed on these elective services. The tax should compensate the society for the investment it made in the training and education of the physician. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Government Subsidies for Professional Team Sports in AustraliaTHE AUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 3 2009John K. Wilson Professional team sports represent an important aspect of Australian life. Interest is great, and a significant portion of household expenditure is directed toward sports-related goods and services. Based on international comparisons and on the size of attendance and television revenues, the sector should be highly profitable. Yet, significant amounts of public funding and regulatory exemptions are afforded to team sports in Australia. This article analyses the magnitude and reasons for government spending that subsidises professional team sports. [source] A Theoretical Model of the Effects of Public Funding on Saving Decisions by Charitable Nonprofit Service ProvidersANNALS OF PUBLIC AND COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS, Issue 2 2003by Femida Handy Why do charitable nonprofit, service-providing organizations save? What are the tradeoffs between using income to build up cash reserves and serving more clients? Saving may generate income, protect the organization against a drop in donations, and increase the organization's chances of survival. Saving, though, may affect the likelihood that nonprofits receive private and public funding. We model the relationship among private and public income, economic conditions, and nonprofit savings. We find that anticipation of government help during difficult times tends to reduce the amount of saving done by the nonprofit. This effect is strengthened if government officials view unspent donations as indicative of a lack of need. Both these effects provide a strong incentive for nonprofits to spend on current consumption rather than to save for the future, and thus to increase the burden on the public purse. [source] Economic performance or electoral necessity?BRITISH JOURNAL OF POLITICS & INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, Issue 2 2000Evaluating the system of voluntary income to political parties Whilst the public funding of political parties is the norm in western democracies, its comprehensive introduction has been resisted in Britain. Political and electoral arrangements in Britain require parties to function and campaign on a regular basis, whilst their income follows cycles largely related to general elections. This article shows that the best predictor of party income is the necessity of a well-funded general election campaign rather than party performance. As a result, income can only be controlled by parties to a limited degree, which jeopardises their ability to determine their own financial position and fulfil their functions as political parties. [source] |