Suchergebnisse

EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS HAS LED TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THE AD BAN ON CIGARETTE ADVERTISING WAS MYOPIC PUBLIC POLICY. THE AUTHOR REEXAMINES THE WISDOM OF THAT POLICY AND CONSIDERS ITS RELEVANCE, AS WELL AS THAT OF CLOSELY RELATED ALTERNATIVES, TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S REINVIGORATED ANTISMOKING CAMPAIGN.

The 2 principal smoking-related state legislative activities stand in sharp contrast to one another. Cigarette excise taxation spread among the states well before the connection between smoking & illness became a public issue, yet more recent tax increass appear to reflect a response to the national antismoking campaign. The growing disparity in cigarette prices between tobacco-producing & other states has created a lucrative market in bootlegged cigarettes, & has thereby brought new taxation to a virtual standstill for 6 years. Laws restricting smoking in public places represent a phenomenon of the 1970s, clearly bearing the imprint of the antismoking campaign. From 1972 through 1978, the number of states with such laws in effect grew from 5 to 36, & the restrictiveness of the laws also increased. The dramatic r between diffusion of the laws & decreases in cigarette consumption rates seems best interpreted as a result of each of these reflecting changes in social attitudes toward smoking. 3 Tables, 3 Figures, 26 References. HA.

The financial incentive structure of today's health maintenance organizations addresses certain problems attributed to fee-for-service medical care, but at a theoretical level it does not induce otpimal provider behavior. Health maintenance insurance -- a combined package of medical, morbidity/disability, & life insurance -- encourages providers to compete for the "health" dollar, & not simply the "medical care" dollar, thereby remedying deficiencies in prepayment & promoting true health maintenance. The principle underlying health maintenance emphasizes the need to search for effective means of preventing disability, morbidity, & premature death. HA.

THE FINAL STAGE OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE, THE DIFFUSION OF INNOVATION THROUGH SOCIETY, IS REEXAMINED. SUCH RESEARCH DRAWS ON 2 TRADITIONS: ECONOMICS & SOCIOLOGY. ECONOMISTS HAVE EMPHASIZED THE RATIONAL DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES WHICH CAUSE A GRADUAL SATURATION OF THE INTERESTED POPULATION; SOCIOLOGISTS HAVE PAID MORE ATTENTION TO NONECONOMIC, IRRATIONAL FACTORS. HOWEVER, THESE CONTRIBUTIONS HAVE NOT YET BEEN INTEGRATED INTO ANY UNIFIED THEORY, DUE LARGELY TO THE PAROCHIALISM OF SCHOLARS IN EACH DISCIPLINE, WHICH LEADS THEM TO CONCENTRATE ON THOSE FACTORS & METHODS WHICH ARE MOST COMPATIBLE WITH THEIR SPECIFIC FIELDS, RATHER THAN ON UNDERSTANDING DIFFUSION AS A GENERAL PHENOMENON. MANY PROBLEMS REMAIN UNSOLVED, OR EVEN UNEXAMINED. THIS FIELD IS VITALLY IMPORTANT & REQUIRES AN INTEGRATED THEORETICAL APPROACH. 2 FIGURES. MODIFIED HA.