Rationality and Society current issue

Externalities in Exchange Networks: An Adaptation of Existing Theories of Exchange Networks

Dijkstra, J. — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 07:21:19 PDT

The present paper extends the focus of network exchange research to externalities in exchange networks. Externalities of exchange are defined as direct effects on an actor’s utility, of an exchange in which this actor is not involved. Existing theories in the field of network exchange do not inform us on how externalities are predicted to affect behavior in exchange networks. Three prominent theories in the field, core theory, power dependence theory and exchange resistance theory, are extended to exchange networks with externalities, allowing three main conclusions about the expected effects of externalities in exchange networks: externalities (i) change actors’ payoffs, (ii) change the exchange pattern, and (iii) change the power distribution across actors. The investigated theories yield predictions concerning the occurrence and magnitude of these effects. A method is proposed to separate the effect of (i) the network, (ii) the externalities, and (iii) the interaction between network and externalities.

Club Goods and Post-Disaster Community Return

Chamlee-Wright, E., Storr, V. H. — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 07:21:19 PDT

Hurricane Katrina caused over one hundred billion dollars in property damage in the Greater New Orleans region. Although much attention has been paid to why particular communities have begun to recover and others have failed to rebound, very little attention has been paid to how the communities that have recovered actually went about doing so. This paper attempts to close that gap by examining how the church provision of club goods can foster social cooperation and community redevelopment in the wake of a disaster. In particular, we investigate the swift return of the community surrounding the Mary Queen of Vietnam (MQVN) Catholic Church in New Orleans East after Hurricane Katrina. Utilizing a unique bundle of club goods provided by the MQVN Catholic Church, residents in the New Orleans East Vietnamese-American community (a) rebuilt their distinct ethnic— religious—language community, (b) overcame the social coordination difficulties created by Katrina, and (c) engaged in successful political action to protect their community.

Stratification Theory, Socioeconomic Background, and Educational Attainment: A Formal Analysis

Lucas, S. R. — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 07:21:19 PDT

Three proposals explicate the social origins/education transitions association. Maximally maintained inequality (MMI) (Raftery and Hout 1993) claims the association declines only at transitions high origin persons universally or nearly universally make. Relative risk aversion (RRA) (Breen and Goldthorpe 1997) suggests broader inequality reduction is possible and depends on changing costs and norms. Effectively maintained inequality (EMI) (Lucas 2001) contends meaningful inequality reduction is elusive because qualitatively different types of education maintain consequential inequality, even at universal transitions. Each proposal has evidentiary support, yet because proposals highlight different association indices, most are described informally, and their distinctiveness is disputed, comparative evaluation requires a prior, clarifying, formal analysis. Formal analysis reveals that MMI is non-falsifiable. RRA and EMI are falsifiable and are potentially but not necessarily complementary. Future research should investigate whether and why RRA, EMI, both, or neither, apply.