Every two years congressional elections bring a new class of legislators to Washington, DC. The 112th Congress convenes this January and with it, more than 100 new Senators and Representatives, a new majority party in the House and with it new leaders, and in both the House and Senate many new Committee Chairs and legislative staff. The November…

Participatory decision making seems to be the new development paradigm in international cooperation. It is still a long way, however, to achieve the objectives that are formulated by the international development actors. Non-state actors are only limitedly involved in the policy decision-making. In this paper, we argue that when these actors take…

This testimony summarizes in four propositions results from a review of recent estimates of the net federal, state, or local costs of immigration and is designed to explore why these cost estimates vary so widely and how to develop more credible cost estimates. First, the testimony proposes that various studies of the cost of immigration agree…

A system for developing public policy indicators would include social, economic, and environmental statistics which would define problems facing a political community. Policy indicator variables center around the broad needs of policy. Any measure of human conditions, including sources outside the basic disciplines, are used; intervals of…

Examines the importance of defining terms in the process of gathering statistical data. Cites the example of the debate over the number of children abducted by strangers. Concludes that statistics are part of the persuasive rhetoric of social problem promotion and have social consequences. (FMW)

This report in two volumes is the product of a year-long needs assessment undertaken by the Governor of Alabama's Commission for the Alabama Year of the Child. Volume I, which contains an overview and recommendations to the governor and the legislature, includes position papers and letters from the commission and interested citizens. These…