Comments

Research: Adolescent Legal Competence in Court
Subject: Adolescent Legal Competence in Court
Posted on: Thu, 26 Jun 08 03:07:50 +0000
This is important research for exactly the reasons stated by the authors: as the courts, both juvenile and adult, see increasingly younger defendants some argue that the law should also take into account adolescents’ lesser capacities owing to emotional and psychological immaturity.

So why am I struggling to find the date that this research was conducted? A tiny-print footnote tells me The tool is called the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool—Criminal Adjudication (MacCAT-CA). For more information, see T. Grisso et al., “Juveniles’ Competence to Stand Trial: A Comparison of Adolescents’ and Adults’ Capacities as Trial Defendants,” Law and Human Behavior, vol. 27 (2003), pp. 333-363. Come on! Let's put the date and the researchers' information -- also at the end -- at the beginning of the report!

It seems that the research done was competent. The fact that interviews were done in different states is important. I would like to know more about the demographics of the interviewees. The phrase, "using a standard assessment tool" is annoyingly oversimplified at best.

This is an interesting report with lots of numbers and charts. Let's see it written up in a fashion that will win it more respect.

Research: Accessing Skills Training Through Chicago's One Stop Centers and Affiliate Agencies
Subject: Chicago Jobs Council report on One Stop Career Centers.
Posted on: Tue, 13 May 08 01:55:54 +0000

The Chicago Jobs Council provided a useful service in 2004 by demystifying what we can gather must be a difficult set of regulations to understand. We won't ask why the regulation for the One Stop System, also sometimes called the Workforce Investment Act Program, were written in such a daunting fashion to begin with.

The main problem is that this is now 2008. Current readers would have to call the phone number provided for updates, or the Council would need to post an more recent review. Consequently, this article would have its primary usefulness as a component of research into the recent history and evolution of this and other similar training programs.

Research: Abusive Lending Practices: A Threat to Opportunity
Subject: Fact Sheet - Subprime Lending: A Threat to Opportunity in America
Posted on: Sat, 03 May 08 22:14:18 +0000

As with other research in this field, the dates of the data presented in this Fact Sheet are vital. When writing about subprime lending, timeliness is even more critical. In 2007 - 2008 the abuses of subprime loans were exposed when the system previously hailed as "the way in" for lower income, self-employed, and/or first time home buyers imploded.

That being the case, while the topic of this paper is timely it has limitations:

-- The report's date of publication (shown on the IssueLab's site as 2006-05-01 is not clearly visible on the paper. A reader should not have to hunt for the publication date of any research report, but clear labeling is particularly crucial when informing on a topic that can change quickly with time and circumstances.

-- In addition, many of the statistics cited are from a single 2004 source (which itself might be drawing upon multiple sources, but we don't know whether that's the case).

-- This fact sheet is not attempting to be neutral. Rather it presents an indictment of a financial industry practice. To be successful, even at the time it was originally published, it would need to supply a broader base for its case.

Setting aside these obvious limitations, for those of us seeking to understand how the subprime debacle grew, this paper supplies valuable background information. For example, "In 2004 the share of middle- and upper-income African Americans with subprime loans was 2.7 times greater than that of middle- and upper-income whites." (p. 1)

Shocking, too, is the extent to which women are targeted for sub-prime lending practices. (Some of us remember when a woman could not get a mortgage at all! The continued questionable status of women in regard to borrowing is a whole other topic.)

The paper also provides value by including an example in dollars of the disparity in cost between comparable prime and sub-prime loans even if the borrower does not default.

The paper ends with a call to action that should have been heeded. We now know, at the expense of the entire economy, that the financial industry's profits from lending cannot forever survive on the backs of the poor, minorities and others who for whatever reasons find themselves out of favor with lending institutions.

While the authors' recommendations for action are still correct in spirit, these ideas -- much as the statistics that proceed them -- would have to be updated to fit into the most current picture. However, the paper still bears reading as historically pertinent background material.

Research: 2007 Housing Bubble Update: 10 Economic Indicators to Watch
Subject: Comment:: 2007 Housing Bubble Update
Posted on: Fri, 25 Apr 08 15:42:47 +0000

The obvious problem for this Issue Brief is that it was written in February 2007. This comment is being written in April, 2008, and the intervening year has rocked both the housing and credit markets as well as the overall U.S. economy. The author's basic assumptions stated on page 1 have been shown to be over-simplified. However, the paper still meets its goal to list many well-known public data sources (economic indicators) with brief description of the uses and limitations of each. In so doing, Baker provides a useful service for readers from varied backgrounds.

We all know, but sometimes need to be reminded, that statistics do not present undisputable facts. Baker does well to point out questions that should be asked about each of the data sources. For instance, the New Home Sales data provided by the Census Bureau excludes condominium sales (p. 2) while Existing Home Sales data produced by the National Association of Realtors has a finer filter that includes condominium and other home types (p.4). Moreover, New Home Sales data is based on contracted prices and does not reflect the dollar value of extras provided by builders (p. 3).

While this report is not particularly innovative, it does serve as a primer for readers new to the field of housing economics. It is also a good reminder to more experienced researchers to question all sources carefully. In fact, we should remember that a short paper cannot point out all the strengths and pitfalls of these sources, and that some of Baker's comments are themselves open to question. For instance, he comments, "While some of the more rapid increase in house prices in the coastal areas probably does reflect the increasing desirability of these areas, they will probably still see the sharpest price decline when the housing market adjusts to more normal levels." (p. 5) His argument in support of this claim is not established.

In sum, Baker provides a valuable list of sources and a wake-up call to those of us who use them. This paper might be useful as a secondary resource for courses in real estate economics, investment, or entry level research and statistical reasoning. The media writers should read it, too, before creating their sound bites!