Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This article examines the shift in the institution context for scientific exchange from a communal to a commercial setting and the empirical variation in the nature and success of organizational practices used by firms to structure this exchange in the shadow of the market. Firms play an increasingly central role in a wide range of relationships among scientists, between scientists and physicians and their patients. While such exchange practices raise a series of critical questions regarding the commodification of the human body, ethics and privacy, and the ownership of our common genetic heritage, the mechanisms through which the shadow of the market has shaped these transactions have not been studied. We also have a very limited perspective on the variation in the means through which organizations attempt to maintain the willingness of individuals to exchange while at the same time radically redefining the benefits of the exchange. The population genetics setting – the subject of this empirical analysis - has been subject to a recent shift in institutional norms from communal, with the interests of “science” as paramount, to commercial. It therefore provides us with an unusual opportunity to examine how in the light of the market imperative, firms use both commercial and communal norms to shape exchange and how individuals and communities choose to share, exchange and cede control of their assets in the shadow of the market.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: A strong dollar inspired widespread political mobilization among disadvantaged labor and industry groups in the mid-1980s, but these same groups remained relatively silent when the dollar appreciated sharply again in the late 1990s. The literature on the domestic politics of exchange rates is ill-equipped to explain this variation in political activity, as it tends to conceive of interest group mobilization on exchange rates as an either/or proposition. One group of scholars sees interest groups as intimately involved in exchange rate policymaking, whereas another group emphasizes the collective action problems interest groups face in mobilizing on exchange rates. The conditions leading to interest group mobilization on exchange rates are varied, but the factor that has the most traction in explaining this particular puzzle is the recent proliferation of financial instruments designed to help a firm hedge its foreign exchange risk. Financial hedging dampens the distributional impact of exchange rates, which explains why many firms did not invest the resources necessary to mobilize against the strong dollar in the 1990s as they did in the 1980s. This hypothesis is tested empirically by looking at how the relationship between the value of the dollar and US exports has changed over time. The findings provide preliminary support that exchange rates are less of a driver of firm competitiveness than in decades past. Further work remains to ascertain the robustness of these findings and to confirm through firm interviews the changing intensity of preferences on exchange rates.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Practitioners and researchers often assume that international exchange programs increase intercultural competence, develop professional skills, and foster positive relationships between nations. Yet research in the field focuses on the experiences of on-program participants rather than the long term effects of such programs. Current research also emphasizes the experiences of American university students. In contrast, this study focuses on high school students from the former USSR who have spent an academic year in the U.S. and have returned home to pursue further education and careers. Using the Future Leaders Exchange Program (FLEX) as a case study, this paper explores how participants’ experience abroad has shaped their life and career choices. Rather than evaluating on-program participants in the U.S., the researcher traveled to Moldova to conduct over 20 in-depth interviews in the participants’ home country. Among other findings, this paper explores the role of host families in the exchange experience and the value of alumni programs in furthering post-program goals and ensuring ongoing personal and professional development. Ultimately, these findings indicate that further comparative research is needed to develop best practices for continued support of participants post-program and to determine the role of age and maturity in the exchange experience.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Exchange rate policy preferences do not just originate in the effects of exchange rate policy but are intricately linked to monetary policy as well. Based on the trade-off between exchange rate and interest rate stability, this paper develops predictions about which socioeconomic groups are likely to prefer a depreciation, and which groups prefer that the present exchange rate level be maintained. It develops a new approach that considers private sector vulnerabilities to exchange rate and interest rate changes, as well as the implications for interest groups’ competitiveness and their balance sheets. It argues that in periods of exchange rate tranquility, exchange rate policy is purely framed in terms of depreciation or appreciation effects. Only when pressure intensifies, they increasingly weigh their vulnerability to interest-rate increases against their depreciation vulnerability. In this case, high interest-rate exposure can result in a re-assessment of a group’s preferred policy response, leading groups that initially preferred exchange rate stability to favor depreciation. Comparative case studies of speculative attacks on the currencies of Hong Kong, Korea, Thailand, and Taiwan support the argument’s empirical implications. The case studies show that policymakers maintained exchange rate stability when the private sector’s vulnerability to depreciation was high. However, when pressure intensified, exchange rates were subsequently depreciated in countries, where interest group vulnerabilities to a monetary tightening exceeded the potential costs of depreciation.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Gift exchanges enact status hierarchies when task group members have equal status, but what occurs when exchange partners are not equally ranked? If she gives gifts to her high status counterpart, will a low status actor gain influence? Will the high status actor reciprocate these gifts to “win back” the hypothesized status gain secured by the low status actor’s largesse? We use behavior-status and social exchange theories to model a social situation with an exchange and status process. We test hypotheses derived from these theories with empirical evidence gathered from an experimental setting that includes actors in a dyad. The experimental test consists of three parts: an individual task that establishes an ability difference between two actors; a Word Formation Task, during which actors can exchange Scrabble tiles to help each other construct words; and a team task that requires actors to take each others’ opinions into consideration before making a decision and that also measures influence. Two hundred and forty students from a Midwestern state university participated in the experiment. Preliminary results show that when a low status actor gives gifts to a high status partner, the high status partner gains even more influence. High status partners do reciprocate, but one of the consequences is yet more influence, indicating that gift exchange has other implications besides meeting social obligations. Finally, we find support for the notion that exchange behavior changes performance expectations and not the affect and sentiment associated with giving and receiving a gift.