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The United States has ceded to the rest of the world managing the dollar's value. For a generation, the U.S. authorities have all but withdrawn from the foreign exchange market. Yet the dollar does not float freely as a result of this hands-off U.S. policy. Instead, other authorities manage the dollar exchange rates, albeit separately. These authorities make heavier purchases of dollars in its downswings than in the upswings, damping its decline. Thus, the Fed finds that accommodative monetary policy transmits less to U.S. manufacturing and traded services, and relies on still lower rates to stimulate interest-sensitive housing and auto demand. The current U.S. dollar policy of naming and shaming surplus-running countries accumulating foreign exchange reserves does not seem to work. Three alternatives warrant consideration. First, the U.S. could reinstate its withholding tax on interest income received by non-residents and even add policy criteria to bilateral tax treaties. Second, the U.S. authorities could retaliate by selling dollars against the currencies of dollar-buying jurisdictions running chronic surpluses. However, either the withholding tax or such retaliatory foreign exchange intervention pose huge practical challenges. Third, the U.S. authorities could re-enter the foreign exchange market, making large-scale asset purchases in foreign currency when the dollar rises sharply against its average value. Such a policy would encourage private investment in U.S. traded goods and service production. The challenge is to set ex ante foreign exchange intervention rules to guide market participants' expectations, even positioning them to do the authorities' work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationships between selected upper airway-related symptoms (speech disturbances, voice disorders, cough, and breathing abnormalities) and mental illness and sleep disorders have been previously demonstrated. However, these relationships have not been compared in a single study with consideration of potential confounding variables. The current research incorporates a descriptive study design of medical claims data for employees (~21,362 per year 2017-2021) with corporate insurance to evaluate the strength of these relationships, adjusting for demographic variables and other important confounders. The upper airway-related symptoms are each significantly and positively associated with several mental illnesses and sleep disorders, after adjusting for demographic and other potential confounders. The rate of any mental illness is 138% (95% CI 93-195%) higher for speech disturbances, 55% (95% CI 28-88%) higher for voice disorders, 28% (95% CI 22-34%) higher for cough, and 58% (95% CI 50-66%) higher for breathing abnormalities, after adjustment for the confounding variables. Confounding had significant effects on the rate ratios involving cough and breathing abnormalities. The rate of any sleep disorder is 78% (95% CI 34-136%) higher for speech disturbances, 52% (95% CI 21-89%) higher for voice disorders, 34% (95% CI 27-41%) higher for cough, and 172% (95% CI 161-184%) higher for breathing abnormalities, after adjustment for the confounding variables. Confounding had significant effects on each of the upper airway-related symptoms. Rates of mental illness and sleep disorders are positively associated with the number of claims filed for each of the upper airway-related symptoms. The comorbid nature of these conditions should guide clinicians in providing more effective treatment plans that ultimately yield the best outcome for patients.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends screening populations at increased risk for tuberculosis (TB), including persons born in countries with high TB rates. This approach assumes that TB risk for expatriates living in the United States is representative of TB risk in their countries of birth. We compared US TB rates by country of birth with corresponding country rates by calculating incidence rate ratios (IRRs) (World Health Organization rate/US rate). The median IRR was 5.4. The median IRR was 0.5 for persons who received a TB diagnosis <1 year after US entry, 4.9 at 1 to <10 years, and 10.0 at >10 years. Our analysis suggests that World Health Organization TB rates are not representative of TB risk among expatriates in the United States and that TB testing prioritization in the United States might better be based on US rates by country of birth and years in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends screening populations at increased risk for tuberculosis (TB), including persons born in countries with high TB rates. This approach assumes that TB risk for expatriates living in the United States is representative of TB risk in their countries of birth. We compared US TB rates by country of birth with corresponding country rates by calculating incidence rate ratios (IRRs) (World Health Organization rate/US rate). The median IRR was 5.4. The median IRR was 0.5 for persons who received a TB diagnosis <1 year after US entry, 4.9 at 1 to <10 years, and 10.0 at >10 years. Our analysis suggests that World Health Organization TB rates are not representative of TB risk among expatriates in the United States and that TB testing prioritization in the United States might better be based on US rates by country of birth and years in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Firearm-related death rates and years of potential life lost (YPLL) vary widely between population subgroups and states. However, changes or inflections in temporal trends within subgroups and states are not fully documented. We assessed temporal patterns and inflections in the rates of firearm deaths and %YPLL due to firearms for overall and by sex, age, race/ethnicity, intent, and states in the United States between 1999 and 2016. Methods: We extracted age-adjusted firearm mortality and YPLL rates per 100,000, and %YPLL from 1999 to 2016 by using the WONDER (Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research) database. We used Joinpoint Regression to assess temporal trends, the inflection points, and annual percentage change (APC) from 1999 to 2016. Results: National firearm mortality rates were 10.3 and 11.8 per 100,000 in 1999 and 2016, with two distinct segments; a plateau until 2014 followed by an increase of APC = 7.2% (95% CI 3.1, 11.4). YPLL rates were from 304.7 and 338.2 in 1999 and 2016 with a steady APC increase in %YPLL of 0.65% (95% CI 0.43, 0.87) from 1999 to an inflection point in 2014, followed by a larger APC in %YPLL of 5.1% (95% CI 0.1, 10.4). The upward trend in firearm mortality and YPLL rates starting in 2014 was observed in subgroups of male, non-Hispanic blacks, Hispanic whites and for firearm assaults. The inflection points for firearm mortality and YPLL rates also varied across states. Conclusions: Within the United States, firearm mortality rates and YPLL remained constant between 1999 and 2014 and has been increasing subsequently. There was, however, an increase in firearm mortality rates in several subgroups and individual states earlier than 2014. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A capital budgeting procedure is applied in developing a real price index for life insurance over three decades. Individual life policies of three types are analyzed. The analysis reveals that although the cost of whole life insurance, measured in nominal values, has decreased over the past thirty years, when properly measured in present value or constant dollar terms, the cost has risen substantially. Term life insurance has been characterized by decreasing costs in both nominal and real terms. The amounts of the cost variations attributable to improving survival rates, changing policy terms, varying discount rates and differing tax status are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article re-examines the conclusion of previous studies that price dispersion is extreme in the American whole life insurance market. We take an axiomatic approach to the problem of measuring "price" dispersion in the market for the multiparameter whole life contracts, studying the distribution across contract offers of a price index which is uniquely determined by two conditions. In contrast to the accepted wisdom, we find that the derived measure of price dispersion is only 3.6% and that much of this dispersion can be accounted for by measurement error. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Treatments for pulmonary embolism are numerous and often complex. Current data on surgical thrombectomy are important but are not readily available. We studied the National Inpatient Sample to evaluate trends in the performance rates and outcomes of surgical thrombectomy in the United States from 2003 through 2014. We think that our findings have meaningful application to the triage and risk stratification of patients who have hemodynamically significant pulmonary embolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Many health care facilities have developed electronic reporting systems for identifying and reporting adverse events (AEs), so that measures can be taken to improve patient safety. Although several studies have examined AEs in surgical settings, there has not previously been a systematic assessment of the variations in adverse event rates among different types of surgery, nor an identification of the particular types of AEs that are most common within each surgical category. Additionally, this study will identify the AE severity level associated with each of the AE category types. Methods This retrospective observational study was conducted at three Midwestern hospitals that are part of a large integrated healthcare system. Data from 2006 through 2009 were analyzed to determine the rates of reported adverse events (per 1,000 hospitalizations involving a surgical procedure) for 96 categories of surgery as classified according to the ICD-9-CM procedural coding system. Univariate and bivariate summary statistics were compiled for AEs by type, severity, and patient age. Results During the four-year study period, there was a total of 82,784 distinct hospitalizations involving at least one surgical procedure at these three hospitals. At least one adverse event was reported at 5,368 (6.5%) of those hospitalizations. The mean rate of AEs among all surgical procedure groups was 82.8 AEs per 1,000 hospitalizations. Adverse event rates varied widely among surgical categories with a high of 556.7 AEs per 1,000 hospitalizations for operations on the heart and pericardium. The most common type of adverse event involved care management, followed by medication events and events related to invasive procedures. Conclusions Detecting variations in AEs among surgical categories can be useful for surgeons and for hospital quality assurance personnel. Documenting the specific AE incidence rates among the most common types of surgical categories, and determining AE severity and age distributions within surgical categories will enable officials to better identify specific patient safety needs and develop appropriately targeted interventions for improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines incomplete exchange-rate pass-through into into the prices of imported goods. In the U.S. opinions differ on the matter, with some arguing that that imports reflect exchange-rate fluctuations on a decreasing basis, while others assert any determination depends on whether or not commodities are included. The authors presents a structural approach to the matter, taking into consideration markups, marginal costs, and price rigidities. In their view, nontraded costs are among factors that account for a substantial proportion of incomplete pass-through.

Objective: To determine the association between a tobacco control index (TCI) for 1992-93 for each US state and lung and bronchus cancer mortality and incidence rates by state for younger adults, as the best indicator of the effects of recent progress in tobacco control on lung cancer control. Design: For all 51 US areas (50 states and the District of Columbia), correlation coefficients between the state's TCI and lung cancer rate were analysed. Multiple linear regression models (MLR) predicting cancer rates included sociodemographic variables by state (from the 2000 census). In addition, the 51 areas also were divided into tertiles, from highest to lowest TCI, and means for lung cancer rates were compared. Subjects and settings: All areas with available data on lung cancer mortality and incidence rates. Main outcome measures: Age-standardised mortality rates were available for all 51 areas (50 states and the District of Columbia) for 1989-93, 1994-98 and 1999- 2003 for lung cancer at age 15-44 years. Lung cancer incidence rates for 1999-2002 were available for age 20- 44 years for 44 states. Results: The correlation between the TCI and lung cancer mortality rate increased in magnitude from 1989-93 to 1999-2003, and the association was statistically significant in MLR models for 1994-98 and 1999-2003 (but not 1989- 93). The TCI was statistically significantly correlated with the lung cancer incidence rate in 1999-2002 by state, and the association persisted in an MLR model. Conclusions: Within the limitations of ecologic analyses, findings are consistent with effects of state tobacco control efforts on reducing state-wide lung cancer rates in younger adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automobile depreciation rates and dealer markups in the United States and Britain during the 1950s and 1960s provide evidence on the effect of asymmetric information on market structures. Initial depreciation was not exceptional, and trade was not disabled. The risk of asymmetric information was not large, and was largely covered by dealer warranties. Adverse selection kicked in as cars aged: markups increased and fixed selling costs caused dealers to withdraw from trading older cars. Despite their lower quality, British makes depreciated less, probably due to different novelty signals and longer styling cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract--The labor market prospects of young, unskilled men fell dramatically in the 1980s and improved in the 1990s. Crime rates show a reverse pattern: increasing during the 1980s and falling in the 1990s. Because young, unskilled men commit most crime, this paper seeks to establish a causal relationship between the two trends. Previous work on the relationship between labor markets and crime focused mainly on the relationship between the unemployment rate and crime, and found inconclusive results. In contrast, this paper examines the impact of both wages and unemployment on crime, and uses instrumental variables to establish causality. We conclude that both wages and unemployment are significantly related to crime, but that wages played a larger role in the crime trends over the last few decades. These results are robust to the inclusion of deterrence variables, controls for simultaneity, and controlling for individual and family characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the deregulation of wholesale electricity prices in the United States. Purpose of the deregulation; Implications for the avoidance of the upward price hike of electricity supplies; Feasibility of decentralizing the demand side of the electricity market.

Presents charts on finance and banking in the United States, as of May 2001. Terms of lending at commercial banks; Data on assets and liabilities of United States branches and agencies of foreign banks.

Many utilities are offering real-time pricing (RTP) to their large industrial customers. Under RTP, hourly rates change with real-time supply and demand. As compared to fixed rates, RTP shifts price risk from the utility to the customer. With such a change, it is natural to ask if there is an optimal level of advance notice of prices. This paper contains a simulation of real-time rates for industrial customers with and without advance notice of prices. Advance notice is valuable to customers who can increase elasticity of substitution. This value must be weighed against the cost to the electric utility from an increase in demand forecast error. The simulation suggests that day-ahead advance notice increases welfare for reasonable magnitudes of customer elasticity and utility forecast error. (JEL L94) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many credit card issuers charge "fixed rates" that remain the same for three to five years, while the rest charge "variable rates" that are indexed to market rates. The presence of these two distinct rate types forces prices at firms selling an otherwise identical product to move asynchronously; variable rates move one-for-one with the index, while fixed rates stay constant. Empirical and theoretical analysis shows that this pricing structure provides an explanation for the simultaneous (yet seemingly contradictory) existence of high rate-cost margins and aggressive non-price competition for new customers, a phenomenon that existed in the credit card market in the early 1990s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes the behavior of oil pipeline rates in the U.S. between 1978 and 1994. Oil pipelines are the last major segment of the domestic transportation industry to remain under extensive economic regulation by the federal government. For much of the past twenty years, regulatory reform of oil pipeline transport was extensively debated. Reform was anticipated, but uncertainty about its character remained. Moreover, the actions of the industry's regulator, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), served to increase the uncertainty. FERC assumed jurisdiction over the industry from the Interstate Commerce Commission in 1977; and between that time and 1992 when Congress finally mandated guidelines for reform, FERC proposed three very different sets of rate-making standards. By the end of 1994 FERC had complied with the congressional mandate and issued a series of rule-making orders which made important changes to standards and procedures for regulating oil pipeline rates.

Describes the analysis of Medicaid dental reimbursements and eligibility records from July 1995 through June 1996 for children aged 1-5 years in Louisiana. Demographic data collection; Types of services received by the children; Calculation for the average caries-related cost per Medicaid-eligible child; Difference in treatment costs per Medicaid-eligible child residing in fluoridated parishes from those in nonfluoridated.

The wave of electricity market restructuring both within the United States and abroad has brought the issue of horizontal market power to the forefront of energy policy. Traditionally, estimation and prediction of market power has relied heavily on concentration measures. In this paper, we discuss the weaknesses of concentration measures as a viable measure of market power in the electricity industry, and we propose an alternative method based on market simulations that take advantage of existing plant level data. We discuss results from previous studies the authors have performed, and present new results that allow for the detection of threshold demand levels where market power is likely to be a problem. In addition, we analyze the impact of that recent divestitures in the California electricity market will have on estimated market power. We close with a discussion of the policy implications of the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addresses the issues surrounding the pricing of local phone services to long distance rivals in the United States. Issue underlying law and economic theory; Formula for compensation; Timing of the compensation inquiry; Stranded costs in local telephony; Conclusion.

Discusses why the United States Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) needs to start using or modifying current precedents in ratemaking. Ratemaking method of FERC; Principles of the FERC Transmission Pricing Policy Statement; Why FERC should apply incentives only to transmission companies; Conclusion.

Discusses the effect of pragmatic transportation costs on the purchase lot order decision. Anomalous weight breaks in less-than-truckload (LTL) pricing; Demographic patterns of anomalous weight breaks; Implications for logistics management.

Discusses the operation of capital market in the United States during the late nineteenth century. Argument on the persistence of a substantial regional differentials in farm and home mortgage rates throughout the postbellum period; Reason for favoring a more substantial market imperfections in the analysis of farm mortgage interest rates; Relationship between land values and mortgage interest rates.

Describes an error-correction model of the long-term bond rate in the United States. Long-run economic determinant of the bond rate; Monetary policy actions; Behavior of the bond rate from 1971 to 1993; Unpredictability of the rates.

Describes the foreign exchange operations of the US Treasury and System for the period from October through December 1997. Average intraday trading range of dollars against yen; Development of currency market in Asia; Recovery of the dollar against the German mark; Where did US monetary authorities invested their foreign currency balances.

Describes the quarterly report of the Treasury and System foreign exchange operations from January through March, 1997. Data on market volatility; Movement of dollar in market volatility; Influence of Japanese capital repatriations.

Introduces a model-based measure of the equilibrium United States federal funds rate and examines the indicator properties of the spread between observed and equilibrium rates. Rationale for using term-structure spreads as monetary policy indicators; Differences between the funds-rate spread and term spread; Structure of the model; Proposed computational approach.

Estimates a monetary policy reaction function in United States that explains the behavior of the federal funds rate during the period of 1979 to 1992. Discussion of the determinants of the federal funds rate; Results of the short-run funds rate equation; Predictive ability of the federal funds-rate equation; Concluding observations of the study.

Examines the impacts of increased entrance fees on the National Park Service. Arguments for and against entrance fee increases; Policy formulation authorizing entrance fee increase; Impact of increased revenue generation; National Forest Grazing Fees (1906-1926); National Rangeland Grazing Fees (1934-1946); Congressional intervention in agency behavior.

Focuses the debate issue on electricity rates within the infant electric power industry in the United States. Views of the economist on the electricity rate issue; Emphasis on the wide-ranging basis of electricity rates; Details on the historical context for work on electricity.

Section II briefly describes pricing practices commonly used by urban water utilities and defines the efficient water price in terms of long-run marginal extraction costs per unit plus a rent element reflecting the value of water in situ, i.e., in its original aquifer or surface source. Section III then develops a model, following Hanson (1980), to measure this rent. Section IV presents estimates for the case of the Honolulu Board of Water Supply. The Board, which serves a population of about 800,000 on the island of Oahu, anticipates the need for desalting brackish groundwater within 20 years. While still a rough approximation, our estimates of scarcity value suggest that at present raw water should be valued on the order of twice the current unit quantity charge. Thus, adding the value of raw water to existing costs suggests that the current charge should be roughly tripled. Section V examines alternative extraction cost functions to generalize the possible implications of this model, while section VI offers some final comments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author's price variable is defensible as a choice variable for estimating annual household water demand from aggregate data and the alleged identification problem is non-existent or, at most, not serious. Lower-income households may be in the minimum charge block in the winter but move to the first marginal block price in the summer when sprinkling their relatively small lawns. Conversely, more affluent households may be in the first block during the winter months while switching to the second or third blocks in the summer, due to very large yards, swimming pools and associated evaporation. The identification problem relates to the possibility of estimating a supply curve, a demand curve, or some hybrid thereof, depending on the relative shifts of the underlying supply and demand curves that generated the data. If consumers perceive their total expenditure function as a ray line, their perceived average and marginal prices are equal. Having thus perceived a constant marginal price, there is no identification problem. Average price serves as a proxy for the unknown, applicable, marginal block price.

In a recent issue of the journal, "Land Economics," economists Henry S. Foster and Bruce R. Beattie (1979) reported the results of an empirical study of the demand for water produced and distributed by urban waterworks. Using regression analysis, the investigators found an expression explaining the differences in water consumption in two hundred cities in the United States in 1960 by the variation in the price of water, income, and rainfall. The form of the rate schedule used by most water utilities in the United States has a tendency to make the average price vary inversely with consumption. The average price is not closely related to the marginal price faced by consumers. In an analysis attempting to explain differences in water consumption by the variation in the price of water, the "avenge price" or average revenue is an unsuitable measure of price because the form of rate schedule used by most water utilities has a tendency to make average revenue high in cities where consumption is low and low in cities where water consumption is high, independently of any demand function that may exist.

Several previous studies of price elasticity of demand for residential water have defined the price of water in a manner that ignores the presence of block rates. This provides a correct specification, for the price variable only in the case where all water is priced uniformly regardless of the class of user or the amount purchased. The impact of a price increase on the consumer can be divided into income and substitution effects. The income effect is a reduction in the level of real income resulting from a price increase, and causes a potential reduction in outlays for all goods and services. The substitution effect shows the extent to which the relatively now more expensive product is replaced in the consumer's total expenditure pattern by outlays for other goods and services. Consumer surplus is larger under increasing block rates than it would be if all units were purchased at the marginal price, while it is smaller under declining block rates than it would be if all units were purchased at the marginal price.

The article highlights the need to increase nationals savings rate of the U.S. The U.S. saving rate has been significantly lower than the rate of several other economically advanced nations, especially Japan. According to some economists raising the saving rate would mean, by definition, reducing the consumption rate. Thus, for some economists, the burden of proof is on those who doubt the optimality of the current national saving rate. The U.S. economy indirectly taxes future consumption by taxing capital income. Capital income taxes reduce the future consumption that can be obtained from a given amount of saving. The choice between future and present consumption is therefore distorted, and the market-generated saving rate is suspect. The current market-generated saving rate has been distorted by government interventions-capital income taxes, Social Security, and political incentives for government dissaving. As a result, it is likely that the current saving rate is below what it would have been without these interventions. Hence, the current U.S. saving rate is too low and ought to be raised by appropriate policies.

The article discusses the potential of nuclear power in the contemporary situation. Massive cost overruns, slowly-growing demand and high interest rates dealt heavy blows to nuclear power in the 1980s. Energy conservation and renewable sources now prove less costly. Commercial nuclear power has a short history. Not until the early 1950s did either the United States or the Soviet Union launch major R&D programs to commercialize nuclear power; they were followed by Canada, France, Great Britain and West Germany each pursuing its own technology. But progress was slow: the engineering required was unexpectedly challenging, and all countries had difficulty going from prototypes to commercial plants. Electricity rates in the United States have more than tripled in the past ten years after being quite stable during the previous decade. Much of the increase stems from higher fuel prices, but rising nuclear construction costs have become an increasingly important factor. With such stories dominating headlines in many parts of the country, it is hardly surprising that a revival of reactor orders does not appear imminent.

This article attempts to account for regional differences in mortgage interest rates during the Populist era. Two conflicting hypotheses dominate the literature on this subject. The first is based on the farmers' complaint that imperfectly competitive market conditions in the American West permitted mortgage lenders to collude in raising interest rates. The second is based on evidence of competition and on the observation that interest rate differentials could in theory reflect the existence of risk premia that varied by region of the country. The focus here is on the development of new forms of financial enterprise, on their implications for market structure and on the statutes adopted by governmental agencies to regulate lending practice. In particular, the author discusses the prevalence of statutory interest rate ceilings imposed in the attempt to regulate mortgage lending. This article presents a model to be used to adjust mortgage interest rates for the risk premium. Ideally, the model would be estimated on a disaggregated data set containing information on the characteristics of individual farms and operators.

Ten years of floating exchange rates have not resulted in national policy autonomy. Indeed, in today's world, it seems scarcely conceivable that any exchange rate regime could enable countries to achieve their domestic objectives independently of what is going on elsewhere in the world. Interdependence of national economies simply may not permit independence of national policies. The early optimism that floating would free countries from balance of payments constraints and thereby enable them to direct policy, particularly monetary policy, to domestic objectives is perhaps understandable. The conditions over the period to the late 1960's had in many respects been particularly favorable to exchange rate stability. It would be natural if this led to the view that the few cases where exchange rate adjustment seemed called for would be better handled if exchange rates were left free to float, so that adjustment could take place relatively early and smoothly. But it would now seem that the typical applied economist or policy-maker inherited from the period both a personal data base and a "model" that left him ill-equipped, in a number of ways, for what was to follow.

In the decades prior to 1973, demand for energy, particularly energy liquids and electricity, expanded exponentially. From 1950 to 1973, U.S. aggregate energy use grew by 3.5 percent per year, roughly matching real GNP growth of 3.7 percent. Demand shifted toward petroleum's 4.3 percent annual growth and electricity and away from 1.0 percent annual growth of coal. These trends, reflected throughout the world, were encouraged by flat or gradually declining energy prices. Since 1973 energy price increases have been pervasive, although increases have differed radically among energy carriers and over time, being largest since 1979. From 1973 to 1982, real gasoline prices to consumers have increased 51 percent, natural gas delivered to households 139 percent, and residential electricity average price only 23 percent. Fuel prices delivered to electric utilities have varied more. Oil increased 175 percent, natural gas, 350 percent, while coal price increased but 85 percent. Energy demand adjustments have been profound. Between 1973 and 1982, U.S. consumption of oil and gas has declined, oil averaging a 1.4 percent annual decline, and natural gas 2.3 percent. Electricity growth has been reduced to 2.1 percent per year. Of the fossil fuels, only coal demand has been encouraged, rising at an average annual rate of 2.6 percent.

The author responds to G. Dishman's attack on his paper "What is Military?" Arguing that Dishman's assumptions are incorrect, the author cites statistical data for work-related accidental deaths and incidences of accidents in the U.S. armed forces. The author argues that employment in the military can be considered a relatively safe occupation in terms of work-related accidents. The article concludes that selling cut-rate life insurance to military personnel is good business.