The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, October 14, 1992- Page 7 U Chicago professor receives Nobel Prize for work in economics Dead animal rumors false, professor says STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) - American Gary Becker won the Nobel Prize in economics yesterday for pioneering the theory that people make everyday decisions following the same rational path long associ- &ted with business. "His work can be used to explain: people's choice of education, how the family chooses to spend its time, including how many children it should have and the type of mar- riage," said Assar Lindbeck of the Royal Swedish Academy of Science. Becker, a professor of sociology and economics at the University of Chicago, said he was "still in a bit of shock" about receiving the $1.2 mil- lion prize. He was the 15th person connected to the University of Chicago to win the Nobel economics prize in 22 years. "I was interested in social prob- lems but felt that economics had the tools by which to handle these long- term interests and social questions," Becker said. * The key to his research is the theory that human behavior follows the same rational principles, whether it involves a household, a business or an organization. Though greeted initially with skepticism, his work has influenced sociology, demogra- phy and criminology. "Becker has been a hot name for 10 years but we have preferred to wait and see how solid his research results were since he is such a daring and previously controversial per- son," Lindbeck said. "But year by year it became clear what a tremen- dous influence his work has had and he became the obvious candidate for the prize." Becker's theory that people choose their level of education de- pending on its economic conse- quences is generally accepted, Lindbeck said. But still controversial are his analyses of decisions to marry and divorce, based on eco- nomic factors. Becker said his research shows that the probability of getting caught is more important than the type of punishment in someone's decision to commit a crime. That analysis could be applied by a society trying to determine whether it should put more police of- ficers on the street or make prison sentences longer. Becker views households as small factories, where the costs of decisions are measured in time as well as cash. His studies found that rising wages make it more beneficial for a household's adult members to take jobs and transfer some tasks to other institutions, such as day care. by Jennifer Tianen Daily Staff Reporter Rumors concerning dead animals stored in refrigerators and courses that teach students methods to kill animals have run rampant in the university community. The real story, however, is far less sensationalistic. "Animal research requires that dissected animal corpses be put into plastic bags and stored in a freezer until they are incinerated," said Howard Rush, an assistant professor of laboratory animal medicine. He added that the incinerator usually runs about once a week. Physiology 503, a class intended for graduate students, has sparked a rumor around campus that the uni- versity provides a class teaching students how to kill animals. Rush, who teaches this course, said, "I wouldn't quite phrase it that way. What the course offers is the acceptable methods of humane eu- thanasia of animals." Biomedical, biochemical, physi- ology and neuroscience students as well as students from the college of pharmacy take the class. "We don't line up a bunch of an- imals and have students kill them all. We would, however, be remiss in our duties without teaching them the humane and acceptable way to euthanize animals," Rush said. . Daniel Ringler, director and pro- fessor of university laboratories for animal research (ULAM), said, "We have an open-house policy because we are very proud of our program. We have nothing to be ashamed of." Tours of the animal research fa- cilities are open to anyone with a genuine concern and interest in the care of animals at U-M. In addition, Ringler meets with the Students Concerned About Animal Rights (SCAAR) annually to answer questions and provide access to the animal research labs. "I think that students are rela- tively comfortable with what we do," Ringler said. SCAAR member Holly McNulty said, "They give us the tours and explain the process and inform us of the committee's regulations on ap- proving experiments. We're not an- tagonistic." As far as the rumors are con- cerned, some students are still skeptical. "I didn't think they were true be- cause when it comes to research, the university is careful with their use of animals. There are a lot of regula- tions. Also, you don't usually find dead animals lying around in refrig- erators," said LSA senior Promod Sanghi. 9 I Drop me a line A new post office will open in TheI Galleria on South University. I *Group says Baker lobbied for financial self-interests WASHINGTON (AP) - White House Chief of Staff James Baker, who has large oil investments, played a role in the administration's effort to lobby Congress an oil spill liability in 1990 as secretary of state, documents show. The Project on Govern- ment Oversight, a liberal research group, said yesterday the documents raise ethical questions about actions by Baker, who heads President Bush's re-election campaign. Janet Mullins, a former State Department official who is now an assistant to Bush for political affairs at the White House, dismissed the group's statements as "totally Sogus." "Baker had absolutely nothing to do-with this issue," said Mullins, who worked on the oil spill liability issue. She co-authored a memo on the subject to Lawrence Eagleburger, the current acting sec- retary of state, who was then Baker's deputy. A memo from then- Transportation Secretary Samuel Lousma will resign from global studies group UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. (AP) - Jack Lousma, president and chief executive officer of the Consortium for Earth Science Information Network, will resign his post Feb. 1. The former Columbia space shuttle commander and aerospace engineer said he was resigning be- cause the group has developed a strong foundation and secure future. He wants to pursue other business interests and spend more time with his family. "It's time for me to climb some other mountains," said Lousma, a U-M graduate. CIESIN was founded three years ago as an international center for global change studies. It is one of nine Earth Observing System data centers that will be funded in the fu- ture by the NASA. The group's interim offices are located on the campus of Saginaw Valley State University. Federal funding has been obtained to build a permanent facility on Ojibway Skinner to Baker indicated the two discussed preparing a joint letter urg- ing Congress to approve interna- tional accords limiting oil compa- nies' liability for spills. The letter to Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell was signed by Skinner and Eagleburger but not by Baker. The March 1990 letter is one of several State Department documents on the matter obtained by the Project on Government Oversight, a non- profit group in Washington that in- vestigates activities of the executive branch and Congress. The group provided copies of the documents to the Associated Press. Baker had promised a month ear- lier to abstain from involvement in any issues affecting domestic oil and gas prices in order to avoid a conflict of interest. Baker's holdings include a share in a big oil-barge partnership based in his native Texas. "The ultimate question is whether Jim Baker's oil (abstention) is only a nominal one developed solely for public consumption, which ulti- 'Baker had absolutely nothing to do with this issue.' - Janet Mullins former State Department official mately means very little when gov- ernment decisions are made," said Liz Galtney, director of the research group. The letter to Mitchell was part of the Bush administration's effort to persuade Congress to ratify the in- ternational accords capping financial liability for oil spills. Tanker insurance rates had soared following the Exxon Valdez accident in Alaska in March 1989, the nation's worst oil spill. Limits on shippers' liability, which affect transport costs, can have an impact on oil prices. Mitchell opposes the interna- tional limits, arguing that they weren't strict enough and would pre- empt states' liability laws. Lawmakers rejected the international agreement. Earlier, Eagleberger signed the letter to Mitchell after being urged to do so in a memo from two State Department officials: Mullins, who was then assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs, and Peter Jon de Vos, deputy assistant secretary for oceans and international envi- ronmental affairs. The two noted that on March 13, 1990, "Secretary Skinner spoke to Secretary Baker asking him to co-au- thor a letter to Senator Mitchell, to urge his able assistance on behalf of the (oil spill accords). At that time (Baker) agreed." Mu1llins said yesterday that Baker and Skinner "never dis- cussed the substance of the issue, Baker had a casual conversation with Sam Skinner." Skinner, now general chair of the Republican National Committee, didn't immediately return a call seeking comment. 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