对法国和中国会计新制度的比较分析

本文通过对法国和中国会计制度的比较分析 ,论证了会计制度的形成受制于特定的社会经济条件。基本经济条件的变化会引起制度创新的必要。中国的发展中大国的特点决定了其会计制度改革必须立足于本国的条件 ,过于偏离这些条件可能会额外地增加改革的成本。在吸取先进国家经验方面 ,现阶段应更多地借鉴“欧洲大陆模式”而不是“英美模式” ,因为中国的社会经济条件与前者更为接近     

Public pensions and labor supply over the life cycle

In order to remain fiscally solvent, governments of many countries have reformed their public pension schemes to encourage labor supply at older ages. These reforms include reductions in the generosity of public pensions and reduced penalties for working past the normal retirement age. In this paper, we consider how reforms to public pension systems affect labor supply over the life cycle. We put the recent empirical evidence on the effect of government pensions on labor supply in a life cycle context, and we present evidence on the effectiveness of tax reforms for stimulating labor supply over the life cycle. Our main conclusion is that the labor supply of older workers is responsive to changes in retirement incentives. The labor supply of younger workers is less responsive. Thus the trend towards lower taxes on older workers in many developed countries should continue to fuel their trend towards later retirement.     

Comparing inequality aversion across countries when labor supply responses differ

We analyze to which extent social inequality aversion differs across nations when controlling for actual country differences in labor supply responses. Towards this aim, we estimate labor supply elasticities at both extensive and intensive margins for 17 EU countries and the US. Using the same data, inequality aversion is measured as the degree of redistribution implicit in current tax-benefit systems, when these systems are deemed optimal. We find relatively small differences in labor supply elasticities across countries. However, this changes the cross-country ranking in inequality aversion compared to scenarios following the standard approach of using uniform elasticities. Differences in redistributive views are significant between three groups of nations. Labor supply responses are systematically larger at the extensive margin and often larger for the lowest earnings groups, exacerbating the implicit Rawlsian views for countries with traditional social assistance programs. Given the possibility that labor supply responsiveness was underestimated at the time these programs were implemented, we show that such wrong perceptions would lead to less pronounced and much more similar levels of inequality aversion.     

社会保险费率调整的他国镜鉴:从全球趋势到典型国家经验

全球范围内,社会保险费率向下调整成为主流趋势。OECD国家、转轨国家及新兴经济体的平均费率在近十年明显下降,这与劳动生产率增速放缓、制度结构性调整及缴费基数快速上涨有一定关系。德国通过总费率内部结构调整实现了加险种不加负担;美国在费基限额设置上充分体现年龄、个体、职种差异,追求效率亦不失公平;英国的待遇水平与缴费年限严格挂钩,并为社会弱势群体设置缴费抵免优惠,彰显了制度济弱功能;俄罗斯废“税”为“费”,回归“保险”本质;日本的费率调整以财政平衡为目标,实施税制和社会保障“一体化改革”。基于典型国家的费率调整经验,我国的费率改革应坚持长期精算平衡,提升参数公平性,充分考虑特殊弱势群体利益,提高经办管理效率及统筹考虑综合税赋,以参数改革推动制度深层次结构性改革。     

Global work force 2000: the new world labor market

Just as there are global markets for products, technology, and capital, managers must now think of one for labor. Over the next 15 years, human capital, once the most stationary factor in production, will cross national borders with greater and greater ease. Driving the globalization of labor is a growing imbalance between the world's labor supply and demand. While the developed world accounts for most of the world's gross domestic product, its share of the world work force is shrinking. Meanwhile, in the developing countries, the work force is quickly expanding as many young people approach working age and as women join the paid work force in great numbers. The quality of that work force is also rising as developing countries like Brazil and China generate growing proportions of the world's college graduates. Developing nations that combine their young, educated workers with investor-friendly policies could leapfrog into new industries. South Korea, Taiwan, Poland, and Hungary are particularly well positioned for such growth. And industrialized countries that keep barriers to immigration low will be able to tap world labor resources to sustain their economic growth. The United States and some European nations have the best chance of encouraging immigration, while Japan will have trouble overcoming its cultural and language barriers.     

Simulating alternative social security responses to the demographic transition

"This paper uses a perfect foresight life cycle simulation model to examine the dynamic economic effects of baby 'booms' and baby 'busts' as well as the interaction of such demographic changes with social security policy. Demographic change can have sizeable short and long-run effects on saving rates and factors returns." The geographic focus is on the United States. "The model predicts long-run improvement in welfare associated with a prolonged baby bust. This improvement holds even in the absence of accommodating social security policy. It reflects a long-run decline in the dependency ratio, with the reduction in dependent children per worker more than offsetting the increase in retirees per worker."     

社会保障支出结构与社会效应关系的实证研究——基于不同社会保障模式的分析

世界各国在长期发展中形成了不同的社会保障模式,导致其社会保障支出结构及带来的社会效应均存在差异。本文选取典型模式代表国家美国、德国、瑞典的社会保障支出结构与社会效应指标,利用1995-2009年的数据,对二者之间的关系进行实证分析,发现3个国家两种指标之间的关系存在一定的相似性,大多数社会保障支出结构指标都对贫困人口率和基尼系数产生了负效应。我国可从中得到启示,进一步加大对残疾保障、住房保障、生存保障和教育支出的投入。     

The effect of financial repression and enforcement on entrepreneurship and economic development

A general equilibrium model with heterogeneous agents (with respect to wealth and ability) shows that differences across countries in intermediation costs and enforcement generate differences in occupational choice, firm size, credit, output and income inequality. Counterfactual experiments are performed for Latin American, European, transition and high growth Asian countries, with empirical estimates of each country's financial frictions and United States values for all other parameters. The results isolate the quantitative effect of these financial frictions in explaining the performance gap between each country and the United States, and depend critically on whether a general equilibrium factor price effect is operative.     

Taxation and Income Distribution Dynamics in a Neoclassical Growth Model

We examine how changes in tax policies affect the dynamics of the distributions of wealth and income in a Ramsey model in which agents differ in their initial capital endowments. The endogeneity of the labor supply plays a crucial role, as tax changes that affect hours of work will affect the distribution of wealth and income, reinforcing or offsetting the direct redistributive impact of taxes. We consider different ways of financing government expenditure and find that policies that reduce the labor supply are associated with lower output but also with a more equal distribution of after‐tax income. We illustrate these effects by examining the impact of recent tax changes observed in the United States and in European economies.     

Brand value accounting: an international comparison of perceived managerial implications

Data concerned with the managerial implications of brand value accounting were collected from accountants and marketing managers working in strongly branded companies in New Zealand (N.Z.), the United Kingdom (U.K.) and the United States (U.S.). Since the external reporting climate in the U.S. prohibits the inclusion of brand value as a separate asset in the published balance sheet, it was anticipated that U.S. managers would be the least positively disposed to the potential of beneficial managerial implications deriving from brand valuation. Contrary to this expectation, managers in the U.K are the least positively disposed to potential managerial implications associated with brand value accounting. This result is particularly interesting as brand value accounting has commanded considerable attention from the U.K. accounting profession since the late 1980s when several large U.K. companies elected to capitalize brand values in their external financial statements. In addition to the international differences noted, the degree of commonality of findings across the three countries is also noteworthy. The data reported provide strong support for the view that there is considerable potential for positive managerial implications from brand value accounting.     

Cross-listing dynamics and labor investment efficiency: International evidence

This paper investigates the dynamics of cross-listing in the United States and labor investment efficiency. Using a sample of 11,780 firm-year observations from 44 countries over the period 2000–2019, we found that cross-listing is positively associated with labor investment efficiency. This result suggests that cross-listing is associated with lower deviations in labor investment at the level explained by economic fundamentals. We also found that cross-listing reduces both overinvestment and underinvestment problems. The positive impact of cross-listing on labor investment efficiency is more prevalent for firms from countries with weaker institutions and higher liabilities due to foreignness and for those operating in industries with low litigation risk. Further evidence shows that labor investment efficiency following cross-listing in the United States translates into high firm valuation. Our findings are robust to endogeneity concerns and have important policy implications.     

Macroeconomic Adjustment and Poverty in Selected Industrial Countries

The business cycle affects the incidence of poverty, as shownby evidence from Australia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, andthe United States. Many of the poor in these countries are outsidethe labor market, and transfers are a major source of incomefor many others, but the unemployment and wage reductions thatoccur in recession increase the incidence of poverty. Majorcauses of poverty are unemployment in Australia and the UnitedKingdom and low wages in the United States. Similar cyclicaleffects are observed in Sweden, but a vast transfer programvirtually eliminates poverty. There are several policy optionsfor combating poverty caused by recession. A combination ofunemployment insurance for a limited period followed by a jobguarantee is the most effective policy toward unemployment,whereas poverty caused by low earnings can be remedied by redistributionthrough the tax system.     

Labor Market Effects of Spatial Licensing Requirements: Evidence from CPA Mobility

We exploit the staggered introduction of CPA Mobility provisions in the United States to study the effects of spatial licensing requirements on the labor market for accounting professionals. Specifically, we examine whether the removal of licensing‐induced geographic barriers affects CPA wages and employment levels, as well as the pricing and quality of professional services. We find that, subsequent to the adoption of CPA Mobility provisions, wages of accounting professionals decrease, whereas employment levels are unaffected. The documented wage effect stems from smaller CPA firms, is more pronounced for CPAs holding senior positions, and persists over time. We also find that service prices decline and that this effect is concentrated in local CPA firms. Moreover, we document that the increased wage and price pressure is not associated with deteriorating service quality. Collectively, our results suggest that the removal of occupational licensing barriers has sizable effects on labor supply and service prices. Our findings inform the current regulatory debate on occupational licensing.     

University Accounting Programs and Professional Accountancy Training: Can UK Pragmatism Inform the Australian Debate?

Professional accountancy training and academic accounting programs in the United Kingdom (UK) have remained resolutely separate, despite attempts at partial integration through a system of accreditation and exemptions. This is in contrast with the situation in some other countries, notably the United States (US) and until recently Australia. This paper identifies some historical reasons for their having developed in this way and for their continuing distinctiveness. We conclude that the approach is both workable and adaptable, albeit idiosyncratic, with changes occurring over time that reflect the shifting sands of market and political pressures. With six recognised accounting bodies in the UK, this ability to respond to change is important and we surmise that it would take some fundamental shift in circumstance, such as a move towards European standardisation, for a different model to prevail in the UK.     

Public transfers to the poor: is Europe really much more generous than the United States?

Fighting poverty is an important concern in most societies. This usually involves transferring resources to the poor. There exists a widespread view that European countries are much more generous to the poor than the United States. We study whether this is really the case. First, we argue that using data on aggregate spending does not allow us to conclude who the final recipients of social expenditure are. We then analyze microeconomic evidence from the Current Population Survey and the European Community Household Panel and find mixed results. In particular, when the concept of relative poverty is used, we find that every individual below the poverty line receives an average transfer in the United States that is 45% higher than in the European Union. When the old are excluded from the sample, this difference is reduced to 14%.     

劳动杠杆的定价效力:来自中国A股市场的证据

本文选取中国沪深A股2002年至2018年的季度数据,从公司层面考察了劳动杠杆(由劳动力成本粘性特征导致的企业利润变化率大于产出变化率的经济现象,可理解为不考虑固定成本时经营杠杆的特殊表现形式)对股票截面收益率的定价效力。结果发现:(1)劳动杠杆对截面收益率具有显著负向影响,具体表现为高劳动杠杆公司的收益率低于低劳动杠杆公司的收益率;(2)该影响在控制了公司特征后依然显著存在;(3)该影响在不同经济周期下表现不同:在经济下行期,负向定价效力更为明显。进一步地,本文通过生产率冲击和工资冲击这两个风险来源探究了劳动杠杆的作用机制。结果表明,劳动杠杆一方面通过生产率冲击产生显著正向影响,另一方面通过工资冲击产生显著负向影响。但后者的影响程度显著强于前者,两者的相对重要性取决于上市公司的技术水平。相关结果能够为公司应对劳动力成本上升、理解劳动杠杆的定价机制及相关投资策略的制定和风险管理等提供经验支持。     

Market competition,earnings management,and persistence in accounting profitability around the world

We examine how cross-country differences in product, capital, and labor market competition, as well as earnings management affect mean reversion in accounting return on assets. Using a sample of 48,465 unique firms from 49 countries, we find that accounting returns mean revert faster in countries where there is more product and capital market competition, as predicted by economic theory. Country differences in labor market competition and earnings management are also related to mean reversion in accounting returns—but the relation varies with firm performance. Country labor competition increases mean reversion when unexpected returns are positive but slows it when unexpected returns are negative. Accounting returns in countries with higher earnings management mean revert more slowly for profitable firms and more rapidly for loss firms. Thus earnings management incentives to slow or speed up mean reversion in accounting returns are accentuated in countries where there is a high propensity for earnings management. Overall, these findings suggest that country factors explain mean reversion in accounting returns and are therefore relevant for firm valuation.     

A comparison of V-I-E model predictions: A cross-national study in professional accounting firms

Behavioral research in accounting has largely ignored the impact of cross-national differences. This paper deviates from that trend and reports the results of a study comparing the predictive ability of the Valence-Instrumentality-Expectancy (V-I-E) model of motivation in two cultural settings: Australia and the United States of America. Data was collected from a matched sample of 45 staff-level auditors drawn from a large public accounting firm in each of the two respective countries. The findings indicate that few differences exist between the two groups with respect to personal value structures, motivation levels, and perceptions of the work environment. The results are significant both as a systematic cross-national comparison of accounting groups and as an extension of current V-I-E research in accounting.     

The Effect of Regulatory Harmonization on Cross‐Border Labor Migration: Evidence from the Accounting Profession

The paper examines whether international regulatory harmonization increases cross‐border labor migration. To study this question, we analyze European Union initiatives that harmonized accounting and auditing standards. Regulatory harmonization should reduce economic mobility barriers, essentially making it easier for accounting professionals to move across countries. Our research design compares the cross‐border migration of accounting professionals relative to tightly matched other professionals before and after regulatory harmonization. We find that international labor migration in the accounting profession increases significantly relative to other professions. We provide evidence that this effect is due to harmonization, rather than increases in the demand for accounting services during the implementation of the rule changes. The findings illustrate that diversity in rules constitutes an economic barrier to cross‐border labor mobility and, more specifically, that accounting harmonization can have a meaningful effect on cross‐border migration.