Inventing a sustainable future: Australia and the challenge of eco-innovation

Australia's possible futures depend on choices that are made now. One key to Australia's directions and success will be its capacity to shape an environment for innovation which meets its broader economic, social and environmental goals. We argue from both past successes and future potentials that opportunities are available for Australians to frame for themselves an economically attractive and globally constructive role by shaping their strategies to facilitate eco-innovation directed towards environmental sustainability.We contrast the role of past innovations in facilitating critical developments in the amelioration of the destruction of stratospheric ozone with current opportunities for Australia to contribute through innovation to resolving the problem of anthropogenic global warming and climate change. In particular, we focus on the powerful potential role of information technology in facilitating technological and social innovation towards sustainability through eco-innovation, and discuss key strategic principles in the context of the potential of technologies already under development. Such technologies offer exciting and important choices for Australians over the next few years.     

An early pricing model regarding the value of a cat: A historical note

Have you ever worried about how much your cat was worth? The ancient Welsh had a formalized system for cat valuation. This system, however, illustrates that the Welsh recognized and faced many of the same vexing problems facing today's valuation theorists.     

‘Radiant with possibility’: Involving young people in creating a vision for the future of their community

This paper argues that young people need to be given the opportunity to recognise the interaction between their own understandings of the world as it is now and the vision of what it might become. To support this argument, we discuss an urban planning project, known as the Lower Mill Site Project, which involved active participation of high school students from the local community. The outcomes of this project demonstrate the positive contributions young people can make to the process of urban redevelopment, the advantages of using a participatory design approach, and the utopian possibilities that can emerge when young people are invited to be part of an intergenerational community project.     

Repurchase premia as a reason for dividends: a dynamic model of corporate payout policies

We propose that it is precisely because firms' repurchases oftheir own stock through tender offers are associated with largestock-price increases that repurchases are unattractive as ameans o distributing cash. As a result, firms distribute somecash in the form of dividends - despite the tax disadvantage- and carry the rest to future periods. However, when theirstock is sufficiently undervalued, firms distribute all accumulatedcash through stock repurchases. We show that dividends are smoothedand are positively related both to earnings innovations andto previous period's dividends. Also, the stock-price reactionto a repurchase announcement, of a given size, is increasingin the previous period's dividends.     

Analysing the role of sustainable development indicators in accounting for and constructing a Sustainable Scotland

The main objective of this paper was to analyse how sustainable development indicators impacted upon the integration of sustainable development into the governing of Scotland. A major concern was whether an accounting technology could represent this complex multi-dimensional and interdisciplinary concept. We analysed the relationship between the official sustainable development strategy of the Scottish Executive and the associated indicator set using an analytics of government framework (Dean, M. (1999). Governmentality: Power and rule in modern society. London: Sage Publications. Dean, M. (2007). Governing societies. Berkshire: Open University Press). We observed a lack of alignment between these sustainable development indicators and the visions, fields of visibilities, forms of knowledge and techniques of government contained in this strategy. Critical aspects of this strategy were omitted from the indicator set and we argue that these indicators did not to effectively measure progress towards a Sustainable Scotland but that they could calculatively capture and distort the sustainable development governing process. The analytical framework used allowed us to problematise these indicators and contribute to a wider discourse on the composition and nature of sustainable development indicators.     

Students staying home: Questioning the wisdom of a digital future for Australian universities

The understanding of the role of global digital technologies in the future of Australian universities mirrors the international debate as exemplified by some of the articles in this special issue of Futures. However, this debate between cautious optimists on the one hand and supreme optimists on the other is misleading, because the future for universities lies neither in a grudging acceptance of technology's inevitability nor a mindless embrace of it. The complex evolution to a true ‘knowledge supernetwork' requires an understanding of the socially constructed nature of technologies including the social technology known as learning. Moreover, it requires us to reinstate a perspective missing from both the articles in this issue and from the debate in Australia, namely that of students.     

Enabling, enacting and maintaining action at a distance: An historical case study of the role of accounts in the reduction of the Navajo herds

The role of accounting in enabling action at a distance has received considerable attention in the accounting literature. In this paper we examine the role of accounts in the actions taken by government officials in Washington, DC to reduce the size of the Navajo livestock holdings on their reservation in the southwestern United States in the 1930s. We examine the role of accounts in three acts: first in enabling action at a distance, second in enacting action in the local setting and finally, in shoring up, or maintaining action when things go wrong. We argue that in order to understand the role of accounts in these three acts, it is necessary to examine the conditions of possibility within which they emerge, the network of agents who adopt and give them life and the way in which they become entwined with various and shifting strategies. We also examine how action taken in Washington, DC had profound consequences for the Navajo when attempts were made to enact actions taken at a distance on the reservation.     

Back to the future: The dream of a perpetuum mobile in the atomic society and the hydrogen economy

This article analyses a certain kind of society in which it is proclaimed that abundant energy can be used without any negative side effects. In such “utopias”, individual needs are described as unrestricted, and economic and technological change is said to be unlimited - as if the society were to have a perpetuum mobile at its command. The two examples connected with such expectations are “the atomic/nuclear society” and “the hydrogen economy”. Although these two utopias do differ, their many similarities are the focus of this article. They are similar in that they both invoke the dream of controlling a virtual perpetuum mobile, propose an expert/lay knowledge gap, downplay any risks involved, and rely on a public relations campaign to ensure the public’s collaboration with companies and politicians. I thus connect these two different utopias, discussing them as a part of the modern history of energy production and consumption. Making this connection clarifies some lessons for future energy planning, such as the need for reflection on and critical engagement with utopias, awareness of how a more participatory democratic process may be secured regarding energy issues, and the negative consequences if risk is described in solely economic terms.     

A model for evaluating extreme risks with stochastic sustainability criteria: a case study of soil remediation on landfill sites

This article addresses the issue of risk management for extreme events. The term stochastic sustainability will be defined in relation to the risk management of extreme events. On the basis of stochastic sustainability, a risk evaluation function is defined as an efficient reserve to remedy contaminations just as a premium rating in insurance policy. A term of generalized safety loading is used as a key concept to evaluate the degree of extremeness of risk. A simple model of the environmental or infrastructure systems is used to illustrate the procedure of risk evaluation where stochastic sustainability is required in case of accidental

environmental contamination. A case study of soil contamination at landfill sites is presented as an example to test this risk evaluation function.     

A framework for journal assessment: The case of the Journal of Banking & Finance

We propose a citation-based framework for the assessment of journal influence and demonstrate its application with the Journal of Banking and Finance. The framework assesses the current position of the journal, its trends and the reasons behind the trends. The Journal of Banking and Finance is found to be one of the leading journals in the field of finance and its influence is increasing. In fact, it appears to be part of a group of leading journals that is separating itself from the other journals that are generally regarded as peers. Finally, the Journal of Banking and Finance is found to be the only leading finance journal with a high concentration of banking articles, making it a primary outlet for influential articles in this area.     

投资性房地产公允价值计量的财务影响与决定因素:以北辰实业为例

以北辰实业为例,本文分析了企业在投资性房地产成本模式与公允价值计量模式之间选择的财务影响及其决定因素。与成本模式相比,投资性房地产公允价值计量将大幅提高其账面价值,加剧了企业当期净利润的波动。北辰实业在A股年报中采用成本模式,而在H股年报中采用公允价值计量,这主要源于以下因素:(1)香港会计准则与我国会计准则的差异;(2)两地监管机构对公允价值会计的态度不同;(3)两地投资性房地产信息披露的差异;(4)资本市场成熟度与投资者的理性程度的差异。最后我们总结了本案例对于企业选择公允价值计量模式、监管层推行公允价值会计与应对会计国际趋同三个方面的政策含义。     

Compliance costs for personal income tax in a transition country: the case of Slovenia

The evaluation of taxpayers' compliance costs has grown in significance within tax system research over the last 15 years. In 2001, two surveys of VAT and personal income taxpayers were conducted in Slovenia to evaluate compliance costs for the 2000 fiscal year. This paper presents the results of research into compliance costs for personal income tax in Slovenia. The results show that compliance costs for personal income tax are relatively low, primarily because most taxpayers consider filing their tax declaration to be a simple procedure, which means that consultancy costs are low.     

The effects on investment incentives of an allowance for corporate equity tax system: the Belgian case as an example

The Modigliani–Miller theorem serves as the standard finance paradigm on corporate capital structure and managerial decision making. Implicitly, it is assumed that the market possesses full information about the firm. However, if firm managers have insider information, they may attempt to ‘signal’ changes in the firm’s financial structure and, in competitive equilibrium, shareholders will draw deductions from such signals. Empirical work shows that the value of underlying firms rises with leverage because investors expect such firms to implement positive NPV projects. We empirically examine this view using a sample of debt issue announcements by publicly traded firms listed on the London Stock Exchange. We argue that the timing of debt issues is fundamental in determining the relationship between leverage and risk-adjusted returns. We show that an announcing firm’s intrinsic value may not rise depending on when management publicly ‘signals’ changes in their firm’s capital structure. Specifically, we show that risk-adjusted returns rise positively for firms that make debt announcements during normal economic conditions while they tend to decline for firms making debt announcements during recessionary periods. During recessionary periods, market risk and loss aversion rise and investors focus less on the potential growth of debt announcing firms and focus more on potential losses instead. We conclude that the timing of new debt is of paramount importance and managers’ inability to prudently time such announcements can lead to exacerbated levels of systematic risk coupled with a significant erosion in shareholder wealth.     

作为刑罚附随后果的失信惩戒政策文献研究——以营商环境的法治化为视角

社会信用体系的建设本质上是为了加强法律的实施,是我国"营商环境法治化"改革的一项重要内容.基于对我国营商环境政策文献的大数据分析,我国营商环境法治化的发展轨迹可以分为三个阶段,我国社会信用体系建设在三个阶段呈现出不同的特征,关注的重点领域有明显差异.鉴于作为刑罚附随后果的失信惩戒存在不区分犯罪类别、犯罪故意、犯罪刑罚等问题,我国的信用体系建设应以优化营商环境为主要落脚点,在满足经济发展需求的基础上再考虑赋予其更多的职能.     

The tick/volatility ratio as a determinant of the compass rose: empirical evidence from decimalisation on the NYSE

Recent research suggests that volatility has an important role to play in the appearance of the compass rose pattern. The introduction of decimal prices on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) provides an ideal opportunity to test this hypothesis using actual market data. The empirical evidence presented in this paper suggests that the 85 per cent reduction in the tick/volatility ratio resulting from the decimalisation of prices was not sufficient to eliminate the compass rose pattern.     

Statement of the Financial Economists Roundtable: Bank Capital as a Substitute for Prudential Regulation

The Financial CHOICE Act recently passed by the House proposes to create an “off‐ramp” that would allow banks to escape burdensome prudential regulation if the ratio of their equity capital to their total assets is 10% or more. The Financial Economists Roundtable supports this idea as a means of reducing regulatory costs, but believes some additional safeguards are needed. A capital ratio of 10% may not be high enough to discourage banks from excessive risk taking. A solution is to have two capital requirements for banks choosing the off‐ramp: one absolute (as proposed in the act) and one risk‐based. The FER believes that many banks will prefer this regime to the current burdensome prudential regulation, especially if regulators simplify the setting of risk weights and make them more rule‐based. Regulators setting minimum capital requirements should consider not only a bank’s stand‐alone risk, but also the systemic risk posed by banks, as well as the tendency of accounting measures of income and assets to overstate the economic value of banks’ equity capital. The Financial Choice Act would also eliminate useful elements of ongoing supervision and regulation, not all of which can be addressed by higher capital alone. Furthermore, to facilitate regulatory learning about risks, off‐ramped banks should continue to report the data that regulators use for stress tests, even if they are no longer subjected to the discipline of stress tests. Finally, the act is viewed as too permissive in its treatment of off‐ramped banks that get into trouble. To prevent gaming of regulation, FERC recommends that off‐ramped banks that subsequently fall below the minimum requirements should be required to raise new capital immediately.     

Future roles of business in society: the expanding boundaries of corporate responsibility and a compelling case for partnership

The roles and responsibilities of business in society, in particular global business, are being defined more broadly by an expanding range of stakeholders. This paper aims to review these changes and their implications in order to understand better the likely future expectations of business in society and the way in which leading companies are setting new standards of responsible business practice. It begins by tracing trends within corporate social responsibility debates, and then draws on empirical research and observed stakeholder demands of business, to argue that the boundaries of corporate responsibility are advancing both internally and externally.Internally, these boundaries are changing in terms of the increased responsibility of corporations towards their direct and indirect internal stakeholders. This is shown through innovations in business practice to achieve enhanced social justice in the workplace, improved governance, and more accurate disclosure of non-financial risk. This paper provides a context for this discussion by examining emerging international law, guidelines and voluntary initiatives, regulatory frameworks, and risk review procedures that increasingly seek to redefine corporate responsibility by establishing new norms of best practice and behaviour. These boundaries are also expanding externally, as society increasingly expects global business to work with others to provide solutions to humanitarian crises and endemic problems facing the world. This paper explores how some companies are doing this by applying core competencies in ways that integrate social development and business goals. It suggests, in turn, that the challenges of these expanding boundaries of responsibilities are best addressed through strategic partnerships.This paper concludes that there are new multi-stakeholder convened global governance frameworks evolving that are encouraging businesses of the future to re-invent themselves as a ‘force for positive good’ in society. This involves going beyond the paradigm of simply ‘doing no harm’, and way beyond previous expectations of business as being only about shareholder value. This prediction is supported by examples drawn from the practice of global companies that are already innovating to fulfil this wider role.     

Implications of a TAF program stigma for lenders: the case of publicly traded banks versus privately held banks

Term auction facility (TAF) was created during the financial crisis as a substitute for the Federal Reserve’s discount window, the lender of last resort. We hypothesize if TAF borrowing is viewed as a bailout then publicly traded banks would borrow relatively fewer TAF funds to avoid a bailout stigma. We find publicly traded banks did borrow less (as a percent of total assets) in the TAF program than privately held banks. Further, too-big-to-fail banks and investment banks borrowed relatively less than other publicly traded banks indicating greater levels of public scrutiny reduces borrowing under emergency government liquidity programs. We also find that publicly traded banks pledged lower quality and less liquid collateral than private banks when borrowing under the program. Our results suggest TAF provided more benefit to traditional privately held banks with strong balance sheets that were able to borrow relatively greater amounts in anticipation of either future liquidity needs as suggested by Ivashina and Scharfstein (J Financ Econ 97:319–338, 2010) or increased lending as found by Berger et al. (The Federal Reserve’s discount window and TAF programs: “pushing on a string?” Working paper, University of South Carolina, 2014).