An assessment of the economic and environmental potential of biomass production in an agricultural region

The establishment of deep-rooted perennial species and their processing for biomass-based products such as renewable energy can have benefits for both local and global scale environmental objectives. In this study, we assess the potential economic viability of biomass production in the South Australian River Murray Corridor and quantify the resultant benefits for local and global scale environmental objectives. We model the spatial distribution of economically viable biomass production in a Geographic Information System and quantify the model sensitivity and uncertainty using Monte Carlo analysis. The total potentially viable area for biomass production under the Most Likely Scenario is 360,728 ha (57.7% of the dryland agricultural area), producing over 3 million tonnes of green biomass per annum, with a total Net Present Value over 100 years of A$ 88 million. The salinity in the River Murray could be reduced by 2.65 EC (μS/cm) over a 100-year timeframe, and over 96,000 ha of land with high wind erosion potential could be stabilised over a much shorter period. With sufficient generating capacity, our Most Likely Scenario suggests that economically viable biomass production could reduce carbon emissions by over 1.7 million tonnes per annum through the production of renewable energy and a reduced reliance on coal-based electricity generation. Our analyses suggest that biomass production is a potentially viable alternative agricultural system that can have substantial local scale environmental benefits with complimentary global scale benefits for climate change mitigation.     

Law‐abiding organizational climates in developing countries: The role of institutional factors and socially responsible organizational practices

The institutional environment of developing countries may lead firms to engage in unlawful firm conduct, which is a pervasive problem in this context. Our paper examines the effectiveness of organizational practices for ensuring that firms adhere to the law in the light of pressures from the institutional environment to be unlawful. Using the lens of anomie theory, we investigate: (a) the negative effect of aspects of the institutional context—regulatory burden and lack of industry munificence—on a law‐abiding climate, a type of organizational climate related to unlawful conduct, and (b) the role of socially responsible organizational practices in combating these negative effects. Survey data were collected from 118 firms and analysed using OLS moderated regression. Our results indicate that a manager's perceptions of regulatory burden and lack of industry munificence are negatively related to the extent to which the firm has a law‐abiding climate. Furthermore, our findings shed light on the ability of socially responsible practices to countervail this effect. While the negative effect of perceived regulatory burden on law‐abiding climate weakens when codes of ethics are used more extensively by a firm, it strengthens when firms hold a CSR certification. The latter finding may be due to the lack of enforcement associated with the specific certification considered in our study.     

Estimating the relationship between labour market tightness,unemployment insurance benefits and union election activity

Using detailed data from the US National Labor Relations Board, we find labour market tightness, defined as the ratio of job vacancies to the number of unemployed, has a positive relationship with the likelihood of voting in favour of union representation. Specifically, a 1 SD increase in labour market tightness increases Vote Share in favour and the likelihood of union certification by roughly 1.5% and 3%, respectively. We also find that length of unemployment insurance benefits has a positive relationship with Vote Share in favour. Taken together, these results suggest that workers are more comfortable engaging in pro-union election behaviours when exogenous conditions, like labour market tightness and unemployment insurance benefit duration, shift in a way that more favourably insulates them from unemployment and income risk.     

Individual Competence and Committee Decision Making: Experimental Evidence

Committee decision making relies on the competence of its members. The individual's competence is driven by the pre-meeting efforts. These investments constitute a public good and, consequently, free riding is a concern. We build off of previous theoretical results which point out that as committees grow in size, free riding becomes more severe. However, experimental and empirical research suggests that individuals are willing to make voluntary contributions. This motivation should lead to increased effort when the number who benefit increases. To differentiate between these hypotheses we explore experimentally the effect that changes in group size have on competence investment decisions in a committee setting. Decision problems differ by whether the expansion increases the number of voters on the committee or the number who are affected by the committee's decision. We find evidence supporting the hypothesis that as committees grow in size there is a reduction in effort invested. We find some evidence of an adverse reaction to non-contributing beneficiaries is observed as well. Heterogeneous responses arise and are explored.     

South Pacific tourism in the mid-1980s

The Pacific Islands have weathered the world economic recession well, but not without changes in their approach to tourism. Poor economic conditions coupled with US airline deregulation caused considerable reassessment. The fear of recession, together with optimism concerning the future resulted in new services (while others were going out of business), a spate of hotel construction plans (even in areas with low occupancy rates) and a softening of attitudes towards tourism. The possibility of a huge Pacific Basin (Rim) market strongly influenced these development policies.     

Accounting For Employee Share Options

Accounting for employee share options (ESOs) has caused a furore in the United States. Understandably, Australian standard-setters are moving cautiously but have signalled they may follow the FASB's lead. ESOs are a major form of executive remuneration but have not usually been recognised in the employer's financial statements unless and until they are exercised. The FASB has proposed that ESOs be valued on their grant date and immediately recognised as an asset (prepaid compensation) and additional shareholders' equity (options outstanding); the asset is then to be amortised over the period in which the employee's services are received. We describe and comment on the debate, in the light of the proposal's likely impact on firms' financial profiles.     

Whither IPOs? Toward an Ecosystem Perspective on Corporate Financing: A Commentary

This commentary reviews the Canadian initial public offering (IPO) market and positions it within global capital market trends. Our views and comments reflect discussions with several market participants whom we have met over the years. Essentially, the falling number of IPOs in Canada during the last decade mimics trends in other developed countries such as the United States. In our view, five underlying factors underlie that decline. The picture that emerges is that capital markets are now widely viewed as a global integrated ecosystem where all actors are interconnected and an IPO represents but one way to raise capital.     

The Inflation Hedging Characteristics of US and UK Investments: A Multi-Factor Error Correction Approach

Historic analysis of the inflation hedging properties of stocks has produced anomalous results, with stocks often appearing to offer a perverse hedge. This has been attributed to the impact of real and monetary shocks to the economy, which influence both inflation and asset returns. It has been argued that real estate should provide a better hedge: however, empirical results have been mixed. This paper explores the relationship between commercial real estate returns and economic, fiscal and monetary factors and inflation for US and UK markets. Comparative analysis of general equity and small capitalization stock returns is carried out with inflation divided into expected and unexpected components. The analyses are undertaken using an error correction approach. In the long run, once real and monetary variables are included, asset returns are positively linked to anticipated inflation but not to inflation shocks. Adjustment processes are, however, gradual and not within period. Real estate returns, particularly private market returns, exhibit characteristics that differ from those of stocks.