Powerful CEOs,cash bonus contracts and firm performance

We investigate whether powerful chief executive officers (CEOs) influence the conditions of their cash bonus contracts. Specifically, we examine (i) the association between CEO power and the proportion of ex-ante cash bonus to base salary (bonus ratio), (ii) the association between CEO power and the relative use of non-financial to financial performance targets in cash bonus contracts, and (iii) the performance consequences of incorporating non-financial targets in cash bonus contracts. Results show that powerful CEOs are associated with greater ex-ante bonus ratios and higher proportions of non-financial performance targets compared to less powerful CEOs. Furthermore, the use of quantitative and corporate social responsibility (CSR)-related non-financial performance targets is positively associated with subsequent firm performance, and the use of undefined non-financial performance targets is negatively associated with subsequent firm performance. These results are robust to alternative econometric specifications and variable definitions.     

Estimating and testing linkage disequilibrium from sib data

We consider estimation and testing of linkage equilibrium from genotypic data on a random sample of sibs, such as monozygotic and dizygotic twins. We compute the maximum likelihood estimator with an EM‐algorithm and a likelihood ratio statistic that takes the family structure into account. As we are interested in applying this to twin data we also allow observations on single children, so that monozygotic twins can be included. We allow non‐zero recombination fraction between the loci of interest, so that linkage disequilibrium between both linked and unlinked loci can be tested. The EM‐algorithm for computing the maximum likelihood estimator of the haplotype frequencies and the likelihood ratio test‐statistic, are described in detail. It is shown that the usual estimators of haplotype frequencies based on ignoring that the sibs are related are inefficient, and the likelihood ratio test for testing that the loci are in linkage disequilibrium.     

Corporate Governance Scoring Systems: What Do They Tell Us?

The failure of companies such as Enron in the United States, and One. Tel and HIH in Australia, and the collapse of Arthur Andersen have created a worldwide debate on the importance of good corporate governance practices. A number of accounting and consulting firms and rating agencies have responded to the debate by developing corporate governance scoring systems (CGSS). In this paper we seek evidence of whether CGSS convey any information about the financial characteristics and performance of companies. We find no evidence of any significant relationship between the corporate governance score and financial performance. However, we find a direct relationship between a firm's size and its corporate governance score.     

Introduction to Institutions,Entrepreneurship and Firm Growth: The Case of Sweden

Small Business Economics -     

Flexible technology and firm size

This paper provides the first empirical examination of the relationship between the application of flexible technologies and the firm-size distribution. In particular, we test the hypothesis that implementation of flexible technologies has tended to promote small firms more than large firms. Based on a sample of 36 engineering industries and using two distinct time periods between 1976 and 1986 and two different measures of what constitutes a small firm, we find that the application of certain flexible technologies, such as numerically controlled machines, has led to an increased presence of small firms, while the use of other flexible technologies, such as programmable robots, is associated with a decreased presence of small firms over time.     

OUTPUT AND PRICES IN THE INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON PROJECT*

In this paper we discuss a few of the problems that have been encountered in defining output and in comparing prices for the International Comparison Project (ICP). We report also on the way in which these problems are being met. The ICP has for its purpose the establishment of a systematic set of procedures for making international comparisons of gross domestic product (GDP) and of the purchasing power of currencies. Substantive work on comparisons involving Colombia, the European Economic Community (EEC), Hungary, India, Japan, Kenya, the United Kingdom and the United States is also being carried on with the aid of the statistical services of the countries and of the EEC. It is hoped to expand the comparisons beyond these countries as rapidly as possible.     

Entrepreneurial strategy and the presence of small firms

A model is presented hypothesizing that the level of small-firm presence in any given industry emanates from the exogenous stock of entrepreneurial talent, a stochastic element of managerial and entrepreneurial talent, entry deterrence, and the entrepreneurial strategy deployed by small firms. Using data newly released by the U.S. Small Business Administration, the hypothesis is tested for a sample of 247 four-digit standard industrial classification industries, spanning the entire spectrum of firm sizes. We find that, consistently for all the measures of small-firm size and for all of the time periods used, the existence of entry deterrence and reliance upon innovative strategy explains a significant proportion of the variation in the presence of small firms.     

Grounds for Refusal of Recognition of (Quasi‐) Annex Judgements in the Recast European Insolvency Regulation

Insolvency‐related (annex) actions and judgements fall within the scope of the Recast European Insolvency Regulation (‘Recast EIR’). That instrument both determines international jurisdiction regarding annex actions and sets up a simplified recognition system for annex judgements. However, tension between the Recast EIR's provisions on jurisdiction and recognition arises when a court of a state different from the state of insolvency erroneously assumes jurisdiction for annex actions. Such ‘quasi‐annex’ judgements rendered by foreign courts erroneously assuming jurisdiction threaten the integrity of the insolvency proceedings. Besides, the quasi‐annex judgements may violate the effectiveness and efficiency of the insolvency proceedings as well as the principle of legal certainty. In this article, it is argued that even the current legal framework may offer some ways to avoid the recognition of such quasi‐annex judgements. First, the scope of the public policy exception may be extended in order to protect the integrity of the insolvency proceedings from the quasi‐annex judgements rendered by foreign courts erroneously assuming jurisdiction. Second, it may be argued that quasi‐annex judgements do not equal real annex judgements and therefore do not enjoy the automatic recognition system provided by the Recast EIR. At the same time, their close connection to the insolvency proceedings – disregarded by the forum erroneously assuming jurisdiction – may exclude quasi‐annex judgements from the scope of the Brussels Ibis Regulation, as well. As a consequence, those quasi‐annex judgements may fall within the gap between the two regulations, meaning that no European instrument instructs the courts of the member state addressed to recognise quasi‐annex judgements. Copyright © 2017 INSOL International and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.