A wicksellian indicator of monetary policy

This paper compares actual U.S. monetary policy with an ideal policy based upon Wicksell's theory of natural and market rates of interest. For the period 1952–1971, this comparison indicates that actual policies behaved in a distinctly pro-cyclical manner with the result that monetary policies amplified the magnitude of the business cycles. The explanation offered suggests that this stems from the central bank's attempt to stabilize the interest rate which is consistent with one of the paper's findings of a highly significant positive relationship between changes in the natural rate of interest and changes in the monetary base.     

Regulation as a means for the social control of technology

The argument that regulation is a necessary, though controversial, component of technology policy is discussed in detail. Ib addition to the regulation of technology, various other regulatory policies, such as market regulation, affect the development of technology. Various types of direct regulation and their conditions of operation are discussed. It is shown that regulation can afect technological innovation positively by providing a surrogate market. The paper serves as an introduction to this special issue and shows how the different contributions fit into a general framework of regulatory effects on technolgy. Regulation as a factor in competition is discussed, particularly in the context of developing countries.     

Board gender diversity and dividend policy in Australian listed firms: the effect of ownership concentration

Asia Pacific Journal of Management - We examine the association between board gender diversity and corporate dividend payout. Our results suggest that although board gender diversity impacts...     

The capital market implications of the frequency of interim financial reporting: an international analysis

This study examines empirically the extent to which the frequency of interim financial reporting affects stock price volatility over the course of the fiscal year in four countries with different interim reporting regimes: the United States and Canada with quarterly reporting, and Great Britain and Australia with semi-annual interim reporting. It is hypothesized that, in the tradeoff between timeliness and predictive value of the interim reports, semi-annual interim reporting will lead to lesser price volatility after accounting for other potential influences. These expectations are supported in the results found. Moreover, additional tests conducted on American ADRs of British and Australian companies show that those firms have higher volatility than comparable purely domestic firms on their home stock exchanges.

Bayesian learning and convergence to Nash equilibria without common priors

Summary. Consider an infinitely repeated game where each player is characterized by a “type” which may be unknown to the other players in the game. Suppose further that each player's belief about others is independent of that player's type. Impose an absolute continuity condition on the ex ante beliefs of players (weaker than mutual absolute continuity). Then any limit point of beliefs of players about the future of the game conditional on the past lies in the set of Nash or Subjective equilibria. Our assumption does not require common priors so is weaker than Jordan (1991); however our conclusion is weaker, we obtain convergence to subjective and not necessarily Nash equilibria. Our model is a generalization of the Kalai and Lehrer (1993) model. Our assumption is weaker than theirs. However, our conclusion is also weaker, and shows that limit points of beliefs, and not actual play, are subjective equilibria. Received: March 3, 1995; revised version: February 17, 1997     

On Compliance with Ethical Standards in Tax Return Preparation

The Statements on Responsibilities in Tax Practice (SRTPs) provide guidance to the CPA when making decisions in tax practice. Many of these decisions are ethical in nature and have implications for tax compliance. In this study, a survey methodology is used to test whether the SRTPs affect decisions that CPAs make. The findings suggest that a clear majority of CPAs follow the SRTPs when making ethical decisions relating to tax return preparation and that CPAs follow the SRTPs more often than unlicensed preparers on half the issues tested. However, a statistically significant number of CPAs do not follow the SRTPs and, CPAs do not follow the SRTPs any more often than unlicensed tax preparers on three issues.     

Human resource development in the Sultanate of Oman

This study explores the scenario of human resource development (HRD) in the Sultanate of Oman. The investigation was conducted with the help of a questionnaire survey in stateowned enterprises (SOEs). The research findings highlight an increased emphasis on HRD initiatives at a national level in Omani firms. There is a significant degree of awareness among the top managers regarding the benefits of a strategic approach to HRD. Despite all this, the implementation of HRD programmes has not been particularly successful. This is because the state has not been able to develop the skills and competencies of the Omani workforce to the levels required under the sixth national five–year plan. The article makes a number of recommendations in this regard. It also highlights key research areas for further examination.     

The Impact of FDI Inflow on Domestic Firms’ Uptake of CSR Activities: The Moderating Effects of Host Institutions

This study examines whether foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow helps or hinders local firms’ uptake of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities in a developing host country. The study further examines the interaction effect of host institutions on the relationship between FDI inflow and local firms’ uptake of CSR activities. Results of hierarchical regression analysis of data from a sample of 227 local firms in Ghana, reveal that local firms’ uptake of CSR improves significantly with an increasing inflow of FDI through knowledge transfer. Host institutions are also found to influence the transfer of CSR activities from foreign firms to local firms. However, when the quality of institutions is very high, the impact of FDI on local firms’ CSR activities diminishes. Research and practical implications of these findings are discussed. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.