Financial reporting quality effects of imposing (gender) quotas on boards of directors

We analyze whether the passage of a Norwegian law requiring a minimum of a 40 percent of women on the boards of public firms affected financial reporting quality. Our results are consistent with a decrease in financial reporting quality for the firms that were most affected by the passage of the law, and with the effects being relatively short-lived. We also find evidence that board members characteristics, beyond gender, changed due to this law. These changes can partially explain our findings. Overall, our results show that mandating large changes to board composition over a relatively small period of time negatively affects financial reporting.     

Increasing Wages,Factor Substitution,and Cropping Pattern Changes in China

This article analyzed the influence of increasing wages on cropping patterns from theoretical and empirical perspectives. The results showed that the increasing labor cost provided a significant incentive to adjust the grain cropping pattern, which increased the production of the three major cereal grains but reduced the production of other grain crops. Increasing wages had a significant negative impact on cash crops. More labor-intensive cash crops experienced a larger negative impact in the context of increasing wages. The increase in labor costs also had a negative impact on the proportion of vegetables produced, which was more evident in northern China. A further mechanism test indicated that factor substitution was a significant reason for cropping pattern changes; this illustrated the substitution of labor by machinery not only between grain crops and cash crops but also among different cash crops.     

Dodd–Frank's impact on community-bank investment models: A Bayesian structural time series analysis

We use Bayesian structural time series (BSTS) methodology to test whether the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (DF) caused changes in community bank business models. The BSTS methodology uses the pre-DF period to create synthetic counterfactuals for community-bank dependent variables of interest. In the post-DF period, the counterfactuals become predictions of the dependent variables had DF not been enacted. Comparing post-DF predicted versus actual dependent variables allows us to estimate the causal impact of DF on these variables of interest. We find that relative to assets, community banks significantly reduce their lending activities and significantly increase investment in securities and excess reserves.     

Changes in accounting estimates: An update of priors or an earnings management strategy of “last resort”?

Evidence from prior research is mixed about whether accounting estimate changes are strategically motivated, on average, or whether they reflect new or updated information. To interpret this difference, we investigate, by category of material changes in accounting estimates, the association between estimate changes and subsequent restatements. We also explore the determinants of both income-increasing and income-decreasing estimate changes for different categories of estimate changes. We find that the motivations for and the determinants of estimate changes depend on the type of change and on whether the changes in estimates are income-increasing or income-decreasing. Overall, we conclude that when companies are motivated to bias earnings and they cannot do so by manipulating other within generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) accruals, they sometimes resort to using estimate changes. Our more detailed investigation of estimate changes at the account level suggests a more nuanced view of the determinants of changes in accounting estimates. We develop a more complete model of the determinants of changes in accounting estimates than those used in this emerging literature, which should be of interest to accounting academics, regulators, audit practitioners and audit committee members.     

基于多水平发展模型的工业生产性服务外部化时空分异及影响因素研究

针对中国东部经济发达地区和西部欠发达地区工业生产性服务外部化同处高位的现象,基于2002、2007、2012和2017年中国地区投入产出表,采用HLM构建多水平发展模型,探索其动态演变趋势及行业、区域差异.实证结果显示:工业生产性服务外部化呈先下降后上升的U型动态变化趋势;外部化水平行业和区域间均存在显著差异,但其发展速度区域差异显著,行业差异不显著;市场规模、资本密集程度、生产性服务业发展水平、市场化等因素对外部化均存在显著影响.     

Five naming strategies to help tell your organization’s story

Are you involved in a new venture but just can’t find the right name? Are you part of an organization that has outgrown its name, perhaps because of geographic/product expansion or societal changes? Or worse, does your organization need to shed its name owing to scandal or unfortunate family association? While many entrepreneurs and managers understand intuitively that names are imbued with meaning and that this meaning helps convey a company’s identity and tell its story, they may not know what makes a great name. Even though choosing a name marks a universal rite of passage for an organization and a key strategic decision, there is surprisingly little practical, accessible, and consolidated guidance available to those in search of the “perfect” name. So, how can organizations improve their chances of crafting an outstanding name? We extract research-driven insights from a variety of disciplines to describe, examine, and evaluate five principal naming strategies. As such, we explore the effectiveness of organization names that are affiliated with the organization’s signature product/service, family, or geography, as well as those adopting humor or pursuing novelty via portmanteaus. We also offer recommendations for maximizing the cognitive fluency and emotional resonance of potential names.     

Examination of the impacts of the immediate interest rate of the United States and the VIX on the Dow Jones Islamic Market Index

This study examines the effects of the market volatility index of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (VIX) and the immediate interest rate of the United States on the Dow Jones Islamic Market Index (DJIMI) using quantile-based techniques and wavelet coherence (WTC) analysis with monthly data for the period January 2010to May 2021. A quantile cointegration model indicated that the relationship between the VIX and the DJIMI can be valid in the long term since the estimated coefficients are negative and statistically significant across the quantiles 0.05 and 0.50, while a quantile autoregressive model revealed that large negative and positive changes in the VIX and the immediate interest rate of the United States do not have a significant impact on the DJIMI in the short term. Allowing the role of regime changes, it was found by the quantile regression model that an increase in the VIX lowers the performance in the DJIMI, supported by the WTC. It was also underlined that the DJIMI may not benefit from the positive financial conditions. According to the quantile regression models, the immediate interest rate of the US has asymmetrical effects, and the stabilizing effect of the increase/decrease is valid during bearish/bullish market conditions in the DJIMI.