Implications of formal grammars for accounting policy development

The problems of accounting policy formulation are approached using the methods of formal language theory. The use of a formal grammar makes it possible to provide a clearer logical basis for the arguments for and against particular pronouncements of the FASB in three areas: possibility, consistency and resolution of accounting principles. Two examples are presented that suggest ways in which many different questions of accounting policy can be raised and answered. A linguistic framework for classifying accounting pronouncements is presented. Accounting as a formal language is evaluated together with speculation on the implications for accounting policy development.     

DRAMs as model organisms for study of technological evolution

The short, well-documented market life of generations of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) computer chips makes them an excellent “model organism,” like the fruit fly, for study of evolution, in this case technological. Using classic models of logistic growth, substitution, and learning, we examine the global dynamics of eight generations of DRAMs and forecast the market characteristics of the next DRAM generations.     

New Evidence on Home Prices from Freddie Mac Repeat Sales

The weighted repeat sales price index methodology recently reported in Case and Shiller [5] [6] is applied to a dataset of over eight million loans bought by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation over the last twenty years. Regional price indices are reported and compared to indices from other sources. Statistical issues in the creation of the index, both technical and due to sample selectivity of the Freddie Mac dataset, are extensively discussed. It is found that the new index grows at a rate similar to other indices up until 1985, after which time it grows at a significantly higher rate.     

How Institutional Identity Shapes College Student Recruitment: The Relationship Between Religious Distinctiveness and Market Demand

Institutional diversity has long been recognized as a signature strength of the American system of higher education, yet the sector contributing most to this remarkable feature—small and midsized private colleges—currently finds itself under significant financial pressure as a result of recent social and economic disruptions. To overcome such challenges, campus leaders must understand the market positioning of the institutions they serve. This article investigates the relationship between market demand and organizational distinctiveness within one segment of the diverse private sector—religiously affiliated colleges. It draws upon longitudinal data from the membership of one national professional association, the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities, to develop an empirical typology of institutional religious distinctiveness and examine patterns of market demand over time. Results suggest that religious distinctiveness has a medium effect on student demand at both the application and matriculation phases of the admissions process. The article concludes by considering appropriate recruitment strategies for faith‐based colleges and universities depending on their degree of religious distinctiveness.     

The Impacts of an Antitrust Investigation: A Case Study in Agriculture

We analyze the impacts of an antitrust investigation on the purchasing practices of a buying collaboration and its common bidding agent. Using a repeated cross section of prices across procurement auctions that were and were not subjected to the investigation, we find that auction prices in the targeted auctions: (i) significantly increased as soon as the targets were made aware they were under investigation; (ii) remained higher as long as the investigation was open; and (iii) systematically declined to the same low pre-knowledge state after the closure of the investigation without prosecution. Finally, the counterfactual impact on auction prices by the removal of the common bidding agent and the demise of the buying collaboration at a later date was on par with the impacts of the investigation.     

Beyond Agency and Structure: Triple-Loop Learning

With the demise of Andersen, LLP and new legislation that puts an end to self-governance in public accounting, the effectiveness of current models of accounting ethics have been seriously called into question. We argue that the profession suffers from fundamental limitations in its ethical framework that makes it impossible to effectively address ongoing ethical problems. The dominant representation of professional behavior is an agency model of ethics, in which the ultimate responsibility for identifying and dealing with ethical dilemmas resides with the individual. We argue that structural forces such as control over resources, meaning systems, and community norms and values also have a strong influence on the actions of accountants and that these must also be considered. The recent legitimation crisis has forced the accounting profession and its constituencies to begin to recognize and address the structural aspects of ethics as they enable and constrain action. We propose a framework based on structuration theory and learning theory that allows for systematic, multi-level investigation of the structural forces that cause ethical dilemmas to arise and to be recognized and that influence the manner in which they are analyzed and resolved. This framework should be capable of continual critique and reconfiguration as environmental conditions change.