A New Look at Husbands' and Wives' Time Allocation

The impacts of economic and non‐economic factors on husbands’ and wives’ market work time and housework time are estimated using 13 years of data from the Panel Survey of Income Dynamics. Several limitations in earlier studies are addressed, and a unique feature of the study is the direct estimation of effects on time allocation from changes in the prices of market‐produced goods and input goods in household production. Many of the findings of earlier studies are reconfirmed, but new insights are also explored. Husbands and wives respond similarly in their time allocations to changes in input goods prices, but their responses are different to changes in market goods prices.     

OCCUPATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF MEN IN BRITAIN

The occupational attainment of men aged 33 is examined usinglongitudinal cohort data. We find that family background andearly child development has a much stronger effect on occupationalattainment than found in previous studies for Britain. Testsin maths and reading taken at age 7, 11, and 16 provide importantinformation regarding the likelihood of occupational success.Our results appear to be insensitive to whether we measure attainmentusing mean earnings or occupational status. Failure to controlfor unobserved person-specific fixed effects causes significantdownward bias in estimated returns to educational qualificationsacquired after age 23.     

Equity Returns and Business Cycles in Small Open Economies

This is the first paper in the dynamic stochastic general equilibrium literature to match key business cycle moments and long‐run equity returns in a small open economy with production. These results are achieved by introducing four modifications to a standard real business cycle model: (i) borrowing and lending costs are imposed to increase the volatility of the marginal rate of substitution over time, (ii) capital adjustment costs are assumed to make equity returns more volatile, (iii) GHH preferences are employed to smooth consumption, and (iv) a working capital constraint to generate countercyclical trade balances. Our results are based on data from Argentina, Brazil, and Chile.     

A test of the accuracy of probability assessment techniques in auditing*

Abstract. Sixty-two practising auditors participated in an account balance estimation experiment. Having been provided with written and oral training material, they used four elicitation techniques (CDF, PDF, EPS, and HFS) to quantify their subjective beliefs regarding the accounts receivable balance of an audit case study. Their responses were compared to the results of a 600 sample simulation study, using the quadratic scoring rule. Their responses were also compared to the consensus distribution of all subjects using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov measure. The results indicated that PDF is the elicitation technique generating the most accurate prior probability distribution for use in Bayesian analysis. The other three elicitation techniques were about equal in the degree to which they were less accurate than the PDF technique.     

Factors affecting auditors' perceptions of applicable decision aids for various audit tasks*

Abstract. Forty-nine audit partners and managers were provided with a comprehensive list of audit tasks. Having been provided with definitions and instructions, the auditors were asked to identify the primary decision aid (automation, decision support systems, knowledge-based expert systems, and strictly human processing) applicable for each of the audit tasks. The results indicate that although the effect of audit methodology of the firm (structured, semistructured, and unstructured) on decision aid choices is mixed, the complexity of the audit tasks (structured, semistructured, and unstructured), auditor rank, and auditor specialty have significant impact on the decision aid choices of the participants. Implications for research and practice are discussed. Résumé. L'auteur a remis à quarante-neuf associés responsables de la vérification et directeurs de la vérification une liste exhaustive des tâches de vérification. Munis de définitions et de directives, les vérificateurs devaient déterminer l'aide principale à la décision (automatisation, sytèmes de soutien à la décision, systèmes experts fondés sur les connaissances et traitement strictement humain) correspondant à chacune des tâches de vérification. Les résults indiquent que bien que l'incidence de la méthodologie de vérification de l'entreprise (structurée, semi-structurée et non structurée) sur les choix relatifs à l'aide à la décision soit indéterminée, la complexité de la tâche de vérification (structurée, semi-structurée et non structurée), l'échelon du vérificateur et sa spécialisation ont des répercussions appréciables sur les choix d'aide à la décision des participants. L'auteur se penche sur les conséquences de ces résultats, pour la recherche et l'exercice de la profession.     

Bayesian inference research in auditing: Some methodological suggestions*

Abstract. The Bayesian statistical inference model has been advocated by auditing researchers over the past two decades as a useful judgment aid to auditors. To quantify judgment, the Bayesian-related audit research has completely relied on the elicitation techniques (ETs) and methodology used and recommended by Winkler (1967a). What have we learned from this literature? Are there any other promising ETs applicable to audit situations? What improvements can be made to the methodologies used in ET-related audit research? This paper highlights the findings and methodologies of the existing literature, identifies promising ETs from related behavioral studies and draws some methodological suggestions for future research. Résumé. Des chercheurs dans le domaine de la vérification ont préconisé au cours des deux dernières décennies que le modèle d'inférence Baysien pouvait constituer une aide utile au jugement des vérificateurs. Pour quantifier le jugement, la recherche reliée au modèle Baysien s'est appuyée sur des techniques et une méthodologie utilisées et recommandées par Winkler (1967 a). Qu'a-t-on appris de ces recommandations? Peut-on s'attendre à d'autres applications dans le domaine de la vérification? Quelles améliorations peuvent être apportées à la méthodologie? Cet article met en évidence les découvertes et la méthodologie sur le sujet, identifie les solutions prometteuses et présente certaines suggestions méthodologiques pour des recherches futures.     

FACTORS AFFECTING FEMALE EMPLOYMENT IN MALE‐DOMINATED OCCUPATIONS: EVIDENCE FROM THE 1990 AND 2000 CENSUS DATA

This article investigates the effects of age, marital status, number of children, and education on the probability of female presence in traditionally male‐dominated occupations using the PUMS 1990 and PUMS 2000 data. The results indicate that being married with husband present decreases the probability of female presence in traditionally male‐dominated occupations, whereas college education has changed from having a positive effect in the 1990 data to a negative effect in the 2000 data. The analysis also finds that there are significant regional variations with regard to the effects of these factors. (JEL J71, J31)