Capital structure and the control of managerial incentives

We present a theory of capital structure based on the power of shareholders, bondholders and managers to control the incentive conflicts in large corporations. The manager–owner conflict produces a trade-off between inefficiency in the low state and rents in the high state, and the shareholder–bondholder conflict produces under-investment as in Myers [Journal of Financial Economics 19 (1997) 147]. Since managers and bondholders both prefer more efficient actions in the low state, the two conflicts are interdependent. With risk-less levels of debt, there are no shareholder–bondholder agency costs, but managerial control over the incentive-setting process produces excessive rents. With risky debt, shareholders focus more on returns in the high state so that shareholder–bondholder agency costs increase but managerial rents decrease. Efficient levels of debt holder protection facilitate a reduction in manager–owner agency costs that outweighs shareholder–bondholder agency costs, and are decreasing in firm performance. The results are consistent with the separate empirical results relating control to both compensation and leverage, and suggest how future studies can be integrated.     

Consumer value conflicts surrounding ethical food purchase decisions: a focus on animal welfare

Ethical attitudes in relation to meat purchases were studied among urban and rural consumers in Scotland. All subjects perceived at least some ethical issues in relation to animal production systems, in particular, systems keeping animals in close confinement. Welfare‐friendly production systems were viewed as adding value to a food, but this value was not necessarily realizable to producers if purchases occurred only when foods were on special offer. Statements made by individuals were often contradictory, revealing ambivalence, unresolved value conflicts and a general lack of involvement in the nature of meat production. A number of barriers to the establishment of stable attitudes and behaviours in relation to the ethical treatment of food animals were also identified. A key finding of the study is that individuals can hold two views on animal welfare. On the one hand, they may think as citizens influencing societal standards, and on the other, as consumers at the point of purchase. As citizens, they support the notion of animals being entitled to a good life; as meat consumers, they avoid the cognitive connection with the live animal. This paper explores both the citizen–consumer relationship and purchase strategies used by consumers to resolve value conflicts. Lessons for public and commercial policy are highlighted in the context of the Curry Report (2002) which advocates more effective market segmentation where markets are finely attuned to their customers, with the development of a number of assurance schemes discussed in the article.     

积极发展我国对外服务贸易——基于规避货物贸易争端的视角

加入WTO五年来,我国经济持续快速增长,很大程度得益于我国对外贸易的强劲增长.2005年我国货物进出口总额达到14221亿美元而使中国成为世界第三贸易大国,但贸易摩擦也急剧上升.随着中国经济结构的转换,有效规避不断升级的货物贸易争端,积极发展对外服务贸易必将作为我国未来对外贸易的突破口和主力军.     

美国对华贸易技术壁垒的政治经济学分析

技术贸易壁垒已成为中美贸易摩擦的最主要原因之一。本文拓展了格罗斯曼和海普曼的关税模型．对美国对华贸易技术壁垒进行政治经济学分析，指出贸易技术壁垒是美国政府与相关利益集团博弈的结果，其存在具有必然性和长期性，进而提出对我国政府、企业、行业协会的政策建议。     

财务会计概念框架的形式转换:冲突及其缓解--兼论《基本准则》的修订及其支撑系统的建构

现阶段我国理论界和准则制定机构主张采取先由<基本准则>充实概念框架部分内容,等到时机成熟后将<基本准则>转化为符合国际惯例的概念框架的两阶段形式转换策略有其合理性.然而,概念框架的理论实质与<基本准则>的会计法规形式之间必然面临冲突.文章分析了这种冲突形成的根源及其影响,并从<基本准则>的修订与支撑系统的建构两个方面提出了缓解上述冲突的一些对策.     

中国企业内部资本市场的功能、陷阱及其法律规制

中国现阶段内部资本市场具有优化融资渠道、催化产业整合以及改进公司治理的功能,但由于信息不对称及代理问题而存在利益侵占、过度投资、风险扩散以及低效率补贴等诸多潜在陷阱。完善的法律规制体系将有助于减少机会主义的内部资本市场运作所带来的负面效应。     

Environmental protection or subversion in mining? Planning challenges,perspectives and actors at the largest gold deposit in Europe

The gold ores in Roşia Montană have been intensely mined for the last two thousand years, as this mining district was one of the richest gold deposits in the Apuseni Mountains (the so-called Golden Quadrangle of Romania). Itis currently considered the largest gold deposit in Europe. Up until a few decades ago, gold mines had a relatively predictable path, which began with exploration and ended with abandonment. This has since changed, once the impact of abusive past or current exploitation methods and technologies has been deemed unacceptable by the state and the public. With its millennia-old history of mining, Roșia Montană raises the intriguing question of what does the future hold for different actors in a situation that is clearly unsustainable, but which may be continued through environmental rehabilitation, or even a larger mine. We address the question for this particular mine by drawing on a worldwide database of similar cases contained in the Environmental Justice Atlas (EJAtlas). We consider three scenarios, namely: 1) continued degradation with no intervention; 2) approval of large-scale mining, due to international arbitration; 3) environmental rehabilitation. These capture the most plausible future scenarios of the Roșia Montană case and, by relating them to the relevant transnational environmental justice context, we aim at assessing their implications for different actors and also the extent to which they are illustrative for the fate of other mines worldwide. Mine closure and the rehabilitation of the environment, regardless how distant they may seem at the beginning of the prospection and extraction stage, are imminent in the mine life cycle and a mandatory step of the environmental management process. We conclude by suggesting under which governance regimes each scenario is likely to unfold and what implications can be drawn for public policy.     

Tourism,heritage and politics: conflicts at the City of David,Jerusalem

This article analyses the development and progress of conflicts at the “City of David” heritage-tourism site in Jerusalem, Israel and the reciprocal relations between heritage sites and conflicts. It offers a comprehensive examination of the development of a major tourist attraction in Israel. Our research is based on the following two methods of qualitative research: (1) in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 43 key stakeholders; (2) textual analysis of current written materials and historical documents. The study investigates the relevant processes and decisions, stakeholder perceptions, the role of the archaeological excavations, and their relationship to the development of conflict. On a broader level, this study formulates a theoretical and practical framework for analysing the development of heritage tourism sites in conflict zones.