Debt as a source of financial stress in Australian households

This paper examines the role of demographic, socio‐economic and debt portfolio characteristics as contributors to financial stress in Australian households. The data are drawn from the most recent Household Expenditure Survey and relate to 3268 probability‐weighted households. Financial stress is defined, among other things, in terms of financial reasons for being unable to have a holiday, to have meals with family and friends, to engage in hobbies and other leisure activities, and general money management. Characteristics examined include family structure and composition, source and level of household income, age, gender and marital status, ethnic background, housing value, debt repayment of various types and credit card usage. Binary logit models are used to identify the source and magnitude of factors associated with financial stress. The evidence provided suggests that financial stress is higher in families with more children and those from ethnic minorities, especially when reliant on government pensions and benefits, and lower in families with higher disposable incomes and housing values. There is weak evidence that Australia's historically high levels of household debt cause financial stress.     

Gender Differences in Debt Repayment Problems after Divorce

Studies have shown that a growing number of divorced women were experiencing debt repayment problems during the 1980s. This study uses data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to (1) examine how debt repayment problems differ by marital status and gender and (2) investigate the role that supplemental income payments play in helping to mitigate repayment problems. The results show that divorced men and women are more likely to default on their debt obligations than married households. Further analysis reveals that increases in welfare payments significantly decrease the likelihood of default for divorced women but do not affect the probability of default for divorced men and married households. There is no evidence that payments related to child support and alimony affect default rates. The findings suggest that welfare benefits may help to mitigate the economic consequences of divorce for women.     

我国政府性债务状况及应对策略分析

我国中央政府债务主要包含三类债务,即中央部门及所属单位债务、中央财政债务,和中国铁路总公司债务,占比40.9%;而地方政府性债务为17.89万亿元,虽略低于预期,但总量占比比中央政府高,主要集中于省、市和县三级,特别是市级政府性债务增长较快,对地方土地出让收入的依赖度较高,偿债风险较高。这些政府性债务总体风险可控,但近期偿债压力大。解决我国政府性债务困境,应当加快厘清中央和地方的事权财权,维持良好的金融服务系统,加强政府投融资体制建设,以及建立债务风险预警和应急处置机制。     

地方政府债务的会计核算:现实问题与改革思路

现行总预算会计规定的地方政府债务核算办法,存在着债务不能确认、收入与负债概念模糊、夸大政府权益等弊端,致使有关地方政府债务方面的会计信息很不完整,地方政府账面净资产虚增,不利于财政风险的防范和管理.为此,本文建议分两步改革地方政府债务核算办法.第一步是在现行法规、制度约束条件下,通过运用双分录原理、采取净资产调整法的微小变革,同时记录地方政府债务和债务预算收支,以满足现阶段核算需要;第二步是在预算法律、法规等政府会计环境发生改变后,引入权责发生制,采用“双计量基础”对地方政府债务的会计核算办法进行必要的改革,以全面、准确地记录和披露各级地方政府的财务状况,为有关方面提供真实可靠的会计信息.     

Reflection as a facilitator of teachers' innovative work behaviour

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of reflection as a preparatory mechanism for employees' engagement in innovative work behaviour (IWB). This issue was explored in a study with 67 teachers at the highest level of German secondary education. Specifically, we investigated whether teachers who reflected on work tasks, the social context and their work performance were more engaged in the exploration of opportunities for innovation as well as the generation, promotion and realization of innovative ideas. By applying path modelling, we found that work‐related reflection facilitated all dimensions of IWB. Teachers' IWB most strongly depended on their performance‐related reflection. Also, reflecting on work tasks and the social context affected teachers' IWB indirectly by benefitting their performance‐related reflection. As a consequence, reflection should be valued as a resource for innovation and professional development as well as a vital component of work routines, organizational cultures and job training.     

我国新《债务重组准则》实施过程中存在的问题及对策探讨

当前,在《债务重组准则》实施过程中存在着公允价值的运用、重组收益及“财务困难”的界定等问题。其解决对策是：加强证口监管部门对上市公司的监管;对债务重组准则进行完善;规范关联交易披露;优化内部会计环境;建立相应的独立中介机构;提高会计人员综合素质,尽快适应新准则。     

论新时期的乡镇债务问题——基于某市32位乡镇领导的视角

通过对湖南某市32名乡镇领导进行问卷调查表明:目前我国乡镇债务负担依然很大,存量债务大,增量债务减少。并且财权与事权不平等让债务问题的解决难题化。同时,由于存量债务形成原因复杂,不容易处理;自筹还债渠道窄,还款能力有限;有部分乡镇违规占用支农资金偿还债务。解决这一问题,上级政府应做为化解乡镇历史遗留下来的债务的主体,加大对债务偿还的转移性支付支持;减政放权,严格控制新债务的形成;落实好政绩考评机制,形成良好的公务员晋升通道。     

欧洲债务危机可以成为我国的发展机遇

在美国的次贷危机对全球经济的影响逐步消退、经济复苏迹象越来越明显之际,欧洲的主权债务危机又开始进入人们的视野。欧洲主权债务问题不仅仅局限在个别国家,它涉及几乎所有欧洲国家,其根源在于人口老龄化,可能引发欧元危机和政治危机,这为我国提供了第二次历史性的机遇。     

A Next Step in Debt Enforcement: the Merger of Debt Help and Debt Collection

Since the 1990s, each Member State of the European Union designed a policy that infused the liberal American fresh start policy into its own social institutions and legal culture. Especially in countries with a civil law tradition, the legal position of the consumer has improved. The paradigm of lifelong liability of debts has been replaced by a form of limited liability. Discharge of debts has established itself as a firm legal principle in all European jurisdictions. In most European countries, the new approach consists of a combination of legal and extrajudicial instruments. Under the umbrella of the courts, social workers, trustees, and administrators perform a broad range of activities in monitoring and helping debtors. The so-called new-chance approach has dramatically changed the playing field amongst debtors and creditors. The new legal equilibrium worked rather well in most European countries in the 1990s and 2000s. However, the systems are obviously far from perfect as almost all European governments are still fine-tuning their laws. Recently, two innovations have appeared on the European stage: Some Nordic countries have opted for a centralized state-controlled enforcement system, while in the UK, commercial debt management plans were developed, mainly by commercial suppliers. In 2005, the US Bankruptcy Code was changed in favour of the creditors. The 2008 credit crunch and its aftermath present a window of opportunity for the next step in the modernization of debt enforcement policy. I will suggest a merger of the fields of debt relief and debt collection, with a pivotal role for independent trustees.     

对中国品牌国际化进程中存在问题的思考

品牌国际化是中国企业在产品国际化之后的必然选择。近几年，以海尔、联想、TCL等为代表的一批中国企业在品牌国际化方面已经积累了很多成功的经验，使中国品牌国际化向前迈进很大一步。但是中国企业想要在品牌国际化建设的道路上不断前进，还必须正确地认识和解决品牌定位、产品自主创新等问题。     

我国上市公司债务融资结构存在的问题及对策研究

债务融资水平的高低及期限结构与公司绩效密切相关,与债务融资相关的决策亦构成公司重要的财务决策内容。目前,在我国市场制度不健全,监督管理体系不完善及我国特有政策性等问题的作用下,国内上市公司债务融资比率普遍偏低,债务融资结构治理普遍低效,这对优化融资结构,推进我国债券市场发展,加强银行作为债权人的治理作用以及完善经理人市场,提高我国上市公司经营绩效提出了较高要求。我国应推进公司债券市场发展,优化上市公司股权结构,加强银行作为债权人的治理作用,完善和发展经理人市场,完善企业破产机制,以此来改善我国债务融资状况及发挥债务融资的治理作用。     

How Purchase Type Influences Consumption-Related Posting Behavior on Social Media: The Moderating Role of Materialism

It is now common to see consumers post their own purchases on social media to communicate feelings and/or thoughts about the consumption items to their social media audience. The authors conducted two surveys with a student sample and an Amazon MTurk sample to investigate factors leading to such behavior. The results show that purchase type predicts the consumption-related posting behavior—experiential purchases are more likely to get posted than material purchases, and materialism serves as a moderator in the influence of purchase type on the posting behavior. Specifically, lower-materialism consumers are more likely to post experiential purchases on social media than material purchases, while higher-materialism consumers do not show such a pattern. This article pioneers in investigating consumption-related posting behavior and provides important implications to research on user-generated content, materialism, and purchase type.     

The Effects of Religiosity on Ethical Judgments

The relationship between religiosity and ethical behavior at work has remained elusive. In fact, inconsistent results in observed magnitudes and direction led Hood et al. (The psychology of religion: An empirical approach, 1996) to describe the relationship between religiosity and ethics as “something of a roller coaster ride.” Weaver and Agle (Acad Manage Rev 27(1):77–97, 2002) utilizing social structural versions of symbolic interactionism theory reasoned that we should not expect religion to affect ethical outcomes for all religious individuals; rather, such a relationship likely depends on specific religious attitudes including religious motivation orientation (intrinsic RMO vs. extrinsic RMO), perceived sacred qualities of work (job sanctification), and views of God (VOG, loving vs. punishing). We examined the effects of these three religious attitudes on participants’ judgments of 29 ethically questionable vignettes. Consistent with symbolic interactionism theory, intrinsic RMO and having a loving view of God were both negatively related to endorsing ethically questionable vignettes, whereas extrinsic RMO was positively related to endorsing the vignettes. Unexpectedly, job sanctification was positively related to endorsing the vignettes. However, both intrinsic and extrinsic RMO moderated this relationship such that sanctifying one’s job was related to ethical judgments only for those who were: (a) low in intrinsic RMO or (b) high in extrinsic RMO. We reasoned based on symbolic interactionism theory that intrinsically motivated participants, in contrast to extrinsically motivated participants, may have utilized their religious beliefs as a guiding framework in making ethical judgments.     

International Debt Shifting: The Value-Maximizing Mix of Internal and External Debt

Abstract

We study the capital structure of multinationals and expand previous theory by incorporating international debt tax shield effects from both internal and external capital markets. We show that: (i) multinationals’ firm value is maximized if both internal and external debt are used to save tax; (ii) the use of internal and external debt is independent of each other; and (iii) multinationals have a tax advantage over domestic firms, which cannot shift debt across international borders. We test our model using a large panel of German multinationals and find that internal and external debt shifting are of about equal importance.     

On the Risk of a Sovereign Debt Crisis in Italy

The intention for the Italian government to stimulate business activity via large increases in government spending is not in line with the stabilisation of the public debt ratio. Instead, if such policy were implemented, the risk of a sovereign debt crisis would be high. In this article, we analyse the capacity of the Italian economy to shoulder sovereign debt under different scenarios. We conclude that focusing on growth enhancing structural reforms, would allow for moderate increases in public expenditure.     

Designing a Sovereign Debt Restructuring Mechanism for a European Monetary Fund

The establishment of a European Monetary Fund (EMF) enjoys increasing academic and political support, though its advocates do not necessarily agree on the purpose and functions of such an institution. This paper aims to examine the features of the EMF that are relevant to sovereign debt restructuring. We argue that a European sovereign debt restructuring mechanism would be a feasible and useful tool in a crisis. It would facilitate private sector involvement and convey all the advantages that pre-defined procedures offer compared to ad hoc solutions in dealing with a crisis.     

Formation of Procedural Justice Judgments in Legal Negotiation

Research has indicated that procedural justice—fairness of decisionmaking processes—plays an important role in bilateral legal negotiation, encouraging the acceptance of negotiated agreements. Additionally, research has suggested that procedural justice leads to opportunities for increased integrative bargaining. However, procedural justice judgments are typically measured as subjective assessments by disputants. If procedural justice plays an important role in legal dispute negotiation, it is critical to understand how individuals form judgments about fairness of process. The study presented explores antecedents of procedural justice judgments in legal negotiation. Results suggest that although all potential identified antecedent variables—voice, courtesy/respect, trust, and neutrality—play a role in judgments about procedural justice, the primary component is courtesy/respect behavior by the speaker and her partner. Parties share some agreement about the presence of courtesy/respect behavior and trust behavior, and third-party coders can identify behavior that reliably relates to the parties’ procedural justice antecedent assessments. Additionally, results indicate that appeals to potential “neutral” benchmarks such as legal authority lead to lower assessments of procedural justice. These findings suggest that courtesy and respect are the primary drivers of negotiators’ procedural justice assessments, and that such courtesy/respect behavior is not merely a subjective artifact of the participant but can be observed by a third-party coder.     

A Multidimensional Analysis of Tax Practitioners' Ethical Judgments

This study investigates professional tax practitioners' ethical judgments and behavioral intentions in cases involving client pressure to adopt aggressive reporting positions, an issue that has been identified as the most difficult ethical/moral problem facing public accounting practitioners. The multidimensional ethics scale (MES) was used to measure the extent to which a hypothetical behavior was consistent with five ethical philosophies (moral equity, contractualism, utilitarianism, relativism, and egoism). Responses from a sample of 67 tax professionals supported the existence of all dimensions of the MES other than egoism. Regressions of ethical judgments and behavioral intentions on the MES dimensions indicate that ethical decision making is most heavily influenced by the moral equity dimension, followed by the contractualism dimension. In contrast, the utilitarianism and relativism dimensions were only related to ethical judgments and behavioral intentions in isolated instances.