Research Evaluation Down Under: An Outsider's View from the Inside of the Australian Approach

Australia is currently undertaking its first national evaluation of university research, which is being performed by the Australian Research Council (ARC) at the request of the Australian government. The Australian approach to evaluation has some unique characteristics, especially a focus on evaluating research quantity and quality by the field of the research activity rather than by individual academic or administrative unit. This raises issues of the classification of areas of research, which has already caused controversy for Australian heterodox economists. There is also controversy about the quality rankings of economics journals. This article provides a critical review of the Australian approach to research evaluation and discusses the implications for heterodox economists.     

Corporate Sustainability and Economic Performance: an Empirical Analysis of a Voluntary Environmental Program in the USA

Voluntary environmental programs (VEPs) are designed based on a win–win approach to environmental protection that reconciles environmental protection and economic performance. Despite the claims about VEPs, there has been an ongoing debate over their efficacy with regard to whether environmental goals are balanced by economic interests on both theoretical and empirical grounds. To resolve this controversy, this paper empirically investigates a public VEP by the US Environmental Protection Agency: Green Lights (GL). For this, the paper constructs a treatment effects regression model to account for the effects of non‐random assignment for GL participants and non‐participants. The proposed model can simultaneously estimate probit models that predict corporate participation in the GL program and linear models that test the extent to which this participation contributes to economic performance. The results indicate significant positive effects of corporate participation in the GL program on economic performance, providing support for the win–win perspective. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

THE BRITISH EXPERIMENT

The fifth Mais Lecture by Mr. Niger Lawson, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, aroused considerable interest and has generated a sharp controversy. In this note we analyse some of the points that Mr. Lawson made, comment on the controversy about the role of budget deficits and consider what indications the Lecture provides about the future development of economic policy.     

Re‐evaluating the concept of working time: an analysis of recent case law

Controversy abounds the Working Time Directive seven years since its implementation as the European Commission seeks to unpick the compromise that led to the notorious individual opt‐out from maximum weekly working time. This article explores the roots of that controversy in the context of the Court of Justice’s expansive interpretation of the concept of ‘working time’. To what extent is it possible to maintain a health and safety guarantee but allow for more flexibility in the organisation of working time for individual workers in an increasingly heterogeneous working environment?     

基于债权人的非财务指标披露程度研究

企业对不同类的反映债权人利益要求和实现方式信息的非财务指标的披露程度存在显著差异;个体因素产生了债权人同一类非财务指标披露程度认识差异。企业因素产生了债权人同一类非财务指标披露程度差异。对不同类别债权人披露程度存在显著差异的非财务指标,企业应当特别需要加强披露。     

'The persistent myth of high expatriate failure rates': a reappraisal

While there is now a mature literature on many aspects of the management of employees on international assignments (IAs), there is still considerable controversy about the numbers of expatriates who actually fail in these. Traditionally, this has been defined as the number of staff who return home before the agreed end of an IA, because of poor work performance and/or personal problems. Employing this definition, the research described in this paper supports the view that expatriate failure rates (EFRs), among UK employees are, indeed, very low (on average, around 8 per cent). However, this article argues that this traditional definition has limitations and does not reveal the true extent of the problems which IAs can cause to some expatriates and their dependants both during their time abroad and after returning to the UK. The paper then goes onto argue that a broader definition of 'failure' is needed, which includes: an acknowledgement of the considerable stresses and strains experienced by a minority of staff who are under-performing on IAs; the 'poaching' of successful managers by other companies while they are abroad or at the end of their IAs; the often negative outcomes of repatriation experienced by many employees in recent years; the negative (and largely unreported) effects on some families and the career prospects of partners and negative views about the prospect of overseas postings in the future.     

Money and production: A stochastic frontier approach

Considerable controversy surrounds the role of money in the production of goods and services. Previous empirical research has appeared to find that the real money stock affects aggregate output, holding other, more conventional inputs constant. However, the theoretical literature offers no convincing explanation for this empirical finding. One interpretation is that real money balances reduce the extent to which labor and capital are diverted into exchange-related activities instead of being used in production defined in a more narrow sense. To investigate this hypothesis, we estimate a production function augmented with real money balances as an input, using time-series data for the aggregate U.S. economy. A stochastic production frontier is then estimated without real money balances. We use these estimates to establish the presence of technical inefficiency. Finally, we show that the extent of technical inefficiency is negatively correlated with the real money stock. Our results provide a reconciliation between the empirical literature, which finds that real money balances affect output in a production function framework, and the theoretical literature, which suggests that real money balances enhance the technical efficiency of the economy.     

反倾销中产业损害幅度测算指标体系的建构

为科学合理地确定产业损害幅度 ,应对国外反倾销 ,本文建构了反倾销中产业损害幅度测算指标框架体系 ,并阐述了指标体系的系统性、层次性、兼顾性、实践性特征。     

基于债权人利益要求及其实现方式的非财务指标披露满意度研究

国内外从未有人从债权人角度进行过非财务指标披露的满意度排序研究和分组研究,本文从债权人角度出发,对债权人所关注的反映其利益要求和实现方式信息的非财务指标披露的满意度进行了排序研究和分组研究。研究得出结论：债权人对不同类的反映其利益要求和实现方式信息的非财务指标披露的满意度存在显著差异;企业因素产生了债权人同一类非财务指标披露的满意度差异。对满意度低的非财务指标的披露,企业应当改善其披露。对不同类别债权人披露满意度存在显著差异的非财务指标,企业应当特别需要改善披露。     

试论当前我国的会计目标

会计目标理论研究是会计系统中理论研究与实务发展的重要内容,长期以来是会计界关注与讨论的重点课题,讨论的焦点是受托责任观和决策有用观。本文通过纵向与横向的分析,提出会计环境决定会计目标的观点,并通过对我国当前会计环境的分析,明确我国当前的会计目标应定位于受托责任观。     

In support of the new working class thesis: the case of the Irish white collar worker

This study, using data collected from 325 Irish white-collar employees in the private sector, examines the extent to which white-collar trade unionism may be regarded as a response to concern about the lack of achievement of desired levels of self-expression at work.     

The Ordinal Controversy Revisited

We present a discussion of the different dimensions of the ongoing controversy about the analysis of ordinal variables. The source of this controversy is traced to the earliest possible stage, measurement theory. Three major approaches in analyzing ordinal variables, called the non-parametric, the parametric, and the underlying variable approach, are identified and the merits and drawbacks of each of these approaches are pointed out. We show that the controversy on the exact definition of an ordinal variable causes problems with regard to defining ordinal association, and therefore to the interpretation of many recently designed models for ordinal variables, e.g., structure equation models using polychoric correlations, latent class models and ordinal response models. We conclude that the discussion with regard to ordinal variable modeling can only be fruitful if one makes a distinction between different types of ordinal variables. Five types of ordinal variables were identified. The problems concerning the analysis of these five types of ordinal variables are solved in some cases and remain a problem for others.     

Uses,Abuses and Misuses of Significance Tests in the Scientific Community: Won't the Bayesian Choice be Unavoidable?

The current context of the “significance test controversy” is first briefly discussed. Then experimental studies about the use of null hypothesis significance tests by scientific researchers and applied statisticians are presented. The misuses of these tests are reconsidered as judgmental adjustments revealing researchers’requirements towards statistical inference. Lastly alternative methods are considered. Consequently we automatically ask ourselves “won't the Bayesian choice be unavoidable?”     

民间文学艺术的知识产权保护现状及建议

本文介绍了国际上对民间文学艺术知识产权保护的相关立法现状,并着重探讨民间文学艺术知识产权立法及研究中存在的相关争议,针对我国民间文学艺术的知识产权保护立法的相关问题提出了建议。     

交易性货币需求理论的发展演变及其启示

凯恩斯的货币需求理论引发了关于交易性货币需求理论的争议和修正,后来的发展演变更加注重从需求的微观基础出发来研究,强调约束条件下的交易成本和收支的不确定性,这对转轨时期的我国货币需求理论有很大的启发和借鉴意义。     

Regional trade agreements and the WTO

The rapid growth in the number of regional trade agreements (RTAs) has led to concern about the weakening of the multilateral trading system. This paper looks at the spread of such agreements and the extent to which they pose a threat to the system.     

新经济政策下我国民营快递企业发展问题研究

具体分析了新经济政策下民营快递企业发展面临的机遇和挑战以及民营企业自身发展中存在的问题,并在此基础上．提出了民营快递企业发展具体策略。希望在一定程度上为民营快递企业发展决策提供依据。     

Heterogeneous beliefs and the choice between private restructuring and formal bankruptcy

We present a theory for the puzzling issue regarding why certain firms in financial distress, prefer a costlier formal bankruptcy procedure over direct renegotiations. We show that claimholders’ heterogeneous beliefs about the results of a formal plan and about judicial discretion may lead to such a preference. The proposed model predicts which resolution would be chosen under claimholders’ beliefs about the determinants driving the outcome of a formal procedure, such as the extent to which firm value is affected by bankruptcy, the likelihood of deviation from the absolute priority rule, and the probability of the court adopting a reorganization plan.     

The implications of the national minimum wage for training in small firms

This article investigates the extent to which small firms' training practices have altered since the introduction of the national minimum wage (NMW). Low pay is particularly widespread among small firms and they are thus likely to have been disproportionately affected by the NMW. Drawing on survey data collected from 258 establishments, the study provides information about training practices and identifies the steps that employers have taken to offset the impact of the NMW. The study also assesses the extent to which firms have made use of lower ‘development’ rates for young workers and new adult recruits, and whether this has been associated with an increase in training activity. The findings suggest that the NMW has provided a positive boost to training in some cases, although this has primarily come about as a result of efforts by firms to offset increases in labour costs, as opposed to take‐up of the development rate.