Risk Aversion Revisited

In order to supply additional empirical evidence of the effect of wealth on relative risk aversion, this study investigates households' demand for risky assets, using analysis of covariance techniques applied to the asset holdings of Canadian individual households. The extent and pattern of life-cycle effects are also examined. Results generally point to decreasing relative risk aversion when housing is either excluded from the definition of wealth or treated as a riskless asset. The investor's life-cycle plays a prominent role in portfolio selection behavior, with risk aversion increasing uniformly with age. Tax differentials do not seem to be an important element in investment decisions with respect to risk. When the sample and wealth definitions are censored in order to approximate those of previous empirical studies, their findings on relative risk aversion are generally corroborated.     

Nonfundamental Speculation Revisited

We show that a linear pure strategy equilibrium may not exist in the model of Madrigal (1996), contrary to the claim of the original paper. This is because Madrigal's characterization of a pure strategy equilibrium omits a second‐order condition. If the nonfundamental speculator's information about noise trading is sufficiently precise, a linear pure strategy equilibrium fails to exist. In parameter regions where a pure strategy equilibrium does exist, we identify a few calculation errors in Madrigal (1996) that result in misleading implications.     

Callable Bonds Revisited

In light of the dramatic changes in the callable bond market, we reexamine the determinants of callable bonds. Using data from 1980-2003, we find that callable bonds are often issued by firms with both information asymmetry and underinvestment problems. However, risk-shifting does not appear to be a major factor. Furthermore, we find that interest rate hedging is an important factor for investment-grade bonds and when interest rates are high but not so for below-investment-grade bonds or when rates are low.     

美国《公平披露条例》再审视

编者按:美国证券与交易委员会于2000年8月10日颁布的<公平披露条例>(下称"<条例>")旨在限制上市公司的选择性信息披露行为.随后美国又修订了内幕交易法的部分条文,试图以此来廓清公开披露与选择性披露相交叉的一些模糊领域.在<条例>实施一年之后,劳拉·西蒙·安格尔(时任美国证券与交易委员会委员)在大量调研的基础上于2001年12月发布本报告.报告中对信息披露方式、披露时间、披露对象和与市场互动的分析今天仍值得中国借鉴,尤其值得我们在修改<证券法>时参考.译文略有删节.     

Risk-Adjusted Discount Rates Revisited

This paper shows that small changes in even slightly negative discount rates can cause substantial changes in present value. Small changes in the discount rate, which may seem appropriate, turn out to have huge effects on present value and are not economically justified. This paper also points out problems associated with large negative discount rates. It is shown that the present value can become discontinuous as the discount rate is lowered and that the present value of the risky cash outflows becomes erratic depending on whether the outflow is discounted an even or odd number of periods.     

Credibility for Severity Revisited

Abstract

It is basic actuarial knowledge that the pure premium of an insurance contract can be written as the product of the expected claim number and the expected claim amount. Actuaries use credibility theory to incorporate the contract’s individual experience into this calculation in a statistically optimal way. For many years, however, the use of credibility was limited to the frequency component. Starting with the paper by Hewitt (1971), there have been various suggestions as to how credibility theory also can be applied to the severity component of the pure premium. The latest such suggestion, Frees (2003), revived the interest in the problem.

In this paper, we review four different formulas incorporating frequency and severity into credibility calculations. We then compare by simulation which one is most accurate at predicting a contract’s next-year outcome. It is found that the classical formula of Bühlmann (1967) is as good as the other ones in many cases. Alternatives, however, may offer easier analysis of the separate effects of frequency and severity on the premium.

We also show that all the formulas reviewed in this paper stem from the same minimization problem, and we present a general, integrated, solution. At the same time, we complete Gerber (1972) by providing a proof to the main result of this paper and by stating required additional assumptions.     

The Bank Lending Channel Revisited

A central proposition in research on the role of banks in the transmission mechanism is that monetary policy imparts a direct impact on deposits and that deposits act as the driving force of bank lending. This paper argues that the emphasis on policy‐induced changes in deposits is misplaced. A reformulation of the bank lending channel is proposed that works primarily through the impact of monetary policy on banks’ balance sheet strength and risk perception. Such a recasting implies, contrary to conventional wisdom, that greater reliance on market‐based funding enhances the importance of the channel.     

汇率目标制、货币目标制和通货膨胀目标制的比较及其在我国的应用的探讨

汇率目标制、货币目标制在各自的经济背景下都起到了稳定一国通货、稳定汇率从而稳定一国物价总水平、促进经济增长的作用。起始于20世纪80年代末期,通货膨胀目标制代替汇率目标制、货币目标制成为许多国家追逐长期价格稳定的一种货币政策新框架,在取得长期价格稳定和金融稳定上具有更多优点和灵活性。我国金融开放条件下货币政策调控面临国内货币需求不稳定,内部、外部经济不平衡,金融不平衡等问题,在货币目标制和汇率目标制难以实现货币政策有效调控的情况下,建议应对我国的货币政策调控方式做出调整,采用通货膨胀目标制的货币政策框架。     

The Pay Review Bodies Revisited

The annual reports of the independent Pay Review Bodies are a key economic event in Britain, covering approximately 1.5 million public sector workers with an annual paybill approaching £50 billion in 2003. The 2003–04 reports are studied in this article. The author concludes that the reports followed quite closely what the Government wanted and in contrast to previous years proposed lower, essentially 'cost of living', awards. The rationale for this is examined for each of the Review Bodies; the article finds that in general the awards reflected the circumstances reported in evidence to the Review Bodies and squared up with their terms of reference. It is, however, too early to say whether the reports marked a long-term turning point towards lower, RPI-related awards and away from the general 'upward' trend evident since 1998.     

"通货膨胀目标制度"新在哪?

自1990年3月以来,"通货膨胀目标"作为一种新的货币政策中介目标,逐渐引起各国货币当局的密切关注.     

"通货膨胀目标法"

一种货币政策框架 在强有力的经验实证支持下,学者、决策者和其他相关人士在以下问题上达成了共识,即高通货膨胀(及其相关的易变性)扭曲了私营部门在投资、储蓄和生产方面的决策,最终将导致经济增长率下降.     

Fundamentals and Exchange Rate Prediction Revisited

This paper measures latent fundamental exchange rates with independent component‐based rates constructed from a cross‐section of exchange rates and then uses their deviations from exchange rates to forecast. Empirical results indicate that the independent component‐based model and its Taylor rule and purchasing power parity augmented models are superior to the random walk in predicting exchange rates. These results are robust to several scenarios and are likely to be observed if the U.S. sources and the recursive scheme are applied. Our results reveal that information regarding the third moment of exchange rate changes is helpful to explain exchange rate movements.     

Spacek's Contributions to Accounting Thought Revisited

While he was managing partner and chair of Arthur Andersen in the l950s and 1960s, Leonard Spacek was an outspoken critic of public accounting, complaining about its failure to establish a coherent set of objectives for financial statements, its illogical principles and methods, and its principle-setting process. He was the conscience of the public accounting community during this time period, a critic from within. As far as Spacek was concerned, 'fairness' was the central objective of financial reporting, though he never specifically defined the term. In light of the recent high-profile corporate and accounting scandals, including Enron and World.com, both of which were audited by Arthur Andersen, it is useful to analyse Spacek's ideas on the public role of accounting from his speeches and writings with emphasis on the theme of fairness. Given the firm's long-term commitment to quality audits, it was ironic that Andersen fell victim to these scandals.     

CEO Compensation and Board Structure Revisited

Chhaochharia and Grinstein estimate that CEO pay decreases 17% more in firms that were not compliant with the recent NYSE/Nasdaq board independence requirement than in firms that were compliant. We document that 74% of this magnitude is attributable to two outliers of 865 sample firms. In addition, we find that the compensation committee independence requirement increases CEO total pay, particularly in the presence of effective shareholder monitoring. Our evidence casts doubt on the effectiveness of independent directors in constraining CEO pay as suggested by the managerial power hypothesis.     

The EU Insolvency Regulation,Revisited

After 10 years of use, the EU Insolvency Regulation was assessed and recast. The changes are intended to improve its functioning as market practice has moved on, and deal with, among other things, the processes subject to the Regulation, centre of main interests, secondary proceedings, co‐operation between courts and office‐holders, groups and interlinked insolvency registers. Copyright © 2015 INSOL International and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd