The impact of information technology on emergency health care outcomes

We analyze the productivity of information technology in emergency response systems. "Enhanced 911" (E911) is information technology that links caller identification to a location database and so speeds up emergency response. We assess the impact of E911 on health outcomes using Pennsylvania ambulance and hospital records between 1994 and 1996, a period of substantial adoption. We find that as a result of E911 adoption, patient health measured at the time of ambulance arrival improves, suggesting that E911 speeds up emergency response. Further analysis using hospital discharge data shows that E911 reduces mortality and hospital costs.     

Organized labor and information asymmetry in the financial markets

Prior results from the labor relations literature suggest that revealing information weakens management’s position in collective bargaining. Thus, when facing organized labor, management has an incentive to preserve the information asymmetry with outsiders. This study uses a sample from a large cross-section of the economy over several years to test this relation. Results are consistent with this prediction. Strong organized labor is associated with higher bid-ask spreads, higher probability of informed trading, lower trading volume and lower analyst coverage. These relations hold after controlling for numerous factors such as growth opportunities or risk.

Locational effects and the cost of corporate bonds: the role of information

The public yield spreads of bonds vary widely between Chinese provinces/municipalities, with the average for the highest province double that of the lowest one. Although we find that these patterns are mainly attributable to economic and legal conditions, locational effects like geographic distance and public firm credit ratings also appear to be contributory. We show that these effects are induced by different regional informational environments and are robust to controlling for potential endogenous location choices.     

Real exchange rate dynamics: The role of elastic labor supply

Empirical evidence suggests that the flexibility of labor supply is closely related to the dynamic adjustment of the real exchange rate. This paper investigates this relationship in a two-sector dependent economy model. While, the long-run equilibrium real exchange rate is independent of the elasticity of labor supply, our analysis confirms that the nature of the labor supply can be a crucially important determinant of its short-run dynamics. The extent to which this is so depends to some degree on the source of the underlying structural change that is driving the dynamics of the real exchange rate. Numerical simulations confirm that this mechanism may help explain the larger short-run volatility and more rapid convergence typically associated with developing countries having less flexible labor markets.     

China's diversification discount: The role of the information environment

Based on information uncertainty, in this paper, we provide a mispricing explanation for the diversification discount in the Chinese A-shares market. The empirical evidence reveals an overestimation of a diversified company's value due to the uncertain information of such companies, and this overestimation is stronger when exacerbated by high sentiment. Moreover, we provide new evidence of the year breakpoint in the diversification discount during different sample subintervals, which relies on a change in ex post mispricing related to the macroeconomic environment.     

Health insurance and outcomes: comprehensive assessment of health system outputs

Outcomes analysis in health care has historically meant the examination of clinical results of inpatient hospitalization. In response to climbing health care and health insurance costs, the organization of health care providers, the location of service delivery and reimbursement mechanisms have changed. As the health care industry changes, so too must the definition of outcomes. This article presents a conceptual framework for the analysis of health outcomes as health industry outputs, with an emphasis on the ways in which such outputs are being assessed and improved.     

内部控制信息的需求动机供给现状与监管协调

企业内部控制信息的需求者来源于多个方面,不同的信息需求主体,具有不同的需求动机。所有者的需求动机,在于检验管理当局受托经济责任的履行情况;潜在投资者的需求动机,在于提高其投资决策的科学性和合理性管理当局的需求动机,在于向外界传递积极的信号;政府监管部门的需求动机,在于规范资本市场行为。然而,从2009年度的统计数据来看,上市公司内部控制信息的供给明显不足。加大政府监管与协调力度,是提高内部控制信息披露水平的重要途径。     

上市公司财务信息披露:政府功能与角色定位

本文针对上市公司财务信息披露问题,探讨政府在这一过程中的功能与角色定位。政府时上市公司财务信息披露具有监管功能,但这种功能是有限度,而且是有条件的。政府监管应当限于市场失灵并能够修补市场失灵的领域。当前在上市公司财务信息披露监管过程中,政府失灵与监管不足并存,这大大降低了政府的监管效率,使其不能达到预期的监管目标,甚至会加剧市场失灵。     

国家开发银行：信息技术推动开发性金融发展——访国家开发银行营运中心主任王中

2008岁末,国家开发银行股份有限公司（以下简称“开行”）正式挂牌,标志着开行开发性金融发展进入了一个新阶段。开行作为一个特色鲜明的国有大型银行,近年来结合自身的特点和优势,已将金融服务领域由传统的基础设施、基础产业、支柱产业和高新技术等领域扩展到国际业务、中小企业、新农村建设、低收入家庭、住房建设、教育、医疗卫生和环境保护等业务领域。     

Information technology and the social construction of information privacy

This paper examines how the conflict between information technology and information privacy is socially constructed and enacted through judicial decisions, legislative mandates, and private sector initiatives such as WebTrust^SM/TM and other privacy seal programs. We first identify some reasons individuals may have for wanting to control their personal information, how such privacy is eroded by advances in information technology, and the currently limited role of informed consent in managing the conflict between privacy and technology. We then argue that the existing judicial, legislative, and private sector initiatives in North America and Europe do not adequately achieve the goals of informed consent and other fair information practices. We further argue that privacy attestation will likely play a limited privacy protection role because it is only one of several social practices that manage the tensions between information technology and information privacy. Finally, we discuss some policy implications of information technology and the erosion of society's expectations about privacy, some difficult tradeoffs between private and public interests, and whether interested parties (including accountants in public practice) can become effective agents of social change in the information privacy arena.     

客户信息自助签约技术探析

在经济全球化、金融一体化的发展趋势下,金融创新和竞争已成为当今世界金融发展的主流。商业银行要想在激烈的金融市场竞争中立于不败之地并得到持续发展,就必须加快金融信息化建设、提高金融服务水平,才能增强商业银行的核心竞争力。商业银行的必争之源是优质的客户资源,而优质的客户资源对商业银行的服务手段、服务质量的要求也越来越高。     

The spatial effects of information technology: Some literature

The conclusion emerging from comparing many studies is that information technologies can indeed encourage and also substitute for the physical movement of goods and people, with consequences for centralisation and decentralisation. Which of the two effects will appear in any given case appears to depend more on factors other than the choice of technology.     

A contingency model of perceived effectiveness in accounting information systems: Organizational coordination and control effects

A contingency model is advanced that examines sources of requirements for organizational coordination and control as they affect the extent of integration in an accounting information system. Requirements that are contingent on the degree of organizational formalization, information interdependence among functional areas, and dependence in interorganizational information sharing and electronic data interchange links, are examined. The congruence or fit of system integration with those requirements is a key concept that influences beliefs about system effectiveness. Results of the empirical study indicated that, as hypothesized, the fit between the accounting system design and the contingency factors resulted in a more successful system. Specifically, system fit was a significant factor that explained variations in perceived AIS effectiveness, as measured by decision makers' perceived satisfaction with the accuracy and monitoring effectiveness of output information. The effect of system fit on a second factor of perceived AIS effectiveness, as measured by decision-makers' satisfaction with the perceived quality of information content in system outputs, was only marginally significant. The study addresses an important area in accounting systems research that directly relates to the decision facilitation and control objectives of accounting information.     

金融信息化对金融业的影响

在信息技术成果的广泛应用不断推动国民经济信息化进程的背景下，金融领域的信息化进程深刻地改变着金融活动与的内容，范围和方式，从而对货币形态及其职能，对金融机构，对金融市场，对货币政策等产生广泛而深刻的影响，有力地推进金融发展。     

金融企业内部信息保护技术

通过全面分析各种信息保护的主流技术,可以看出,对于大型信息化金融企业来说,需要以管理视角为导向,根据组织的管理文化、职责分工、流程要求、客户端规模等制定各种信息保护制度和控制管理策略,配套使用存储介质加密、DRM、DLP三种信息保护技术,才能全面做好信息保护工作。     

Riding the waves of technology through the decades: The relation between industry-level information technology intensity and the cost of equity capital

This paper examines the effect that information technology (IT) investments have on the industry cost of equity capital. We find that industry IT intensity, defined as the relative amount of IT investment to total fixed asset expenditures, is negatively related to the industry cost of equity capital. These results indicate that industries with higher levels of IT investment have lower cost of equity capital. We also find that the relation between IT intensity and cost of equity capital changes over time. Initially, investors viewed IT investments as risky ventures and demanded higher levels of cost of equity (or higher return on their investment) for those industries investing in IT. However, beginning in the 1980s, as IT became more reliable, more cost effective, and had the ability to transform businesses, investors viewed IT Intensity as a positive business strategy with less associated risks and reduced their required cost of equity capital (or lower return on their investment). Extrapolating from our industry results, IT investments allow firms to potentially raise capital at a lower price so they have more assets to employ, indicating that IT investments can be a key factor for business success.