140 Million Forgotten Consumers—The Life Insurance Policyholders of America

The life insurance disclosure movement has focused almost entirely on point-of-sale disclosure, to the virtual exclusion of post-sale disclosure. Life insurance companies are therefore under pressure to provide attractive point-of-sale information. Some of the methods used to achieve this objective adversely affect long-time policyholders. Emphasis should be placed on the need for post-sale disclosure, and policyholders should be educated on how to perform their own evaluations. Publicity should be given to companies whose actions improve the position of long-time policyholders, and to companies whose actions adversely affect long-time policyholders.     

Give or Take on the Internet: An Examinationof the Disclosure Practices of Insurance Firm Web Innovators

Theories of corporate social responsibility suggest that there ought to be a balance between what business takes from society and what it gives back in return. Recently, the practice literature within the insurance industry has been heavily pushing for the development of the Internet as a tool for commerce while virtually ignoring the role it could play in terms of information disclosure to stakeholders. This study examines whether insurance firms themselves reflect this emphasis, or whether companies that are industry leaders with respect to web innovation for product marketing are also leaders in using the web for information disclosure. A study of the web pages for 40 property and casualty firms drawn from Franzis (2000), shows that financial disclosure for the overall sample is at best moderate. The disclosure of social responsibility information on these web pages is quite low, on average. Further, and importantly from a social balance perspective, the web innovators in terms of product marketing are not industry leaders in terms of information disclosure.     

Commercial Insurance of Financial Disclosure: Auditors’ Independence, and Investors’ Protection

In this paper the authors propose, for preliminary consideration and discussion, a system of commercial insurance of financial disclosures (CIFD), under which users of financial information (owners and potential owners of business enterprises) and providers of financial information (managers of business enterprises) would be able to purchase insurance policies from private insurers (commercial insurance companies). These insurance policies would be designed to protect users of financial statements from specific, well-defined losses directly attributable to their use of financial disclosures that failed to conform to contractually defined standards. To reduce their own risks insurance companies will likely purchase from assurance experts (certified public accountants, financial analysts, and management consultants) services assuring adherence to standards. The paper discusses the dynamics of the decisions and negotiations within and among groups of investors, managers, insurers, assurors, and government regulators. The advantages of CIFD over current US regulation of financial disclosure are analyzed. Those advantages, which include increases in the independence of external auditors, improvements in the quality of their audits, and better protection for investors, are assessed. It is argued that CIFD may be capable of evolving into a very flexible system that would accommodate alternative regulatory structures.     

碳信息披露、透明度与管理绩效

碳会计及信息披露作为一项制度机制,成为应对气候风险和建设低碳经济的基础性步骤。由此,不同于以往研究更多关注会计信息透明度,本文以CDP对世界500强公司的调查数据为样本,实证分析碳信息披露的透明度及管理绩效,研究发现,企业披露碳信息的主动性和透明度日益提高,降低了信息环境的不确定性,有助于为投资者提供决策有用性信息。     

Disclosure for whom? Government involvement,CSR disclosure and firm value

This paper investigates the roles of market and government in an emerging economy. By examining 2906 CSR reports from Chinese listed firms, we find that CSR disclosure adds incremental value to firms, especially for Private-Owned Enterprises (POE). We also find that the disclosure saves Central Government Controlled State-Owned Enterprises, which mandatorily disclose CSR information, from negative news report and litigation risks. This insurance effect is significant in POEs only when they suffer from economic losses. We find that POEs are market-oriented; although government would compensate for other mandatory disclosure firms when they suffer from reputational shock.     

Trade‐related Job Loss,Wage Insurance and Externalities: An Ex Ante Efficiency Rationale for Wage Insurance

The extension of adjustment assistance to those who have suffered trade‐related job displacement is widely supported on both sides of the economics of globalisation debate. The form that such assistance should take, namely wage insurance, is also the subject of wide agreement. Nevertheless, the formal economic rationales offered for such a policy are varied, including political economy arguments, equity arguments and market failure/ex post efficiency arguments. This note proposes an ex ante efficiency‐based rationale for the provision of adjustment assistance in the specific form of wage insurance. Job displacement imposes pecuniary externalities on displaced workers, which, in a complete markets setting, induce only shifts along the ex ante Pareto‐efficient frontier. However, when markets are incomplete, pecuniary externalities become welfare‐relevant. Without the possibility of diversifying or hedging the risk of pecuniary external diseconomies of job displacement using contingent claims, welfare is reduced ex ante. Wage insurance – whether publicly underwritten, privately underwritten (as in Shiller's (2003 ) ‘livelihood insurance’), or supplied on a mixed public/private basis – completes the market for contingent claims, allowing workers to diversify or hedge the risk of trade‐related pecuniary external diseconomies. By facilitating risk sharing, wage insurance removes an impediment to ex ante Pareto efficiency. Moreover, wage insurance affects not only post‐displacement behaviour by increasing the incentive to reacquire employment quickly, but it also affects pre‐displacement consumption and investment behaviour, in particular, lowering the threshold at which workers will be willing to undertake irreversible investment in industry‐specific skills.     

企业核心能力信息披露内容研究

人们在具体实施企业核心能力信息披露方面必须进行探索性的尝试,才能提出来核心能力信息体系;根据核心能力信息体系,才能找出披露核心能力的特点、内容和方式等具体的披露模式。披露核心能力信息主要是针对企业的自愿性披露而言的,自愿披露并不意味着可以放任自流,现行披露规范应该恰当地对企业核心能力信息披露予以规范和引导。     

论我国保险中介市场的完善

我国的保险中介形成于20世纪90年代,随着保险产业化的进程的加快,保险中介机构在数量上已较为可观,业务规模和市场份额迅速增长,经营水平不断提高。但是在保险中介市场的发展过程中也存在这一些问题,如专业中介机构规模小、业务种类不丰富、专业人才缺失、对兼业代理人监管不到位等。我国保险中介市场的完善,应当根据我国的具体保险市场环境,吸收借鉴国外同业的先进之处,选择符合我国国情的正确发展道路和模式,具体措施是加强对保险中介业务的部门监管,培育良好保险中介市场环境,加大保险中介企业的信息披露力度,提高保险中介机构专业化水平和从业人员素质,加强保险中介行业自律,以此来促进保险中介市场的健康、有序发展。     

Mutuality as a control for information asymmetry: A historical analysis of the claims experience of mutual and stock fire insurance companies in Sweden, 1889 to 1939

We test two competing arguments regarding the influence of organisational form on underwriting performance using data from the Swedish fire insurance industry for the years 1889 to 1939 – a period of both economic growth and stagnation. Since mutuality is a response to information asymmetry problems, mutual insurers are expected to report lower annual claims relative to premiums than stock insurance companies. However, an alternative view is that stock insurers seek to reduce information asymmetry problems by issuing non-participatory rights insurance contracts with high deductibles that induce risk-sharing between the insurer's shareholders and policyholders. This implies that stock insurers are likely to report lower annual claims than mutual insurers. Our results show that organisational form is an important determinant of the claims experience of Swedish fire insurers, suggesting that mutuality acts as an effective control for information asymmetries in the market.     

The Genetics Revolution, Economics, Ethics and Insurance

This paper considers the revolutionary developments occurring in the field of genetic mapping and the genetic identification of disease propensities. These breakthroughs are discussed relative to the ethical and economic implications for the insurance industry. Individual's privacy rights and rights to employment must be weighed against the insurers desire for better estimates of future loss costs associated with health, life and other insurances. These are in turn related to the fundamental conception of insurance as a financial intermediary versus insurance as a vehicle for social policy.     

我国上市公司内部控制信息披露存在的问题及对策

目前,我国上市公司内部控制信息披露主要存在的问题是：相关法律法规之间要求不统一;公司治理结构不完善;内部控制信息自愿披露缺乏主动性;披露的信息不完整、不真实、不及时;内部控制信息披露监管不力。完善内部控制信息披露的措施：统一内部控制相关法律法规;完善公司治理结构;增强企业管理者对内部控制信息披露的认识,加强对内部控制信息披露的监管力度;规范内部控制信息自愿、真实、及时披露。     

The 'privacy in employment' critique: a consideration of some of the arguments for 'ethical' HRM professional practice

A developing area of interest in ethics and in legal studies is privacy protection. This paper focuses on privacy protection in employment, and examines some of the arguments of commentators who seek to limit the information obtained from job candidates and employees. The ethical underpinnings of these restrictions are discussed in terms of how privacy in employment relations can be understood as functioning to provide a context for the maintenance and development of self-identity, an autonomous self-concept, the practice of meaningful autonomy, and a pluralistic social order. In the second part of the paper the proposed restrictions are examined in terms of their impact on economic welfare. The latter consideration suggests that HRM and allied professional groupings that unilaterally implemented the critics' proposals could be deemed to be paternalistic. The potential relevance of legal regulation to resolve this issue for 'ethical' HRM professional practice and its significance in the area of genetic discrimination are discussed.     

The Philosopher Is Not Always Right: A Comment On "The Customer Is Not Always Right"

This paper is a response to "The Customer Is Not Always Right" published in the November, 1994 issue of this Journal (Sorell, 1994). The authors argue that "The Customer Is Not Always Right" ignores significant contributions from the literature of business and economics. This comment refutes Sorell's arguments on a case by case basis showing why in each situation the customer is, in reality, right or the situation is not a question of the customer being right or wrong. Existing knowledge from economics and marketing is shown to provide richer, more parsimonious explanations and answers to the problems and dilemmas posed by Sorell.     

Privacy Notice for Dummies? Towards European Guidelines on How to Give “Clear and Comprehensive Information” on the Cookies’ Use in Order to Protect the Internet Users’ Right to Online Privacy

The reviewed ePrivacy Directive aims at ensuring internet users’ online privacy by requiring users to give informed consent to the gathering, storing, and processing of their data by internet service providers, e.g., through the cookies’ use. However, it is hardly possible to talk about an “informed” consent if internet users are not aware of cookies or do not understand when and how they work. Currently, European rules require internet service providers to provide internet users with a “clear and comprehensive” information on the cookies’ use without further specifying what kind of disclosure would be seen as compliant therewith. This paper assesses the need for harmonized European guidelines on transparent and readable disclosure on the cookies’ use and suggests the way forward based on comparative legal research and findings from consumer behaviour research.     

Financial literacy and high‐cost borrowing: Exploring the mechanism

Recent studies have suggested that financial literacy is an important determinant of informed borrowing decisions. Despite the evidence that financially literate consumers are less likely to use alternative financial services, the mechanism through which financial literacy discourages demand for alternative financial services has yet to be fully understood. The previous studies proposed several explanations, such as the ability to undertake complex financial calculations and understand contract terms, to link financial literacy to savvy credit choices. This study evaluates the validity of this argument by examining whether or not financial knowledge plays a greater role in borrowing decisions where consumers are forced to rely on financial knowledge. It is assumed that consumers in an information‐sparse environment have a greater incentive to utilize financial knowledge to infer the hidden cost of borrowing contracts. To test this argument, this study examines the extent to which information availability moderates the negative impact of financial knowledge on rent‐to‐own transactions. Information content is captured by state‐level disclosure mandates for rental contracts, given that consumer in a loosely regulated state are exposed to less pricing information. The results illustrate that limited information strengthens the negative association between financial knowledge and rent‐to‐own transactions. This confirms the previous arguments that consumers are active thinkers who refer to financial knowledge to estimate the overall cost of borrowing.     

企业社会责任的信息披露研究综述

对于企业社会责任古典派将其界定为单纯的经济责任，进入现代则被赋予更多内涵。Carroll认为它应是经济责任、法律责任、伦理责任和慈善责任四者之和。国内学者的相关理论大多是基于现代学派“广义的社会责任”发展而成的。参考国内外文献对企业社会责任信息披露的实证研究现状，从相关关系、信息披露的形式与方法以及内容质量方面进行了比较分析。     

Drug Testing and the Right to Privacy: Arguing the Ethics of Workplace Drug Testing

As drug testing has become increasingly used to maximize corporate profits by minimizing the economic impact of employee substance abuse, numerous arguments have been advanced which draw the ethical justification for such testing into question, including the position that testing amounts to a violation of employee privacy by attempting to regulate an employee's behavior in her own home, outside the employer's legitimate sphere of control. This article first proposes that an employee's right to privacy is violated when personal information is collected or used by the employer in a way which is irrelevant to the terms of employment. This article then argues that drug testing is relevant and therefore ethically justified within the terms of the employment agreement, and therefore does not amount to a violation of an employee's right to privacy. Arguments to the contrary, including the aforementioned appeal to the employer's limited sphere of control, do not account for reasonable constraints on employee privacy which are intrinsic to the demands of the workplace and implicit in the terms of the employment contract.     

地理位置、环境信息披露与股价同步性--基于政策变动的研究视角

在政策变动的背景下,公共压力与空间距离都是影响股价同步性的重要因素,前者减弱股价同步性,后者增加股价同步性,但两者共同通过环境信息披露进行作用对股价同步性会产生怎样的影响是目前必须解决的问题。本文选取2004－2006年和2009－2011年我国上市制造业企业为样本,以政策变动为视角,研究了环境信息披露差异对股价同步性的影响机制。结果发现,在《办法》颁布前,远距离企业的环境信息披露与股价同步性负相关,《办法》颁布后则正相关。而对于近距离企业,在《办法》颁布前后均不显著。因此,在公共压力增大的情况下,环境信息披露对股价同步性影响的过程中,地理位置起到了决定性的调节作用,应引起监管层的足够重视。     

财政信息公开引致地方政府支出绩效的实证研究

本文基于DEA评价所获取的地方政府支出绩效值,运用2007-2012年间的省级面板数据,实证剖析我国地方财政信息“阳光化”改革的绩效后果。研究发现：在设置了一系列控制变量情况下,计量模型肯定性地刻画了省级财政信息公开的确有助于提升地方政府支出绩效水平,即直接或狭义的财政信息公开透明度每提升1单位,则相应的地方政府支出绩效会改善6%;将地方政府行政信息公开透明情况纳入并构建广义财政信息公开指标,则发现解释变量对被解释变量的贡献度或解释力显著地提升到了9%。本文从理论和实证两方面证明了财政信息公开是提升地方政府支出绩效的重要路径和保障机制,为进一步推进财政信息公开制度改革以改进地方政府支出绩效提供了必要的政策依据。     

Online Repurchasing: The Role of Information Disclosure,Hope, and Goal Attainment

The emergence of online purchasing has changed the relationship between consumers and brands. Our research focuses on online information disclosure and consumer hope in an online shopping environment. Two studies are undertaken to test the theoretically derived hypotheses. Study 1 evaluates the causal relationship between information disclosure and hope via an experiment in an online shopping context. Study 2 involves an online survey to test the nomological network presented in this research. The models identify the moderating effect of consumer product knowledge on online information disclosure and consumer hope. For academics, this research advances knowledge of how consumers' confidence in sharing personal information develops hope, consequently enabling them to attain their goals and repeat their purchases. For practitioners, it offers a better understanding of how investments are successful in aiding consumers to attain their goals and generate repeat purchase intentions in an online shopping environment.