Accounting Choices and Risk Management: SFAS No. 115 and U.S. Bank Holding Companies*

This paper provides evidence that regulatory contracts affect firms' accounting choices and risk‐management decisions. Specifically, we investigate whether an exogenous shock to regulatory risk induced by Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 115, “Accounting for Certain Investments in Debt and Equity Securities” (SFAS 1993), encouraged U.S. banks to deviate from portfolio and risk benchmarks when they adopted the standard. Because we cannot observe relevant benchmarks, we model portfolio and risk decisions as functions of macroeconomic and firm‐specific factors using data from a period when regulatory capital was immune to SFAS No. 115 accounting. We examine a sample of 230 publicly traded banks and find that (1) irrespective of adoption timing, banks classified too few securities available for sale (AFS) relative to estimated benchmarks; (2) weaker banks that adopted the standard early classified far more securities as AFS relative to benchmarks; (3) banks altered the size of their securities portfolios along with the levels of interest‐rate risk and credit risk as regulatory capital decreased; and (4) the level of interest‐rate risk on banks' loan portfolios increased at the time of SFAS No. 115 adoption. We also explore the 1995 Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) amnesty when firms could “readopt” SFAS No. 115. We find that banks used the 1995 FASB amnesty to undo strategic initial SFAS No. 115 adoption decisions. Taken together, our findings suggest that SFAS No. 115 caused some of the accounting and economic consequences predicted by bankers, analysts, and academics.     

Ranking U.S. Economics Programs by Faculty and Graduate Publications: An Update Using 1994–2009 Data

This article ranks academic institutions by pages published in top economics journals over the 1994–2001 and 2002–2009 periods. Because it uses a methodology similar to several earlier articles, this article permits a consideration of how institutions' ranks have changed over the past 35 years. I construct rankings based on publications by individuals affiliated with each institution, by faculty members in the economics departments at each institution, and by alumni of each doctoral program. With few exceptions, the positions of programs near the top of the rankings change little over time. However, much more dramatic changes in rank occur for lower‐ranked institutions.     

Turning Points in the U.S. Civil War: Views from the Grayback Market

This article introduces a new high-frequency time series of Confederate money prices taken from the newspapers of Richmond and leading cities in the Eastern Confederacy. The new grayback series is tested for turning points. The empirical analysis suggests that turning points in the Confederate grayback market were different from those identified in the Northern greenback market by Willard, Guinnane, and Rosen (1996). It appears that war did not always have symmetric effects on Northern and Southern money prices. Financial and commercial matters fluctuate under the successes and reverses of the war like ebb and tide, and it is not to be wondered that under the great military events that are now transpiring [Gettysburg], there should be a suspension of operations in [gold] trade. (Richmond Examiner July 9. 1863. p. 1)     

The Price of Being Foreign: Stock Market Penalties Associated with Accounting Irregularities for U.S.-Listed Foreign Firms

We examine the stock market consequences of disclosing accounting irregularities for U.S.-listed foreign firms. After controlling for the severity of the irregularity and other firm characteristics, we find that foreign firms experience significantly more negative short-window stock market reactions following irregularity announcements than do U.S. firms. Moreover, for a subsample of 64 irregularities of foreign firms that are listed on both a U.S. and home country stock exchange, we find evidence that restating firms' U.S. investors react more negatively to the same irregularity than their home country investors. This differential market reaction appears related to firm-specific information risks that are greater for foreign firms than U.S. firms. Collectively, consistent with the reputational bonding hypothesis in prior literature, our results suggest that accounting irregularities cause U.S. investors to reassess the information risk associated with foreign firms.     

Advertising and Quality in the U.S. Market for Automobiles

Using data consisting of domestic and foreign automobiles over the period 1985-1990, the hypothesis that advertising serves as a signal of higher quality is empirically tested. This is accomplished by examining how advertising levels vary with a quality measure that is not observable at the time of purchase but becomes available subsequent to a model's release. Above average quality results in expenditures that are 15% higher than average quality outlays. Lending further support to the signalling hypothesis, the positive advertising–quality relationship holds strongest when a model significantly improves in quality relative to the previous year's model.     

The Use and Characteristics of Foreign Component Auditors in U.S. Multinational Audits: Insights from Form AP Disclosures*

This paper investigates the common, yet previously opaque, practice of using foreign audit firms (component auditors) to conduct portions of audit work for U.S. public companies. U.S. regulators have expressed concern for the transparency and quality of audits using component auditors. Employing data disclosed in the newly mandated PCAOB Form AP, we find that component auditor use is largely structural, determined by the size and complexity of clients' multinational operations. We do not find that the mere use of component auditors is detrimental to audit outcomes, but rather the amount of work conducted by component auditors is associated with lower audit quality (i.e., higher likelihood of misstatement), higher likelihood of nontimely reporting, and higher audit fees, which collectively suggest that component auditor engagements are associated with adverse outcomes. Furthermore, we find that only the work performed by less competent component auditors and those facing geographic and cultural/language barriers, including significant geographic and cultural distance, weak rule of law, and low English language proficiency, is associated with adverse audit outcomes. Overall, these findings provide initial archival evidence that the use of certain component auditors on U.S. multinational audits is associated with audit coordination issues, which suggests that PCAOB Form AP disclosures provide relevant information.     

Engel versus Baumol: Accounting for structural change using two centuries of U.S. data

In the last two centuries, the reallocation of labor out of agriculture has been a dominant feature of structural change and economic growth in the United States. This paper uses an accounting framework founded in economic theory to decompose this reallocation into three components: a demand-side effect due to the low income elasticity of demand for agricultural goods (Engel effect), and two supply-side effects, one due to differential sectoral productivity growth rates (Baumol effect), and the other to differential capital deepening. The results show that the Engel effect accounts for almost all labor reallocation until the 1950s, after which the Baumol effect becomes a key determinant. Our framework provides a unified account of long-run structural change, and demonstrates that historical interpretations and theoretical models that emphasize only one dimension of this process cannot properly account for the dramatic history of labor reallocation in the United States.     

Determinants of Corporate Leverage: A Time-Series Analysis Using U.S. Tax Return Data*

Abstract. The study examines how the risk of exhausting corporate tax liabilities before deducting interest expense affects corporate leverage. It differs from prior studies in three ways: (1) it uses data compiled by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from corporate tax returns rather than accounting data; (2) it measures risk of tax exhaustion more accurately; and (3) it adopts a first-difference time-series approach, so that firms act as their own control between adjacent years. These methodological innovations reduce biases caused by measurement error and omitted variables that were present in prior research. The results suggest that, all else being equal, high risk of tax exhaustion reduces firms' use of leverage. As well, the study provides the first evidence that personal taxes significantly affect corporate leverage. The effects on leverage decisions of other variables are also tested and the results are consistent with predictions from prior theoretical work.     

The Stock Market Reaction to the Reserve Quantity Disclosures of U.S. Oil and Gas Producers*

Abstract. The purpose of this study is to examine the information content of the components of the annual change in the quantity of proved reserves reported by U.S oil and gas (O&G) producers. In particular, it investigates the contemporaneous association between the unexpected portions of discoveries, production, net purchases, and revisions of prior quantity estimates and unexpected security returns during the release week of the 1984 to 1988 annual reports or forms 10-K of these firms. The empirical results suggest that (1) disaggregating the net change in the quantity of proved reserves into its components conveys additional information beyond that contained in the net change in total proved reserves itself, (2) discoveries are highly associated with security returns even after controlling for production, and (3) revisions, net purchases, and production have a modest influence on security returns. The findings of this study are interpreted within the context of the economic environment of the O&G industry during the test period. Résumé. L'auteur examine le contenu en information des éléments du changement annuel de la quantité de réserves prouvées dont font état les producteurs pétroliers et gaziers des États-Unis. Il s'intéresse en particulier, pour la période 1984–1988, à l'association que l'on établit maintenant entre, d'une part, la portion inattendue des découvertes, la production, les achats nets et la révision des estimations antérieures de quantité et, d'autre part, les rendements imprévus des titres au cours de la semaine de publication des rapports annuels ou des formulaires 10-K des entreprises. Les résultats empiriques donnent à penser que (1) la décomposition en ses différents éléments du changement net dans la quantité des réserves prouvées livre davantage d'information que le changement net global lui-même, (2) les découvertes sont associées de très près aux rendements des titres, même une fois contrôlée la variable production, et (3) les révisions, les achats nets et la production ont une modeste influence sur les rendements des titres. Les résultats de cette étude sont interprétés dans le contexte économique du secteur pétrolier et gazier au cours de la période d'analyse.     

中美贸易对美国就业影响研究——基于美国制造业面板数据的分析

本文通过建立国际贸易对就业影响的理论模型,利用美国制造业面板数据分析中美贸易对美国就业的影响问题。实证结论表明,美国进口中国制成品对美国就业没有显著影响,也不是美国失业的Granger原因;美国制成品出口对增加美国就业虽有显著影响,但作用不大;影响美国国内就业的主要因素是实际工资、企业发展状况等实际因素。这些结论充分说明,美国的失业问题不是由美国进口中国制成品引起的,美国减少中国制成品进口也解决不了美国的失业问题。     

自助服务技术条件下的顾客迁移:感知促销强度与产品熟悉度的影响

近年来,越来越多的服务企业希望通过基于信息技术的渠道创新建立市场竞争优势,而如何促进现有顾客向高效率、低成本的创新性服务渠道迁移,就成为它们必须面对的重要问题和挑战。文章以商业银行导入自助服务技术（SSTs）为例,实证研究顾客对现有渠道满意水平与其迁移意愿的关系,以及感知促销强度和产品熟悉度及其交互作用对这一关系的影响。研究发现,产品熟悉度决定了顾客满意影响迁移意愿的程度以及感知促销强度对顾客满意与使用意愿关系的调节作用。     

The Riskiness of Large Audit Firm Client Portfolios and Changes in Audit Liability Regimes: Evidence from the U.S. Audit Market*

We investigate whether the financial riskiness of large U.S. audit firm clienteles varied with the changing audit litigation liability environment during the period 1975‐99. Partitioning the period of study into four distinct periods (a benchmark period (1975‐84), a period of increasing concerns about litigation liability (1985‐89), a period of lobbying for reform (1990‐94), and a post‐relief period (1995‐99)), we find some evidence of risk decreases during 1985‐89, strong evidence of risk decreases during 1990‐94, and strong evidence of risk increases during 1995‐99. However, we also find that over the period of our study, a time during which Big 6 market shares grew appreciably, the proportion of litigious‐industry clients in Big 6 client portfolios grew at about the same rate as the proportion of such clients in the population. Moreover, the Big 6 share of the financially riskiest clients in the economy did not grow as fast as the overall Big 6 market share. In sum, although our evidence is consistent with the hypothesis that the riskiness of Big 6 client portfolios responded to changes in the audit litigation liability environment, we find no systematic evidence of a "race to the bottom" or "bottom fishing" by these firms in a bid to increase their market shares.     

人力资本先行追赶与制度创新--德国和美国的经验及对我国的启示

成功的经济追赶都是以人力资本的先行追赶为先导的，而人力资本的先行追赶则又是以比教育创新更广泛的制度创新为先决条件的。19世纪末德国和美国的历史经验为这种理论提供了证明。公共知识基础设施的制度创新是19世纪末德国和美国跨越式发展得以成功的主要原因，而在知识经济和信息革命的时代，人力资本的先行追赶还需要大力发展知识密集的服务业和创新网络，它与公共知识基础设施的创造性发展一起构成了21世纪人力资本先行追赶的双引擎。     

The U.S. tariff and comparative advantage: A survey of method

Zusammenfassung US-Zolltarif und komparative Vorteile: Ein Methodenüberblick. — Dieser Aufsatz gibt einen überblick sowohl über Arbeiten, die sich mit den komparativen Vorteilen der USA befassen, als auch über solche, die die Handelspolitik zum Gegenstand haben. Ein wesentlicher Grundsatz des Artikels ist, da\ der Ansatz des allgemeinen Gleichgewichts bei all diesen Problemen erforderlich ist, weil der internationale Handel einen weitreichenden Einflu\ auf eine Volkswirtschaft haben kann. Entsprochen werden kann diesem Erfordernis durch eine Simulation mit einem Modell des allgemeinen Gleichgewichts oder durch eine Regressionsanalyse, die die Simultanit?t einschlie\t. Dieser Artikel enth?lt drei Abschnitte. Der erste er?rtert Versuche, die komparativen Vorteile der amerikanischen Volkswirtschaft zu ermitteln. Der zweite behandelt die Wirkungen der Handelspolitik auf die Einkommensverteilung. Der dritte umfa\t die Untersuchungen, die ausdrücklich die Wohlfahrtseffekte der amerikanischen Handelsschranken berechnen.

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Résumé Le tarif des Etats-Unis et l’avantage comparatif: Une revue sur des méthodes. — Cet article donne une revue sur des études qui se concentrent sur l’avantage comparatif des Etats-Unis et sur la politique commerciale. Un argument principal de cet article est qu’il faut appliquer une approche de l’équilibre général pour les aspects, en vue de l’effet per?ant que le commerce international peut avoir sur l’économie. Une telle approche peut être poursuivie par la simulation explicite d’un modèle de l’équilibre général ou par une analyse de régression qui incorpore la simultanéité. Cette revue se divise en trois sections principales. La première discute les efforts pour révéler l’avantage comparatif des Etats-Unis. La deuxième s’engage avec les effets de la politique commerciale sur la répartition des revenus. La troisième contient les études dans lesquelles on a calculé explicitement les effets des barrières commerciales des Etats-Unis sur le bien-être.

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Resumen La tarifa aduanera de los EEUU y ventajas comparativas: Un estudio de método. — En este articulo se hace un recuento tanto de los estudios que enfocan las ventajas comparativas de los EEUU come de aquéllos relacionados con la política comercial. Un principio importante de este artículo es que un enfoque de equilibrio general as asignado por mandate para todos estes temas, en vista del impacto penetrante del comercio sobre la economía. Este puede ser alcanzado a traves de una simulación explícita de un modelo de equilibrio general, or por medio de un análisis de regresión que incorpora simultaneidad. Este recuento se divide en tres grandes secciones. En la primera se discuten esfuerzos por descubrir las ventajas comparativas de los EEUU. La segunda se ocupa de los efectos de la política comercial sobre la distributión del ingreso. La tercera sección abarca aquellos estudios que han hecho un cálculo de bienestar explícite con respecte a los esfuerzos restrictivos de las barreras comerciales de los EEUU.