Industrial restructuring and regional policy

The paper examines the changing regional specialisation of UKemployment over the period 1971-94, analysing the extent towhich UK regional policy has altered the industrial structureof the Assisted Area regions, making them less vulnerable toeconomic change. All regional economies are found to have becomemore specialised, but industry has become less geographicallyconcentrated leading to a convergence of regional industrialstructures towards the national pattern of employment. Thesetrends are stronger in the Assisted Areas, and have been promotedby the operation of regional policy, but the major policy effectoccurs through the large-scale capital grants which have acceleratedthe employment decline of the traditional manufacturing industriesin which the Assisted Areas were relatively over-represented.     

State competition in higher education: A race to the top,or a race to the bottom?

How does competition affect higher education? This paper explores this question for public and private universities. Theory indicates that competition can push higher education policy in one of two different directions. On the one hand, competition may increase spending. For states, this would occur if states treat higher education as developmental; for private universities this would occur if they view spending as a means to attract students and prestige. On the other hand, competition may decrease spending if states treat higher education spending as redistributive, and competition may decrease spending by private schools if lower spending enhances their ability to attract students with low tuition. To determine which of these perspectives is most valid, we examine higher education policy choices in the 1980s and 1990s. We find that states appear to act as if higher education funding is redistributive while private schools appear to compete more on the basis of tuition than spending. These results demonstrate the important effects competition and governance structure have on higher education.Received: August 2001, Accepted: May 2002, JEL Classification: I2, I22, H72, I3     

Determinants of tax haven utilization: evidence from Australian firms

This paper examines the major determinants of tax haven utilization based on a sample of 200 publicly listed Australian firms, over the 2006–2010 period (1,000 firm‐years). Our regression results show that variables relating to transfer pricing, intangible assets, an interaction term between transfer pricing and intangible assets, withholding taxes, performance‐based management remuneration and multinationality are positively associated with tax haven utilization. We also find that corporate governance structures are negatively associated with tax haven utilization. The magnitude and significance of the regression coefficients indicate that transfer pricing, withholding taxes, intangible assets, an interaction term between transfer pricing and intangible assets, corporate governance and multinationality are the most important drivers of tax haven utilization.     

On measuring the utilization rate of employed labour

This paper deals with the factors that influence plans to retire from the labour force. We use a theoretical model to explain the empirical findings from a bivariate probit model relating economic, demographic, and social characteristics to retirement plans for over 7000 women and men between the ages of 40 and 64. The results of the analysis concerning retirement intentions suggest that personal, economic and household characteristics are more important determinants of retirement plans for women than men.     

Editorials and geopolitical explanations for 11 September

In the wake of the 11 September attacks, public intellectuals, editorialists and newspaper columnists began to attempt to offer largely geopolitical explanations for the attacks through editorials and op-ed pieces. In this essay we analyze some sixty editorials and op-ed pieces from a range of perspectives. We classify the editorials under five main categories of geopolitical explanation: imperialism, ‘blowback’, state decline, Islamism, and the ‘clash of civilizations’ perspectives. We then discuss each category of explanation, highlighting the arguments made, the theoretical perspectives which inform them, and counterarguments, when presented. In our conclusion we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the categories and suggest that geographers might help provide some integration of these varying perspectives.     

Examining the success of women of color-owned small and medium-sized enterprises in the United States: A system dynamics perspective

The objective of this study was to unravel the challenges confronting women of color (WoC)-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the United States. This is based on findings that most WoC-owned SMEs fail within the first few years of establishment. The impact of the global financial crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic on WoC-owned SMEs was also explored. System Dynamics (SD) is a computational modeling approach useful for understanding changes in a system over time and is applied in this study to illustrate WoC entrepreneurs' navigation through the startup and maturation of SMEs. The authors calibrated and validated the model with publicly available data. Findings revealed that more emphasis should be placed on failure reduction in the early years of establishment of these businesses. Also, there is the need for early intervention rather than focusing on the improvement of the successful business exit from the system. Results indicated that the creation of new businesses by WoC after the failure of existing businesses produced an increase in the number of failed enterprises. The authors assert that attention must be paid at the individual level through support to the entrepreneur. This study contributes to the extant literature by providing the first known SD model useful in depicting the SME system for WoC entrepreneurs in the US. The model serves as a potentially useful tool for informing effective policy making, education, and programmatic approaches to support the success of WoC entrepreneurs in the US.

     

How important are semi-annual earnings announcements? An information event perspective

Using a method that avoids the need to specify earnings expectations, we demonstrate that the period surrounding the semi-annual announcement of Australian firms' earnings is, on average, an important source of information. Although there is substantial year-to-year variation, we observe no evidence of any significant time trend, and also conclude that a shift from Australian domestic generally accepted accounting principle to International Financial Reporting Standards did not impact the association between earnings announcement windows and stock returns. We also find no evidence that the informativeness of earnings announcements varies systematically with firm size, analyst following or economic news (i.e., positive vs. negative stock returns, profits vs. losses), although we do observe significant variation across industries. Our conclusion is further supported by contrasting the earnings release date with the days immediately prior to release, or high information days other than earnings announcement windows. Using a more precise event window relative to prior studies (i.e., 3 h vs. 3 days), we confirm that earnings announcements contain significant new information about fundamentals.     

Market Risk Disclosures and Investment Efficiency: International Evidence from the Gulf Cooperation Council Financial Firms

This study examines the association between market risk disclosures (MRDs) and the investment efficiency of financial firms from six emerging markets in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. Based on a sample of 553 firm‐year observations over the 2007–2011 period, we find that MRDs are significantly and negatively associated with both under‐investment and over‐investment and that this association is more pronounced for larger firms. We also find that the association between MRDs and under‐investment is moderated during periods of economic distress such as the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 and that the association between MRDs and over‐investment is magnified during periods of reduced financial distress. Our results are consistent with the idea that MRDs reduce information asymmetry, which ultimately improves investment efficiency. We contribute to the literature in an emerging market context by providing empirical evidence on the association between MRDs and investment efficiency across six emerging GCC capital markets. This study also fills a gap in the literature by providing evidence on the factors affecting the investment efficiency of financial firms.