Firm heterogeneity and worker turnover

Previous empirical analyses of job mobility focus on worker rather than firm characteristics. This paper exploits a unique data set on enterprise employment. We describe sectoral differences in turnover rates and in the persistence of turnover. We also present evidence of persistent turnover differences at the level of the individual firms—a result that is expected if firms have managers with differing ability to screen workers. When we consider the consequences to the firm of such turnover, we discover that high turnover firms are less likely to survive.     

The FASB's cost/benefit constraint in theory and practice

The FASB in its Conceptual Framework has set high principles in the ethics of standard-setting in accounting. This paper concentrates on what the FASB calls the cost/benefit constraint, i.e., the commitment to setting an accounting standard only when the benefits of the standard exceeds the costs of that standard toall stakeholders. This constraint is supposed to take precedence over other concerns, such as neutrality (freedom from bias) of account information.The major conclusion of this paper is that a conflict exists between the FASB's commitment and its practice. There is no evidence that the FASB has always made a costs and benefits judgement with respect to proposed standards. In the cases when such a judgement is made, the FASB discounts social costs; therefore, it is not considering costs to all stakeholders. At the same time the FASB discounts social costs, it seems to have an undue concern for standards that do not increase the volatility of net income. The Conceptual Framework explicitly defines costs as the costs to society as a whole.Stanley Martens is an Assistant Professor of Accounting at DePaul University. He has written many articles for philosophy publications and accounting publications.Kevin Stevens is an Assistant Professor of Accounting at DePaul University. He has written many articles for various accounting publications.     

FOCUS: Ethics in the Accountancy Profession in Ireland

Accountants confronted with ethical dilemmas are expected to comply with their ethical guide or seek advice from their professional body. This study of Chartered Accountants in Ireland records their views on the usefulness of a Code of Ethics, the efficacy of their professional Institute and the need for ethics courses in Continuing Professional Development. Peter Clarke is a lecturer in the Department of Accountancy, University College Dublin, Dublin 4; Nancy Hill and Kevin Stevens are members of the School of Accountancy, DePaul University, Chicago.     

How hospitality managers learn: Are today's education and training programs designed to get the biggest bang for the big buck we're spending?

The greatest constant faced by hospitality managers in the 1980s and 1990s will be change. This challenges education and industry to find the most effective training methods for managers. This paper suggests that serious attention must be paid to research on how adults learn.     

Inflation dynamics and the cost channel of monetary transmission

Evidence from vector autoregressions indicates that the impact of interest rate shocks on macroeconomic aggregates can substantially be affected by the so-called cost channel of monetary transmission. In this paper, we apply a structural approach to examine the relevance of the cost channel for inflation dynamics in G7 countries. Since firms’ costs of working capital increase with interest rates, we augment a (hybrid) New Keynesian Phillips curve by including the short-run nominal interest rate. We find significant and varying direct interest rate effects for the majority of countries, including member countries of the EMU. Simulations further demonstrate that the estimated interest rate coefficients can substantially affect inflation responses to monetary policy shocks, and can even lead to inverse inflation responses, when the cost channel is - relative to the demand channel - sufficiently strong.