The State of Asian Corporate Governance: A Presentation by Jamie Allen: CARE Conference | Hong Kong Polytechnic University | June 9, 2014

Since the 1998 Asian financial crisis, there has been considerable corporate governance reform in the region. But such reform has proceeded on two tracks. On one track, international rules are dominant, and common accounting and financial reporting standards are essentially accepted as necessary for trade and investment. On the second track, however, local cultural norms continue to exert a strong influence on the functioning of the boards, the quality of dialogue with shareholders, and the way they manage related party transactions and capital raising. As a consequence, in these matters of internal governance—where legacy issues and culture, and not international standards, continue to be the main driving force behind governance—there continue to be significant differences among Asian countries. And thus even as convergence is occurring in certain aspects of governance, it is expected to remain limited, particularly in the functioning of boards and internal governance. As for the case of China, there was such a flurry of rule‐making in the early 2000s—a national Code of Corporate Governance in 2002, and a Directive on Quarterly Reports in 2003—that people in Hong Kong used to enjoy saying that China's corporate governance standards were higher than Hong Kong's. But if that may have been true on paper, the reality has been quite different.     

An Empirical Examination of the Stated Purposes of Issuer Tender Offers to Purchase Common Stock

This paper documents the purposes of issuer tender offers to repurchase stock, as stated in Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosures, over the period 1994‐2006. We explore whether stated purposes relate to announcement period returns and find returns are significantly lower when repurchases replace dividends, distribute cash from unspecified sources, or occur subsequent to third‐party tender offers. Announcement period returns are significantly higher when repurchases are viewed by management as the best investment opportunity available or when they occur subsequent to previous repurchase programs. Finally, we find evidence in support of signaling theory and Jensen's (1986) agency cost of free cash flow theory.     

The Conflict Between Conservation and Recreation When Visitors Dislike Crowding: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis of the Spatial Distribution of Recreational Beach Users

We investigate conflicts between wildlife conservation and recreational use that can occur at open-access sites when visitors dislike crowding. A theoretical model is proposed which determines the spatial distributions of visitors to a beach, given their willingness to walk to avoid crowding and the configuration of beach access points. This model is estimated for three sections of coastline in eastern England using data from aerial video photography. Visitor density is strongly and negatively correlated with distance from access points. Willingness to walk has a highly skewed population distribution. We discuss the implications of these findings for the management of conflicts between conservation and recreation at open-access sites.     

A Hierarchical Model of Perceived Value of Group-Oriented Travel Experiences to Major Events and its Influences on Satisfaction and Future Group-Travel Intentions

This study seeks a deeper understanding of the forms of value that travel consumers derive from a group-travel experience to a major event. We focus on specific group-travel value dimensions of social, hedonic, monetary, functional – major event, functional – event-destination tourism infrastructure, epistemic, and convenience. A sample of 389 consumers is used to substantiate our framework. We also empirically examine this model with satisfaction and future group-travel intentions – with satisfaction found to fully mediate the relationship between the perceived value of the group-travel experience and future group-travel intentions. This framework can serve to advance further theory development in this domain.     

Flexible recession: the temporary staffing industry and mediated work in the United States

The evolution of the temporary staffing industry (TSI) in theUS is examined, with particular reference to the structuralfunctions of temporary work during the boom of the 1990s, the‘flexible’ recession of 2001, and the subsequent‘jobless’ recovery. It is argued that the TSI isincreasingly playing a systemic, macroregulatory role in theUS labour market, where it now accounts for a disproportionateshare of the costs of labour-market adjustment. The developmentpath of the TSI is closely intertwined with the wider restructuringof the US economy, where it has assumed a significant presenceas a purveyor of low-cost, flexibly mediated labour.     

Developing Measurement Scales of Organizational and Issue Legitimacy: A Case of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising in the Pharmaceutical Industry

The purpose of this paper is to explore the concepts of issue legitimacy and organizational legitimacy, providing a new measure of each construct. The scales were developed and tested using data collected through a statewide survey of Alabama residents. Assessments of issue legitimacy were based on perceptions of direct-to-consumer advertising, whereas assessments of organizational legitimacy were based on perceptions of the pharmaceutical industry as a whole. The findings provide evidence that organizational legitimacy can be reliably measured using a five-item scale and issue legitimacy can be reliably measured using a six-item scale. The implications of the results and potential uses of the scales are discussed.     

The unit root problem: Affinities between ergodicity and stationarity,its practical contradictions for central bank policy,and some consideration of alternatives

The initial focus in this article is the problem of mismatch between policy goals and statistical analysis, based on how data is transformed and processed. This intrinsically raises ontological issues regarding the nature of an economy within which policy is made and to which statistical analysis is applied. These are of general significance to post Keynesians irrespective of the position they take on the specifics of the ergodicity debate. However, they involve some issues that overlap with some aspects of that debate. The problem as posed in this article is specific and involves a practical contradiction regarding central bank policy and the problem of unit roots. The authors then consider some additional ways in which one can go beyond common practice based on the example of Forward Guidance in the United Kingdom and a more institutional approach to post Keynesian analysis.     

Species Being in the Twenty-First Century

ABSTRACT

In this article, I focus on what is implicitly the more humanist aspect of Marx’s work. That is, species being and alienation. I do so informed by a commitment to pluralism and based on a background in social ontology. I argue that species being and alienation continue to provide insight into the nature of the modern world. They are integral components to Marx’s exploration and constructive critique of capitalism and help to make sense of how potential is shaped for a social entity who can be harmed and who can flourish. However, the way in which one relates to Marx as still relevant regarding these matters can cover a range. I then set out how species being provides useful insight in the twenty-first century at a time of anticipated major social and economic change.