Consumption, Dividends, and the Cross Section of Equity Returns

We show that aggregate consumption risks embodied in cash flows can account for the puzzling differences in risk premia across book‐to‐market, momentum, and size‐sorted portfolios. The dynamics of aggregate consumption and cash flow growth rates, modeled as a vector autoregression, are used to measure the consumption beta of discounted cash flows. Differences in these cash flow betas account for more than 60% of the cross‐sectional variation in risk premia. The market price for risk in cash flows is highly significant. We argue that cash flow risk is important for interpreting differences in risk compensation across assets.     

Productivity in “Top‐Ten” Academic Accounting Journals by Researchers at Canadian Universities*

We examine the research productivity of academic accountants at Canadian universities for the 11‐year period 1990‐2000. Our analysis is based on the “top‐ten” ranked refereed journals in accounting, auditing, and taxation, as documented by Brown and Huefner (1994). We first provide an overview of the importance of publishing in highly ranked accounting journals for individual academics, departments, and business faculties. We then provide details of the proportion of articles published in each of these journals by academics from Canadian universities; the type of research published in each journal (auditing, financial accounting, managerial accounting, and taxation); and details of editorial board service. Our results indicate that even at the most productive Canadian university (in terms of “top‐ten” publications), faculty members publish (on average) approximately one article every seven years. Six Canadian universities have faculty members with, on average, more than one article in “top‐ten” journals every 10 years. We also provide results of analyses that rank each Canadian university, after controlling for the relative quality of each journal, using impact factors published by the Social Science Citation Index. In addition, statistics are provided with regard to the 15 most productive researchers, in terms of “top‐ten” publications, in the 11‐year period. Finally, in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of the Canadian Academic Accounting Association, we examine the productivity of academic accountants at Canadian universities over the past 25 years by combining our results with those reported by Richardson and Williams (1990).     

Influence of Client-Based Subsidies on the Market for Child Care

Federal support for child care subsidies targeted to poor households has grown dramatically in recent years. The analysis presented here examines the impact of such subsidies on child care fees charged to all clients using Missouri data on provider fees and subsidy payments. It is found that patterns for fees and subsidies across providers imply that child care markets are largely competitive. Growth in subsidies observed over the period 1991–1993 increased fees and, by inference, improved quality for subsidized clients. Subsidies also induced an increase in fees for clients not covered by subsidies, an increase most likely due to the cost of expanding the child care market.     

Risk and the Corporate Structure of Banks

We identify different sources of risk as important determinants of banks' corporate structures when expanding into new markets. Subsidiary‐based corporate structures benefit from greater protection against economic risk because of affiliate‐level limited liability, but are more exposed to the risk of capital expropriation than are branches. Thus, branch‐based structures are preferred to subsidiary‐based structures when expropriation risk is high relative to economic risk, and vice versa. Greater cross‐country risk correlation and more accurate pricing of risk by investors reduce the differences between the two structures. Furthermore, a bank's corporate structure affects its risk taking and affiliate size.     

THE BENEFITS OF STRATEGIC HOMOGENEITY AND STRATEGIC HETEROGENEITY: THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE RESOLVING PAST DIFFERENCES

Past research on the relationship between strategic variety and industry profitability has argued for either high homogeneity or high heterogeneity. In this paper, we review the literature on strategic variety and use it to develop hypotheses suggesting that the relationship between strategic variety and average industry profits is curvilinear. Based on our analysis of 61 industries, we find empirical support for our hypotheses, suggesting that very high levels of heterogeneity or homogeneity are more likely associated with industry profitability, while the industries in our sample displaying moderate levels of strategic variety are most likely to suffer from widespread financial losses.     

Consumer Representation and Local Telephone Rates

The study reported here attempts to determine the impact of several political factors, including the type of proxy advocacy provided by state government, on flat-rate, residential telephone service. Results indicate that the type of proxy advocacy and the length of public utility commissioners’ terms are significantly related to residential telephone rates, whereas method of commissioner selection has no relationship to rates.     

Price Savings to Consumers at Farmers' Markets

This study determined the price savings to be realized by consumers by shopping at 15 certified farmers’ markets in California during the summer and fall of 1979. Substantial savings were found compared to local supermarket prices and the differences appeared in cities of different size and during different seasons of the year.     

Customer Characteristics and Attitudes at Participatory and Supermarket Cooperatives

Rising food prices have contributed to an increase in the number of food cooperatives in the United States. The present study was undertaken to learn more about the characteristics and motives of food co-opshoppers at large supermarket cooperatives with paid staff and a full product range and small participatory co-ops with volunteer workers and selective merchandising policies. Customer counts and interviews were conducted at participatory and supermarket co-op stores and nearby commercial supermarkets in Northern California and in New York State. Shoppers at the participatory co-ops were found to be young, well-educated, ethnically homogeneous, non-affluent, and motivated primarily by low prices, food quality, natural food and co-op philosophy. Customers at supermarket co-ops tended to be more diverse in age and ethnicity, well-educated, with eclectic food tastes, and motivated primarily by convenience, low prices and co-op philosophy. Customers at near by commercial supermarkets were also heterogeneous in age and ethnicity and motivated primarily by price and convenience. The implications of the different customer populations and motives for the future of food co-ops are discussed.     

Perceptual Differences in Market Transactions Revisited: A Waning Source of Consumer Frustration

A 1973 survey study of retailer and consumer attitudes toward retailer actions in contrived market situations showed marked differences in the values of the two groups. In short, retailers’ short-run profit motives outweighed their concern for their long-run customer franchise. This 1979 follow-up survey study found increased concordance between the parties in market transactions.     

On the Predictability of Stock Returns: An Asset-Allocation Perspective

Sample evidence about the predictability of monthly stock returns is considered from the perspective of a risk-averse Bayesian investor who must allocate funds between stocks and cash. The investor uses the sample evidence to update prior beliefs about the parameters in a regression of stock returns on a set of predictive variables. The regression relation can seem weak when described by usual statistical measures, but the current values of the predictive variables can exert a substantial influence on the investor's portfolio decision, even when the investor's prior beliefs are weighted against predictability.