The Baby Boom and the Stock Market Boom*

This paper addresses two issues. The first is whether demographic change was plausibly responsible for the run‐up in stock prices over the last decade, and whether an attempt by the baby boom cohort to cash out of its investments in the period 2010–2030 might lead to an “asset meltdown”. The second issue is whether the rise in dependency that will accompany the retirement of the baby‐boom cohort calls for an increase in national saving. We analyze these issues using a forward‐looking macro‐demographic model, and show that they are related via the existence of installation costs for capital. If such costs are sufficiently large, then demographics do have the power to affect stock prices, but “saving for America's old age” is less optimal. However, conventional estimates of capital installation costs are not large enough to explain large stock price movements in response to actual demographic change.     

Roots of Marketing and Consumer Research at the University of Chicago1

The marketing and consumer research fields began to flourish in the late 1940s after World War II. Social Research, Inc. was founded in 1946 by members of the University of Chicago's faculty. Students at the University's interdisciplinary Committee on Human Development and the Departments of Sociology, Anthropology, and Psychology worked at Social Research, Inc., pioneering the application of behavioral methods of research to problems of business and other organizations. This paper traces the transmission of knowledge from the academic setting to the business environment. It notes especially the influence of members of the university faculty and their theories of human behavior on the emerging fields devoted to the study of consumption and culture.     

Corporate governance and firm value during a financial crisis

The main purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effects of management ownership and other corporate governance variables on Hong Kong firms’ stock performance following the onset of the Asian Financial Crisis (1997–98). Our results show that Hong Kong firms with a more concentrated management (executive board) ownership displayed better capital market performance during the 13-month period of the Crisis. We also find that firms with more equity ownership by non-executive directors, and in which the positions of CEO and board chairperson were occupied by the same individual experienced a smaller stock price decline. Our findings are consistent with the notion that there is a greater alignment of insiders with outside owners, rather than the expropriation by insiders who have the opportunity to divert value, for firms with higher levels of management ownership during an unexpected capital market crisis.     

Increasing the number of black chartered accountants in South Africa: an empirical review of educational issues

South Africa has a shortage of black chartered accountants. This situation has arisen due to a combination of political, socio-economic and related educational reasons during the four decades of apartheid rule. In recent years, numerous academic ventures have commenced in an attempt to increase the number of black chartered accountants. This paper reviews and identifies, through an empirically-based exploratory study, the educational issues potentially inhibiting the development of black chartered accountants in South Africa, as well as the academic support structures which have arisen in response to these perceived educational barriers. Both academic support organizations and recently qualified black chartered accountants in South Africa were surveyed through in-depth interviews and structured self-administered questionnaires. This study found, inter alia, that role models, as a motivational factor for black accounting students, were extremely important. Cognitive factors, such as writing skills and the interpretation of numerical data, were identified as areas of primary concern, whilst issues with respect to certain study needs, such as assistance with study skills and examination techniques, also warranted attention. This study also found that the overall approach of academic support organizations to programme structure and design appears to be addressing student needs adequately. Certain improvements, however, are recommended. Of particular concern, is the general lack of studies on the effectiveness of academic support programmes.     

External financing problems of LDCs

In INTERECONOMICS No. 3, 1972, Dr Erhard Eppler, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation, expressed the view that the developing countries at UNCTAD III would not be content with mere benevolent declarations by the developed nations; on the other hand he saw less chance that the western developed countries might offer more concessions that would be regarded as adequate by developing countries than had been the case at the two previous UNCTAD sessions.