Positive Accounting Theory as a Lakatosian Research Programme

‘Positive accounting theory’ fails to meet Popper's falsificationist criteria for scientific inquiry. This paper argues, however, that Lakatos' ‘methodology of scientific research programmes’ is superior to Popper's falsificationist methodology, and that ‘positive accounting research’ does meet Lakatos' criteria for ‘scientific' status. Within Lakatos’ philosophy of science, however, this claim does not necessarily represent an endorsement of positive accounting theory.     

HR in the small business enterprise: Assessing the impact of PEO utilization

Within small businesses, organizational leaders are themselves often responsible for the HR function, an area where they typically have limited training and experience. Not surprisingly, small business leaders have raised concerns about the quality of HR programs in their firms and the fact that HR consumes scarce managerial time. While professional employer organizations (PEOs) emerged in response to such concerns, much controversy exists as to whether and how small businesses benefit from PEO utilization. Using a survey of more than 740 small businesses, we examine the relationship between PEO utilization and two key small business outcomes: managerial time required by HR activities and satisfaction with HR outcomes. Our results indicate that firms not using a PEO reported significantly lower levels of satisfaction with HR outcomes than firms that used a PEO for a limited set of transactional services and firms that used a PEO for both transactional and strategic HR services. Among firms using a PEO, satisfaction with HR outcomes was significantly higher among firms that obtained a broader set of transactional and strategic HR services. Firms that used a PEO also reported that HR consumed significantly less managerial time relative to leaders in firms that made no use of a PEO. However, there was no significant difference in the time demanded by HR between firms that used a limited set of transactional services and those that used a broader range of transactional and strategic services. Implications for the role of PEOs and their use within small businesses are discussed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The greening of Swedish energy policy: A critique

This article discusses Swedish energy policy over the period 1973–1992 with a focus on its current energy objectives. Bans on energy sources are assessed as one of the challenges faced by Sweden in the 1990s. We raise questions about the future consequences of such draconian approaches to energy policy that inhibit societal learning. Bans on any fuel source only serve to handicap the economy and lead to a less flexible and more inefficient energy supply at a greater than necessary cost. With the Swedish economy on the verge of becoming more integrated with the rest of Europe, it is imperative to view its comparative advantage in electricity as the basis for its energy policy rather than the individual fuels that generate that electricity. Our goal has been to synthesize components among existing energy objectives to suggest logical implications for the future.     

Bürgerversicherung — Die Wirkung von Kopfprämien auf den Arbeitsmarkt

Capitation fees are considered to be an option for a change in funding principles for statutory health care insurance. This paper discusses several models of capitation fees either to be introduced for a part of the population or for all citizens. It analyses the impact of a change in financing health care on the labour market. Therefore microeconomic theory and a QUERU-model is applied. It also considers the issue of presently co-insured dependents.     

A panel data analysis of code-sharing,antitrust immunity,and open skies treaties in international aviation markets

This paper estimates the effects of code-sharing, antitrust immunity, and Open Skies treaties on prices, output, and capacity using an eleven-year panel of U.S.-Europe data. Code-sharing and immunized alliances are found to have significantly lower prices than does traditional interline (multi-carrier) service, but the effects are smaller in magnitude than those found in previous results that rely on cross-sectional data. Statistical tests that prices for immunized alliance service are equal to online (single carrier) service often cannot be rejected, providing additional evidence that immunity grants allow immunized carriers to internalize a double marginalization problem. Estimated output effects, consistent with the price effects, show that alliances are associated with large increases in passenger volumes. Lastly, estimates suggest that capacity expansions associated with “Open Skies” treaties are due entirely to expansion by immunized carriers on routes between their hubs. I would like to thank the editor and an anonymous referee for their helpful comments. The views expressed in this paper do not reflect those of the US Department of Justice. All errors are my own     

Quantity and quality of information and SME financial structure

We test whether the amount and/or quality of financial statement information affects the financial structure of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Belgian SMEs are used, because there are important differences in disclosure and audit requirements among them. Consistent with the traditional view that asymmetric or incomplete information restricts access to external funds, our results indicate that both the amount and quality of financial statement information are positively related to SME leverage. In addition, we find that leverage is positively related to asset structure, growth (prospects) and median industry leverage, and negatively related to firm age and profitability.