Attestation research opportunities: 1987

Abstract. A brief review of some precursors of modern auditing scholarship and changes in the current environment and their implication is provided with the intent to stimulate future research in auditing. After distinguishing between the attestation and checking functions, the paper offers some research questions which may be considered by auditing researchers in the future.     

Répercussions de la Pension Protection Act de 2006 sur la valeur boursière

Les auteurs étudient les répercussions de la Pension Protection Act de 2006 (PPA 2006) sur la valeur boursière des actions. La PPA 2006 contient deux dispositions principales : 1) les entreprises doivent assurer la capitalisation intégrale de leur régime de retraite en sept ans (alors qu’une période de trente ans leur était auparavant accordée pour capitaliser 90 pour cent de leur passif au titre du régime) et 2) elles peuvent se prévaloir d’une déduction fiscale à l’égard des cotisations à concurrence de 150 pour cent du passif au titre du régime (alors que le plafond de la déduction était antérieurement de 100 pour cent). Une fois contrôlés l’incidence de la norme SFAS 158, les possibilités de croissance, le coût du financement externe et les autres informations publiées au cours de la période d’échantillonnage, les auteurs examinent les rendements anormaux des entreprises ayant un régime de retraite, à proximité des dates marquantes du processus législatif ayant menéà l’adoption de la PPA 2006. Premièrement, ils observent un rendement anormal moyen négatif de – 4,20 pour la période au cours de laquelle la PPA 2006 a fait l’objet d’un premier vote au Congrès. La capitalisation boursière de l’entreprise moyenne (médiane) de l’échantillon a enregistré un déclin de 310 millions de dollars (60 millions de dollars). Deuxièmement, les auteurs constatent que les répercussions sur la valeur boursière sont plus négatives dans le cas des entreprises présentant des passifs non capitalisés plus importants au titre du régime et devant faire face à des dépenses en immobilisations plus substantielles, alors que les entreprises dont les taux d’imposition marginaux sont plus élevés enregistrent des répercussions positives. Troisièmement, les auteurs ne relèvent aucun élément permettant d’affirmer que les répercussions sur la valeur boursière varient selon les différentes catégories de risque définies par la PPA 2006. Enfin, ils recensent un nombre appréciable de cas de blocage du régime au cours de la période soumise à l’étude. Les résultats sont plus marqués encore lorsque ces entreprises sont retirées de l’échantillon.     

Tradeoffs Between Price and Quality: How a Value Index Affects

The present research examines how the availability of information about the value of a product, expressed as a ratio of the quality received per dollar, influences preference formation. This index, similar to unit price which provides information about how much quantity is received per dollar, presents consumers with information regarding the quality received per dollar. An experiment that compares consumers' preferences inferred from a choice task with their preferences inferred from a conjoint task was conducted. In the choice task consumers selected the most attractive alternative from a set of options, while in the conjoint task the attractiveness of each option was rated. Consumers, presented with an index of quality received per dollar paid (the value index), are more likely to choose a lower priced, higher value option rather than a higher priced, higher quality option compared to consumers presented with only price and quality information. Clearly, how a consumer chooses to “get the best for his or her money” depends on the ease with which information about the choices can be processed.     

Heteroskedasticity in Stock Return Data: Volume versus GARCH Effects

This paper provides empirical support for the notion that Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (ARCH) in daily stock return data reflects time dependence in the process generating information flow to the market. Daily trading volume, used as a proxy for information arrival time, is shown to have significant explanatory power regarding the variance of daily returns, which is an implication of the assumption that daily returns are subordinated to intraday equilibrium returns. Furthermore, ARCH effects tend to disappear when volume is included in the variance equation.     

Development and Wealth: A Georgist Perspective

This essay addresses concerns of economic and wealth distribution, especially as they challenge the developing world. The foundation for any new framework of economic thought must embody a structure that allows for a sustainable future, not only for individuals but also for whole societies and economic units, and the assurance of minimal standards of living for the entire world's people. The Georgist position is that all the natural resources of the earth and sky should require payment back to society for the privilege of their use. Hence the recovery of rent is the proper source of finance for government services, restoring what is otherwise an imbalance between the public and the private realms of society. The Georgist philosophy offers economic justice and clarity of vision, restoration of and protection for the commons, and protection for the environment of the earth in a deft and gentle way that is within the capacity of governments to implement.     

Information Cascades and Threshold Implementation: Theory and an Application to Crowdfunding

Economic interactions often involve sequential actions, observational learning, and contingent project implementation. We incorporate all-or-nothing thresholds in a canonical model of information cascades. Early supporters effectively delegate their decisions to a “gatekeeper,” resulting in unidirectional cascades without herding on rejections. Project proposers can consequently charge higher prices. Proposal feasibility, project selection, and information aggregation all improve, even when agents can wait. Equilibrium outcomes depend on crowd size, and project implementation and information aggregation achieve efficiency in the large-crowd limit. Our key insights hold under thresholds in dollar amounts and alternative equilibrium selection, among other model extensions.     

中美服务贸易领域拓展及其途径选择

多年来,美国对华巨大贸易逆差使其对中国愈来愈不满,而并不刻意追求贸易顺差的中国也在试图转变经济增长方式,试图摆脱过于依赖出口和外资的不利局面本文分析了中美两国在新的经济切合点--服务贸易上的共同利益,阐述了两国可以率先扩大服务贸易领域及其操作方法.