Ethics Research: an Accounting Educator's Perspective

This review of ethics education in accounting shows the contributions of, and gaps in, existing work. The investigation can contribute directly to an ethics educational program, while shedding light on topics that could be usefully extended. The paper is structured uniquely for educational interests by forming primary categories around the needs of the educational manager and the classroom educator; subcategories are drawn from the literature itself. The analysis anchors on McDonald and Donleavy's (1995) review and looks to studies published in the decade between 1995 and early 2005.     

The Price Elasticity of Demand for Common Stock

We study the price elasticity of demand for the common stock of an individual corporation. Despite the prevelance of assumptions that demand is perfectly elastic, there is little if any direct evidence in the literature to either support or reject that contention. Consistent with the notion of finite price elasticities, we find that the announcement of primary stock offerings by regulated firms depresses their stock prices and little if any evidence that this decline is the result of adverse information about future cash flows. Attempts to relate offer announcement effects directly to possible determinants of price elasticities, however, are inconclusive.     

The Financial and Operating Performance of Newly Privatized Firms: An International Empirical Analysis

This study compares the pre and postprivatization financial and operating performance of 61 companies from 18 countries and 32 industries that experience full or partial privatization through public share offerings during the period 1961 to 1990. Our results document strong performance improvements, achieved surprisingly without sacrificing employment security. Specifically, after being privatized, firms increase real sales, become more profitable, increase their capital investment spending, improve their operating efficiency, and increase their work forces. Furthermore, these companies significantly lower their debt levels and increase dividend payout. Finally, we document significant changes in the size and composition of corporate boards of directors after privatization.     

Encouraging Enterprise—The Belgian Experience

Nigel Lawson will meet with failure in adopting Sir Geoffrey Howe's plans for enterprise zones in Britain unless he learns from the mistakes of the Belgian E-Zones. Michael van Notten, who was instrumental in the implementation of the Belgian plan, outlines the political obstacles raised in the path of the E-Zones by empire-building bureaucrats.