Accounting student characteristics: Results of the 1993 and 1994 Federation of Schools of Accountancy (FSA) surveys

This article updates the results of an ongoing, longitudinal study on characteristics of accounting students, conducted by the Federation of Schools of Accountancy (FSA). The annual survey measures many attributes of accounting seniors and masters students, including student quality, provenance, future educational plans, career plans, plans for professional certification, extra-curricular involvement, attitude toward the accounting profession, attitude toward learning, attitude toward the 150-hour requirement, and various demographic dimensions. Subjects included 2,512 and 1,507 seniors, and 969 and 670 masters students, at 39 and 27 FSA schools, in the years 1993 and 1994, respectively. Results of these surveys, which appear in a comparative format below, have implications for many currently debated topics in accounting education. Results of the 1991 and 1992 surveys appearing in the spring 1992 and fall 1993 issues of the Journal of Accounting Education (Vol. 10, pp, 25–37 and Vol. 11, pp. 211–225), respectively.     

Stock market dynamics with rational liquidity traders

In the Kyle (1985) finite horizon model of stock market dynamics with a trader who holds long-lived information, informed trading intensities rise with time, and the slopes of the equilibrium price schedules fall. This paper shows that this result depends crucially on the irrational liquidity trader assumption. We replace the irrational noise traders with a sequence of rational, risk averse, liquidity traders who receive endowment shocks to their holdings of the risky asset. We demonstrate that unless liquidity traders are sufficiently risk averse, the slope of equilibrium price schedule rises over time, while informed trading intensities fall. In particular, Kyle's result holds only when liquidity traders are so risk averse that they ‘over-rebalance’ their portfolio's holdings of the risky asset, so that their final holdings of the risky asset have the opposite sign of their initial position.     

Measurement Errors and Information Content of Segment Reporting

This paper assesses the measurement errors inherent in segment reporting. Measurement errors are gauged by comparing the correlation of segment results with their industry to the corresponding correlation for single line-of-business firms operating in the same industry. The findings show that the measurement errors in segment information, particularly earnings, are larger than those in the financial information reported by single line-of-business firms. The cross-sectional variation in the measurement errors can be traced to cost/revenue allocations, management intervention in segment reporting, and the operational structure of multi-segment firms. Market tests indicate that the information content of segment information is inversely related to the estimated measurement errors. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Public Sector Decentralisation: Measurement Concepts and Recent International Trends*

This paper deals with the problems encountered in defining and measuring the degree of fiscal decentralisation. Drawing on a recent analytical framework of the OECD, different measures of tax autonomy and revenue decentralisation are presented which consider the tax‐raising powers of sub‐central governments. Taking account of changes in the assignment of decision‐making competencies over the course of time, new time series of annual data on the degree of fiscal decentralisation are provided for 23 OECD countries over the period between 1965 and 2001. It is shown that common measures usually employed tend to overestimate the extent of fiscal decentralisation considerably. Evidence is also provided of increasing fiscal decentralisation in a majority of OECD countries during the last three decades.     

Drive-by-wire

Fly-by-wire has taken the aircraft from mechanical to computerized control. Enough expertise exists to do the same for the car—drive—by—wire. But, the author argues, it is less likely to be the demands of safety and comfort holding the development of the design back, but rather the conservatism of the car manufacturers.     

Empirical Tests of the Feltham–Ohlson (1995) Model

This paper tests the Feltham–Ohlson (1995) model by transforming the undefined “other information” variables into expectational variables, as suggested by Liu and Ohlson [Liu and Ohlson (2000). Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance 15, 321–331]. The signs of the estimated coefficients conform to the model’s predictions using panel data techniques, non-parametric estimation, reverse regressions and portfolio regressions. The tests reject the Ohlson model in favor of Feltham–Ohlson. Nevertheless, the estimated leverage coefficient takes a value of three instead of one for most variations of the model. Also, the 1-year-ahead price predictions of the Feltham–Ohlson model are no more accurate than those of the Ohlson model or a naive earnings valuation model.     

Research on the Credit Cycle and Business Cycle with a Focus on Ten States from Central,Eastern, and Southeastern Europe

By performing an econometric analysis of the credit cycle and business cycle from an individual as well as a comparative perspective, with a focus on ten relevant economies from the areas of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe, this research offers a fresh view regarding the importance of banks in promoting long-term economic growth through their lending capacity. The purpose is to better understand the behavior (the short- and medium-term dynamics) of the credit cycle and business cycle and the effects of the interactions between them. The results of this study offer valuable insights for both academics and policymakers and provide a warning to regulators not to overregulate or put too much pressure on banking activity.     

Analysis of China＇s Renewable Energy Development under the Current Economic and Technical Circumstances

At present, the development of renewable energy relies mainly on government support. The government invests in a considerable number of projects to improve public welfare and to assist in poverty relief If China is to replace fossil fuels on a large scale with renewable energy sources, the production costs and prices of renewable energy must be brought down. All countries are facing the challenge of moving to a more secure and low-carbon energy system without weakening economic and social development. In this regard, China is facing an even greater challenge in terms of economic cost, as cheap coal remains the main energy form. Technical innovation and industrialization in the area of renewable energy is an important means of lowering cost. China is in for a period of high-speed development of its economy and the rising demand for energy is irreversible. If the technical progress and development speed of renewable energy lags behind the growth in demand, it will be difficult to realize the improvement of its energy structure.     

区域经济中地方政府行为的博弈分析——以京津冀地区为例

引入博弈论方法来研究京津冀三地的区域合作问题,把京津冀三方行政主体看作博弈的局中人,关注其中的"核心"问题--三方都能接受的利益分配方案、如何分配合作利益、如何建立有效的磋商机制以及协调机制的可行性与有效性.同时,提出应当在区域补偿、区域发展、产业布局三个方面寻求政策的改善.