Limiting Auditors' Liability: The Potential Consequences

The recent revival of interest in the issue of limiting auditors' liability raises questions about the potential effect of such a limitation on auditors' performance. This paper considers the consequences of limited liability from the perspectives of contracting theory and economic arguments. We examine the potential effect of a reduction in auditors' liability on the standard of care or quality of service they provide, emphasising the "calculus of negligence" concept used by Australian courts. We consider the potential impact of reduced liability on the auditor's decision to shirk responsibilities (the moral hazard problem) and on the value placed on audit services. The analysis shows that placing a statutory cap on auditors' liability has the potential to reduce the effectiveness of bonding mechanisms; provide an avenue for divergent behaviour; lower the level of care provided by auditors; and decrease the value of audit services.     

Control of lipid oxidation in cooked ground beef with water and salts*

The effects of exogenous water and salts on lipid oxidation in ground beef were determined. Deionized water, salts, or both, were added to treatment samples. Salts used were sodium chloride, potassium chloride and sodium sulphate, all at 3% concentration. The Thiobarbituric acid (TBA) test was used to assess lipid oxidation. Addition of water at a 10% or 20% level had no effect on rancidity. Sodium chloride and potassium chloride reduced TBA numbers. Adding water to those samples containing potassium chloride and sodium sulphate raised moisture content.     

The evaluation stage in marketing decision making

Prior to making important decisions, marketing managers go through an evaluation process in which available alternatives are compared. Yet, no systematic discussion of the evaluation process exists in the marketing literature. This article reviews the marketing and behavioral decision theory literature in order to identify factors that may cause errors in the two fundamental elements of the evaluation process—the estimation of probabilities and the determination of the value of outcomes. Propositions are developed that specify circumstances in which marketing management decisions may be influenced by judgmental biases, and procedures are identified for debiasing such judgments.     

Up in the Air: GTE's Experience in the MTA Auction for Personal Communication Services Licenses

In late 1994, GTE, one of the largest telecommunications firms in the world, entered an auction for the rights to provide personal communications services (PCS) using the electromagnetic spectrum. The administering agency, the Federal Communications Commission, adopted a novel multiple-round format for the PCS auction. The format presented GTE with a complex bidding problem. This article describes how the GTE bidding team answered the following question: Given its budget and valuations and the information available about rival bidders, how should GTE bid to achieve the best attainable outcome?     

Optimal Generic Advertising with a Rationed Related Good: The Case of Canadian Beef and Chicken Markets

An optimal advertising rule is derived for a good sold in an open market (beef) when a related substitute good (chicken) is production rationed and whose imports are subject to trade restrictions. Such a rule is developed using a multi-market equilibrium displacement model that reflects demand interrelatedness, open trade of the advertised good (beef), with rationed production and restricted trade of the related good (chicken). The optimal rule nests earlier optimal advertising rules under a variety of conditions. Results underscore the importance of accounting for cross-product advertising effects. When these effects are present (absent), the optimal generic beef advertising intensity in Canada is shown to fall (rise) with elimination of supply management in Canada's chicken sector.
L'auteur dérive une règie sur l'optimisation de la publicité pour un produit vendu sur un marché libre (bœuf) en présence d'un produit de substitution rationné dont on restreint les importations. Pour parvenir à une telle règie, l'auteur a utilisé un modèle de déplacement du point d'équilibre sur un marché multiple illustrant les liens entre la demande des produits concernés, le libre-échange du produit faisant l'objet de la publicité (bœuf) et la restriction de la production et des importations du produit apparenté (poulet). La règie d'optimisation englobe les règles antérieures sur l'optimisation de la publicité dans diverses situations. Les résultats soulignent qu'il est important de prendre en compte les retombées de la publicité sur les autres produits. Au Canada, en présence (absence) de telles retombées, le degré optimal de publicité générique sur le bœuf diminue (augmente) avec l'abolition de la gestion de l'offre de poulet.     

The Effects of Occupational Injuries After Returns to Work: Work Absences and Losses of On-the-Job Productivity

We extend the research on postinjury employment by estimating productivity losses for workers with permanent partial disabilities (PPDs) in the first three years after injury. Our method distinguishes between productivity losses attributed to spells of work absence versus reduced earnings during spells of employment. The method is applied to data for 800 Ontario workers with PPDs. The results document large productivity losses persisting at least three years after injury, with different loss patterns for workers returning to stable versus unstable employment. Human capital investments or job accommodations can reduce productivity losses, but the significant determinants of losses differ for the stable versus unstable employment groups.     

The composition of interest: The judaic prohibition

An interest charge is made up of an award for waiting known as the real rate of interest, a premium for risk and compensation for transaction costs. Where inflation exists the lender seeks further compensation. In order to understand the composition and evolution of different versions of the usury prohibition it is necessary to ask which components of an interest charge are prohibited by each version. The Judaic prohibition has two aspects which are of particular interest to business historians and students of usury. First, the general rule is that a reward for waiting is prohibited. This focuses on the time-based part of interest charge. Second, interest is prohibited because it amounts to placing a stumbling block before the blind. This focuses on the typical gullibility of the borrower confronted by a more expert, better funded lender. Economics confirms and enriches our understanding of these important aspects of the prohibition. They achieve this by increasing our understanding of two facts: first, that the borrower is a gullible individual subject to irrational and inconsistent behaviour; and, second, that this behaviour relates to the waiting aspect of interest which is proscribed in the prohibition. How far these insights apply to other civilisations' prohibition, particularly those which derive from the Judaic prohibition, merits further study; so also do the ethical lessons of the Mosaic rules for a globalised society based on capitalism.     

Does Hedging Affect Firm Value? Evidence from the US Airline Industry

Does hedging add value to the firm, and if so, is the source of the added value consistent with hedging theory? We investigate jet fuel hedging behavior of firms in the US airline industry during 1992–2003 to examine whether such hedging is a source of value for these companies. We illustrate that the investment and financing climate in the airline industry conforms well to the theoretical framework of Froot, Scharfstein, and Stein (1993). In general, airline industry investment opportunities correlate positively with jet fuel costs, while higher fuel costs are consistent with lower cash flow. Given that jet fuel costs are hedgeable, airlines with a desire for expansion may find value in hedging future purchases of jet fuel. Our results show that jet fuel hedging is positively related to airline firm value. The coefficients on the hedging variables in our regression analysis suggest that the “hedging premium” is greater than the 5% documented in Allayannis and Weston (2001), and might be as large as 10%. We find that the positive relation between hedging and value increases in capital investment, and that most of the hedging premium is attributable to the interaction of hedging with investment. This result is consistent with the assertion that the principal benefit of jet fuel hedging by airlines comes from reduction of underinvestment costs.