Does expert trust and factual knowledge shape individual's perception of science?

Explaining how individuals form their risks and benefit perceptions with regard to new technologies is a key issue in order to understand how new information disseminates. This paper examines the effect of knowledge, social values and trust in experts as shaping perceptions of risks and benefits of new technologies. Given that individual's perceptions of a technology is affected by unobserved heterogeneity, we use a methodology to disentangle the effect of a joint estimation of risks and benefit perceptions, namely seemingly unrelated probit, and we draw upon evidence from a representative survey carried out in Spain. Our findings suggest that factual knowledge and trust in experts increase perceptions of benefit of new technology developments and jointly reduce the perceptions of risk. Furthermore, reliance on traditional social values only appears to affect perceptions of benefits but does not influence risk perceptions.     

Serving SMEs Via the Stock Exchange: Historical Lessons from the Lisbon Stock Exchange

The development of large companies in the western world — many being huge multinational corporations — and the sheer size of their financial needs has given an added importance to tradability, a fact that can clearly be gauged by the recently discovered “high frequency trading” (HFT) operations which are only possible with large issues. Also contributing to the importance of tradability is the recent demutualization of most exchanges during the 1990s, which turned them into for-profit organizations. In fact, large issues of shares or bonds allow economies of scale, and generate experience in listing practices and trading operations, thereby enhancing the profitability of those commercially oriented stock exchanges. Thus, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are now much less attractive to these organizations, as compared to large enterprises (LEs), due to their inherent lack of liquidity and to the economies of scale. We discuss the barriers before SMEs, which require special accommodations to be able to raise stable funds for their development.     

Extending the Classification of European Countries by their IFRS Practices: A Research Note

Abstract

This paper expands the IFRS accounting systems’ classification proposed by Nobes [(2011). IFRS practices and the persistence of accounting system classification. Abacus, 47(3), 267–283] to a broader set of European countries. The results suggest a classification distinguishing between four groups of European countries, and add to the evidence, reported by Kvaal and Nobes [(2010). International differences in IFRS policy choice. Accounting and Business Research, 40(2), 173–187] and Nobes (2011)., that pre-IFRS accounting differences influence the options adopted by firms. This study contributes to the literature suggesting that the widespread adoption of IFRS has not eliminated the differences between national accounting practices and that accounting systems classification did not lose its relevance.