Effects of decoupling on the mean and variability of output

The influence of inputs on output risk in the context of agriculturalproduction decisions taken by non-risk neutral agents has beenignored by previous research assessing the effects of decoupledincome support payments in a deterministic world or risk-neutralframework. We study the impacts of decoupled payments on inputuse and on output mean and variance. Our theoretical frameworkfor studying agricultural producers' responses to lump sum paymentsallows for both output and price uncertainty and economic agents'risk attitudes. Results show the importance, in a non-risk neutralscenario, of considering the influence that economic agentshave on the stochastic component of output through input use.Our empirical application uses Kansas farm-level data to illustratethe model.     

Short-term debt maturity,monitoring and accruals-based earnings management

Most prior studies assume a positive relation between debt and earnings management, consistent with the financial distress theory. However, the empirical evidence for financial distress theory is mixed. Another stream of studies argues that lenders of short-term debt play a monitoring role over management, especially when the firm’s creditworthiness is not in doubt. To explore the implications of these arguments on managers’ earnings management incentives, we examine a sample of US firms over the period 2003–2006 and find that short-term debt is positively associated with accruals-based earnings management (measured by discretionary accruals), consistent with the financial distress theory. We also find that this relation is significantly weaker for firms that are of higher creditworthiness (i.e. investment grade firms), consistent with monitoring benefits outweighing financial distress reasons for managing earnings.     

Robust Testing of the Utility‐based High‐technology Product Sales Forecasting Models Proposed by Decker and Gnibba‐Yukawa (2010)

Decker and Gnibba‐Yukawa (2010) propose an elegant utility‐based model for forecasting the sales of high‐technology products and suggest that the model yields forecasts that are highly accurate. However, this finding is based on forecasts for a total of only six holdout observations shared across three products. This number of observations is insufficient for reliable inferences to be drawn about the accuracy of a method and the use of such a small data set runs counter to an accepted principle of forecast evaluation. The authors’ proposed model was tested on more extensive data and sensitivity analysis applied to the results. No evidence was found that the utility‐based model could outperform a relatively simple extrapolative model despite the much greater effort involved in applying the proposed model. In addition, the utility‐based model is only applicable for forecasting sales during a narrow interval in a product's life cycle and requires several periods of historic sales data before it can be implemented. It also depends heavily on the accurate estimates of parameters that are determined outside the model (and which may depend on difficult judgments by managers) and assumes that consumers or households will only purchase the product once between the launch date and the forecast horizon. In light of this, it is argued that the utility‐based model is likely to have limited usefulness as a sales forecasting tool.     

The influence of corporate governance mechanisms on the quality of financial reporting and auditing: Perceptions of auditors and directors in Singapore

This study uses two hypothetical cases to examine the perceptions of auditors and directors in Singapore about corporate governance practices relating to the quality of financial reporting and auditing. In the first case, the strength of the audit committee, the existence of an internal audit function and the strength of a corporate code of conduct were manipulated. All three variables were perceived to have some influence on financial reporting and audit quality. However, some interesting differences were found between the perceptions of auditors and directors. Auditors place more weight on the internal audit function, possibly due to their familiarity with the role that internal audit can play in reducing audit risk and enhancing controls. Directors have more confidence in board enforcement of a strong code of conduct, possibly reflecting the view that this encourages staff to adhere to higher ethical standards. In the second case, audit partner rotation, outsourcing of internal audit services and whether the audit firm audited all companies within a group were manipulated. Auditors believed that their ability to resist management pressure was enhanced when they audited all companies within the group. No significant differences were found for the other variables, suggesting that neither group believes that these practices impair audit independence.     

Schumpeter,Keynes and the theory of economic evolution

The contribution deals with a nonlinear dynamic macro-economic model which is used for simulation runs. Conditions and model specifications allowing for global stability are investigated and tested. Based on this some well-known facts as Schumpeterian long-wave phenomena, Keynesian unemployment, productivity growth effects are simulated. Moreover specifying an instrumental variable for state interventions policy issues are also discussed. With this runs it is shown that minor changes of parameters may provide totally different outcomes and different economic developments.     

Local polynomial fitting and spatial price relationships: price transmission in EU pork markets

We study price transmission processes within EU pork marketsafter the implementation of the EU single market in 1993. Wecompare results derived from non-parametric regressions withthose obtained using alternative non-linear threshold models.Both techniques support the hypothesis that prices are transmittedacross spatially separate EU pig markets and provide evidencefor asymmetric price adjustments. They also suggest the existenceof a range of price differentials where equilibrating priceadjustments are less intense. Non-parametric techniques oftensuggest a higher degree of price transmission than that impliedby threshold models.