The characteristics and attributes of UK firms obtaining accreditation to ISO 14001

Environmental policy in the UK has tended to reflect orthodox textbook responses, focusing upon standard setting and taxation, both impacting upon the supply side of the economy. In addition, economic agents have the option of legal recourse to settle environmental disputes. Complementing this command and control framework is a growing tendency for firms to subscribe to additional voluntary environmental standards by, for example, registering with an appropriate agency, thereby signalling to others that they have adopted a particular scheme. This growing trend has far reaching consequences for future policy decisions and for financial and environmental performance of the firms. We aim here to identify the attributes of many firms which participate in ISO 14001. We use a probit model to determine, from a vector of firm and industry characteristics at one point in time, what factors influence the probability of firms registering with ISO 14001. We then utilize survival analysis to analyse how these characteristics impact upon the ‘hazard’ of accreditation over time. If significant differences exist between 14001 firms and others, important questions arise for academics and practitioners alike. Are certain types of firm hindered by their firm characteristics? Does the scheme favour larger firms over smaller firms, or high tech firms over low tech? Why do some industries have many accreditations whilst others have none? The analysis of such issues is not only an under‐developed area of academic debate, but also of direct relevance to practitioners within the field of environmental management and policy. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

DETECTING ABNORMAL RETURNS USING THE MARKET MODEL WITH PRE-TESTED DATA

The current literature suggests various alternative procedures for increasing the power of tests to detect abnormal returns in event studies. Using randomly constructed portfolios, we simulate events and compare the results of tests using three alternative procedures: traditional, cross-sectional, and cross-sectional with standardized residuals. For each test, we compare results when all observations are included with results when the observations with high trading volume are omitted from the estimation period. The simulation results indicate that both the traditional approach with omitted observations and the cross-sectional approach using standardized residuals with all observations yield approximately the correct test sizes and significantly improve the power of tests to detect abnormal returns. However, the cross-sectional approach using standardized residuals is clearly dominant among the three procedures.     

Computerising the Stock Exchange: a comparison of two information systems

Two large scale IS projects are examined using the differentiators of size, technology and structure. They serve to explain the very different outcomes of the Taurus project and Crest equity settlement system and may therefore provide a basis for understanding other IT applications development projects within the financial services sector.     

Migration and food consumption patterns in Ghana

This paper examines the link between migration and food consumption patterns in Ghana, which has a history of widespread migration and high levels of poverty. Data from 4130 households from the nationally representative 2005/2006 Ghana Living Standards Survey are used for the analysis. Since migrants self-select into migration, an instrumental variable approach is taken to analyze the relationship between migration and total food expenditures per capita, food expenditures across a range of food categories and shares of food expenditures across these categories. Overall, the results indicate that migration does not substantially affect total food expenditures per capita, and has minimal noticeable effect on food expenditure patterns. Looking at results in different settings, the analysis indicates that only in high migration regions does migration appear to increase overall food expenditures resulting in a shift towards the consumption of potentially less nutritious categories of food, such as sugar and beverages and eating out of the home. The results raise questions about the value of migration for improving the food consumption of migrant sending households.     

Inventories and the automobile market

This article studies the within‐model‐year pricing, production, and inventory management of new automobiles. Using new monthly data on U.S. transaction prices, we document that, for the typical vehicle, prices fall over the model year at a 9.0% annual rate. Concurrently, both sales and inventories are hump shaped. To explain these time series, we formulate an industry model for new automobiles in which inventory and pricing decisions are made simultaneously. The model predicts that automakers' build‐to‐stock inventory management policy substantially influences the time series of prices and sales, accounting for four tenths of the price decline observed over the model year.     

Growth,decline, or metamorphosis?

The first day of the Second International Symposium on New Problems of Advanced Societies held from May 3 to 7, 1976, in Hamburg, was devoted to “Basic Political and Social Problems of the 1980’s”. In the following article those problems are traced back to a number of fundamental failures. Their removal requires, in the authors’ view, a thoroughgoing societal transformation. Subsequently we publish a contribution by Professor Bernard Cazes that also represents an excerpt from his report at the Symposium.     

Employment Protections for Older Workers: Do Disability Discrimination Laws Matter?

Although age discrimination laws boost employment of older workers, some are exempt from age-law protection and may be better protected by disability discrimination laws. Disability laws may raise the costs of employing the disabled, however, generating mixed predictions regarding employment effects of protection by both types of laws. This study finds that employment of older disabled workers with the coupled laws is lower than those with age-law protection only; employment of the younger disabled is higher with the coupled laws. For older disabled workers, earnings of those with the coupled laws are lower than their counterparts with only age-law protection. (JEL J78 , K31 , J00 )     

Index fund rebalancing and market efficiency

Stocks newly added to the S&P 500 Stock Index experience significantly positive abnormal returns on the date of their inclusion. This study looks at the rebalancing required by index funds when RJR/Nabisco was replaced by First Union. On that date, approximately one percent of the market capitalization was removed and had to be reallocated among the remaining 499 stocks in the Index, but there was no change in information or attention for these 499 stocks. We find that while there was abnormal trading volume on the original takeover date, there were no abnormal returns. The only hypotheses consistent with previous results, as well as these results, are the information or the attention hypotheses, that stocks newly added to the index have positive information disclosed or experience increased investor attention.     

EXCESS RETURNS OF INDEX REPLACEMENT STOCKS: EVIDENCE OF LIQUIDITY AND SUBSTITUTABILITY

Excess returns of S&P index replacement stocks are attributed to price pressures and imperfect substitutes in previous research. However, parameter estimates are biased by the use of pre-announcement returns; replacements are characterized by rising stock prices. Using a future estimation period to avoid this bias, we find excess returns do not reverse. Further, we find no relation between excess returns and the amount of stock closely held or the size of index funds. The evidence supports efficient market assumptions: the stock market is liquid and stocks are close substitutes.     

Realizing the New Opportunity for Railways

Britain's railway system has a pivotal role in the implementation of the Government's transport policies, which include effective integration with land-use development planning. A higher and more sustained proportion of public funds has already been allocated in order to achieve this role. The structure of the railway industry needs to take these policies into account. The new structure should also reflect general trends in European transport and railway policies. And its operation must be underpinned by a cohesive national system of management training and skills development.