Board composition, regulatory regime and voluntary disclosure

This study, which examines the association between board monitoring and the level of voluntary disclosure, finds new evidence that firms with a higher proportion of independent directors on the board are associated with higher levels of voluntary disclosure. Although board size and CEO duality are not associated with voluntary disclosure, boards with a majority of independent directors have significantly higher levels of voluntary disclosure than firms with balanced boards. Notably, we find that the presence of an external governance mechanism, the regulatory environment, enhances the strength of the association between the proportion of independent directors and the level of voluntary disclosure. This association is some two to three times greater under a “disclosure-based” regulatory regime than under a “merit-based” regulatory regime.     

Normativa de empleo,teoría de juegos y representación laboral insuficiente en las economías liberales

Se analiza el impacto de la normativa europea de información y consulta en los niveles de representación de los trabajadores en dos economías liberales (Irlanda y Reino Unido) a partir de tres postulados teóricos y del dilema del prisionero de la teoría de juegos. Sobre la base de datos cualitativos de 16 empresas recabados mediante entrevistas, los autores evalúan los postulados y explican por qué las normas nacionales de transposición son ineficaces para promover la cooperación en beneficio mutuo en economías liberales, aportando así un modelo teórico a las investigaciones previas sobre el tema, fundamentalmente empíricas.     

The Dynamics of Capital Structure in Transition Economies

This paper uses a dynamic unrestricted capital structure model to examine the determinants of the private companies' target financial leverage and the speed of adjustment to it in two transition economies, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria. We explicitly model the adjustment of companies' leverage to a target leverage, and this target leverage is itself explained by a set of factors. The panel data methodology combines cross-section and time-series information. The results indicate that the Bulgarian corporate credit markets were less supply -constrained than those of the Czech Republic during the period under investigation. Bulgariancompanies adjusted much faster to the target leverage than Czech firms. The speed ofadjustment related positively to the distance between target and observed ratio for Bulgarian companies while the relationship was neutral for Czech companies. The conservative policies of Czech banks and the exposure control were likely responsible for the slower adjustment among the larger companies while the opposite were true for Bulgarian banks and companies.     

Attitudes toward ethics: A view of the college student

This study investigated the differences in responses of undergraduate business students to an ethical dilemma. Demographic characteristics were collected on the respondents and profiled as a means of examining common bases for decision. The authors found that certain demographic characteristics appear to be predictors of ethical decision behavior of future businessmen.Eugene W. Grant, Jr. is Accounting Professor at Samford University. He has published several books as well as numerous articles. One of his areas of research interest is the predicability of ethical decision behavior in potential employees. Prior to joining academia, he was a consultant with the firm of Ernst & Whinney.Lowell Broom is the Dwight Moody Beeson Professor of Accounting at Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama. Professor Broom received his DBA in Accounting from Louisiana Tech University and is a CPA. He has previously served on the faculty of Baylor University and was employed by Ernst & Whinney prior to entering teaching.     

The information in the term structure

This paper presents a regression approach to measuring the information in forward interest rates about time varying premiums and future spot interest rates. Like earlier work, the regressions identify variation in the expected premiums on longer-maturity Treasury bills. The more novel evidence concerns the forecasts of future spot rates in forward rates. The regressions provide evidence that the one-month forward rate has power to predict the spot rate one month ahead. During periods preceding 1974, forward rates have reliable forecast power for one-month spot rates up to five months in the future.     

A Recommended formula for scoring probabilistic multiple-choice tests

This paper addresses the issue of how best to score test responses obtained when using Probabilistically Answered Examinations (PAE). After discussing the PAE methodology, the paper identifies and explores the attributes of a simple, intuitively appealing scoring rule. The results of this analysis suggest that, in many classroom situations, this simple scoring rule produces indices of test effectiveness that are at least as good as those produced by more complicated and costly scoring rules. These tentative findings are drawn upon in support of the use of this simple scoring rule with PAE.     

Investor reaction to women directors

Existing studies on women directorships present equivocal results on the association between appointing women directors and firm performance. These studies tend to focus on western countries and largely ignore investors' reactions to such appointments. This paper applies the financial event study method and finds that investors generally respond positively to the appointment of women directors in Singaporean firms. Regression analyses also reveal that investors are most receptive when the women are independent directors and are least receptive when the directors assume the CEO role. This study not only tests the theory of gender diversity in an Asian context but also examines whether investors react systematically to the different positions that women directors hold on corporate boards, a question that has received little attention in prior studies.     

Do small shareholders count?

We hypothesize that age similarity among small shareholders acts as an implicit coordinating device for their actions and, thus, could represent an indirect source of corporate governance in firms with dispersed ownership. We test this hypothesis on a sample of Swedish firms during the 1995-2000 period. Consistent with our hypothesis, we find that compared with shareholders of differing ages, same-age noncontrolling shareholders sell more aggressively following negative firm news; firms with more age-similar small shareholders are more profitable and command higher valuation; and an increase (decline) in a firm's small shareholder age similarity brings a significantly large increase (decline) in its stock price. The last effects are more pronounced in the absence of a controlling shareholder.