Individualism and Momentum around the World

This paper examines how cultural differences influence the returns of momentum strategies. Cross-country cultural differences are measured with an individualism index developed by Hofstede (2001) , which is related to overconfidence and self-attribution bias. We find that individualism is positively associated with trading volume and volatility, as well as to the magnitude of momentum profits. Momentum profits are also positively related to analyst forecast dispersion, transaction costs, and the familiarity of the market to foreigners, and negatively related to firm size and volatility. However, the addition of these and other variables does not dampen the relation between individualism and momentum profits.     

Australian Proprietary Companies' Demand for External Auditing

The recently introduced size test for proprieta ry companies could mean that some companies that were exempt would now be required to have annual audits, while some non-exempt companies would no longer be required to have annual audits. This paper considers the reasonableness of the size test and evaluates the proposition that proprietary company audits are not all legislation-driven.     

ASSESSING THE EFFICIENCY OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS USING DATA ENVELOPMENT ANALYSIS AND FRONTIER REGRESSION

The cost efficiency of 520 New York school districts is measured using data envelopment analysis and stochastic frontier regression. Mean inefficiency is 14% using either method, and the rank order correlation coefficient of inefficiency between the two methods is 86. The three largest school districts (Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse) are among the most efficient. Student test scores are output variables, and socioeconomic control variables are included to adjust for the harshness of the educational environment in which districts operate. (JEL C29, C61, 121)