Public Sector Decentralisation: Measurement Concepts and Recent International Trends*

This paper deals with the problems encountered in defining and measuring the degree of fiscal decentralisation. Drawing on a recent analytical framework of the OECD, different measures of tax autonomy and revenue decentralisation are presented which consider the tax‐raising powers of sub‐central governments. Taking account of changes in the assignment of decision‐making competencies over the course of time, new time series of annual data on the degree of fiscal decentralisation are provided for 23 OECD countries over the period between 1965 and 2001. It is shown that common measures usually employed tend to overestimate the extent of fiscal decentralisation considerably. Evidence is also provided of increasing fiscal decentralisation in a majority of OECD countries during the last three decades.     

Empirical Tests of the Feltham–Ohlson (1995) Model

This paper tests the Feltham–Ohlson (1995) model by transforming the undefined “other information” variables into expectational variables, as suggested by Liu and Ohlson [Liu and Ohlson (2000). Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance 15, 321–331]. The signs of the estimated coefficients conform to the model’s predictions using panel data techniques, non-parametric estimation, reverse regressions and portfolio regressions. The tests reject the Ohlson model in favor of Feltham–Ohlson. Nevertheless, the estimated leverage coefficient takes a value of three instead of one for most variations of the model. Also, the 1-year-ahead price predictions of the Feltham–Ohlson model are no more accurate than those of the Ohlson model or a naive earnings valuation model.     

Accounting student characteristics: Results of the 1993 and 1994 Federation of Schools of Accountancy (FSA) surveys

This article updates the results of an ongoing, longitudinal study on characteristics of accounting students, conducted by the Federation of Schools of Accountancy (FSA). The annual survey measures many attributes of accounting seniors and masters students, including student quality, provenance, future educational plans, career plans, plans for professional certification, extra-curricular involvement, attitude toward the accounting profession, attitude toward learning, attitude toward the 150-hour requirement, and various demographic dimensions. Subjects included 2,512 and 1,507 seniors, and 969 and 670 masters students, at 39 and 27 FSA schools, in the years 1993 and 1994, respectively. Results of these surveys, which appear in a comparative format below, have implications for many currently debated topics in accounting education. Results of the 1991 and 1992 surveys appearing in the spring 1992 and fall 1993 issues of the Journal of Accounting Education (Vol. 10, pp, 25–37 and Vol. 11, pp. 211–225), respectively.     

Stock market dynamics with rational liquidity traders

In the Kyle (1985) finite horizon model of stock market dynamics with a trader who holds long-lived information, informed trading intensities rise with time, and the slopes of the equilibrium price schedules fall. This paper shows that this result depends crucially on the irrational liquidity trader assumption. We replace the irrational noise traders with a sequence of rational, risk averse, liquidity traders who receive endowment shocks to their holdings of the risky asset. We demonstrate that unless liquidity traders are sufficiently risk averse, the slope of equilibrium price schedule rises over time, while informed trading intensities fall. In particular, Kyle's result holds only when liquidity traders are so risk averse that they ‘over-rebalance’ their portfolio's holdings of the risky asset, so that their final holdings of the risky asset have the opposite sign of their initial position.     

Measurement Errors and Information Content of Segment Reporting

This paper assesses the measurement errors inherent in segment reporting. Measurement errors are gauged by comparing the correlation of segment results with their industry to the corresponding correlation for single line-of-business firms operating in the same industry. The findings show that the measurement errors in segment information, particularly earnings, are larger than those in the financial information reported by single line-of-business firms. The cross-sectional variation in the measurement errors can be traced to cost/revenue allocations, management intervention in segment reporting, and the operational structure of multi-segment firms. Market tests indicate that the information content of segment information is inversely related to the estimated measurement errors. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Drive-by-wire

Fly-by-wire has taken the aircraft from mechanical to computerized control. Enough expertise exists to do the same for the car—drive—by—wire. But, the author argues, it is less likely to be the demands of safety and comfort holding the development of the design back, but rather the conservatism of the car manufacturers.     

实践"三个代表"做好团结各界、凝聚人心的工作

团结各界、凝聚人心的工作是新形势新任务对政协工作的根本要求。做好这项工作,必须全面贯彻“三个代表”重要思想,发挥政协的优势,履行职能,在发展社会主义政治文明中发挥应有的作用,进而在全面建设小康社会中,进一步开创人民政协工作的新局面。