The economic impact of the information sector in Singapore

The information sector, delineated as encompassing activities associated with the production and dissemination of information goods and services, is recognised as a dynamic growth sector in developed as well as newly-industrialising countries. Using an input-output methodology, this paper attempts to measure the magnitude and assess the economic impact of the information sector in Singapore. The results are found to be favourable although a number of caveats may be raised regarding its apparent import dependency and foreign exchange earning capability, which has turned from positive to negative over the ten-year period 1973–83. Other issues are also raised concerning the institutional framework, both domestic and international, necessary to support the sector both efficiently and flexibly. Policy implications are drawn from the results of the input-output analysis to consolidate and reinforce current policies to promote information technology in Singapore.     

Biological and Psychobehavioral Correlates of Credit Scores and Automobile Insurance Losses: Toward an Explication of Why Credit Scoring Works

The most important new development in the past two decades in the personal lines of insurance may well be the use of an individual's credit history as a classification and rating variable to predict losses. However, in spite of its obvious success as an underwriting tool, and the clear actuarial substantiation of a strong association between credit score and insured losses over multiple methods and multiple studies, the use of credit scoring is under attack because there is not an understanding of why there is an association. Through a detailed literature review concerning the biological, psychological, and behavioral attributes of risky automobile drivers and insured losses, and a similar review of the biological, psychological, and behavioral attributes of financial risk takers, we delineate that basic chemical and psychobehavioral characteristics (e.g., a sensation‐seeking personality type) are common to individuals exhibiting both higher insured automobile loss costs and poorer credit scores, and thus provide a connection which can be used to understand why credit scoring works. Credit scoring can give information distinct from standard actuarial variables concerning an individual's biopsychological makeup, which then yields useful underwriting information about how they will react in creating risk of insured automobile losses.     

Increasing Finance,Improving Schools

Much debate from many political sides has ensued to raise attention to the struggle state legislatures face over school finance issues. This study examines the changes in academic achievement, before and after increases in funding occur, to show that money does matter. The uniqueness of this study is that it examines per pupil funding and academic achievement test scores, Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS), not at the aggregated school district level, but at the neighborhood school level. Using data from Dallas County public schools, we are able to see that even within school districts, as resources increase, achievement improves.

Workload measurement in a community care program

The delivery of services in the community is a expanding area of health care due to the rapid shift from institutional to community care. However, limited attention has been given to accurately predict or measure nursing resource utilization. A workload measurement tool developed by the community care program at WestView Health Centre (Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada) sought to address the unique challenges of determining workload while caring for clients in their own homes. The implementation of this tool facilitated improved understanding of work requirements associated with each client on caseload. The continued use of this tool will lead to refinement of case mix and professional utilization, and may show benefits in the future for novice nurse growth, staff retention, and satisfaction.     

Women and the labyrinth of leadership

Two decades ago, people began using the "glass ceiling" catchphrase to describe organizations' failure to promote women into top leadership roles. Eagly and Carli, of Northwestern University and Wellesley College, argue in this article (based on a forthcoming book from Harvard Business School Press) that the metaphor has outlived its usefulness. In fact, it leads managers to overlook interventions that would attack the problem at its roots, wherever it occurs. A labyrinth is a more fitting image to help organizations understand and address the obstacles to women's progress. Rather than depicting just one absolute barrier at the penultimate stage of a distinguished career, a labyrinth conveys the complexity and variety of challenges that can appear along the way. Passage through a labyrinth requires persistence, awareness of one's progress, and a careful analysis of the puzzles that lie ahead. Routes to the center exist but are full of twists and turns, both expected and unexpected. Vestiges of prejudice against women, issues of leadership style and authenticity, and family responsibilities are just a few of the challenges. For instance, married mothers now devote even more time to primary child care per week than they did in earlier generations (12.9 hours of close interaction versus 10.6), despite the fact that fathers, too, put in a lot more hours than they used to (6.5 versus 2.6). Pressures for intensive parenting and the increasing demands of most high-level careers have left women with very little time to socialize with colleagues and build professional networks--that is, to accumulate the social capital that is essential to managers who want to move up. The remedies proposed--such as changing the long-hours culture, using open-recruitment tools, and preparing women for line management with appropriately demanding assignments--are wide ranging, but together they have a chance of achieving leadership equity in our time.     

The Causal Effects of the Minimum Wage Introduction in Germany – An Overview

In 2015, Germany introduced a statutory hourly minimum wage that was not only universally binding but also set at a relatively high level. We discuss the short‐run effects of this new minimum wage on a wide set of socioeconomic outcomes, such as employment and working hours, earnings and wage inequality, dependent and self‐employment, as well as reservation wages and satisfaction. We also discuss difficulties in the implementation of the minimum wage and the measurement of its effects related to non‐compliance and suitability of data sources. Two years after the minimum wage introduction, the following conclusions can be drawn: while hourly wages increased for low‐wage earners, some small negative employment effects are also identifiable. The effects on aspired goals, such as poverty and inequality reduction, have not materialised in the short run. Instead, a tendency to reduce working hours is found, which alleviates the desired positive impact on monthly income. Additionally, the level of non‐compliance was substantial in the short run, thus drawing attention to problems when implementing such a wide reaching policy.     

The influence of process accountability and accounting standard type on auditor usage of a status quo heuristic

There has been considerable discussion about the U.S. reporting standards becoming less rules based, similar to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). One proposed advantage of a change to IFRS is increased comparability across multinational and non-U.S. companies. Additionally, some believe that IFRS afford greater flexibility in its principles, thereby enabling firms’ accounting choices to better reflect the true economic nature of any given transaction (FASB, 2002; SEC, 2003). With fewer rules, both financial statement preparers and auditors would be expected to adjust to having more options with regards to financial reporting. However, some proposed changes leave the option open to implement IFRS (or other principles-based standards) in ways that still follow rules in U.S. GAAP. This paper investigates whether prior year accounting treatments influence the judgment for current year treatments when one way to implement the standard is to follow the prior year treatment. We find that some auditors fixate on prior year scenarios and judgments, even if the current year scenario and applicable accounting standards are different. We find that holding auditors accountable for their decision making process reduces the likelihood of sticking with the prior year treatment most notably when the prior year standards were U.S. GAAP.     

The Glass Ceiling and Relative Arrest Rates of Blacks Compared to Whites

A simple theoretical model is presented in which higher relative arrest rates for blacks compared to whites lead to higher relative absenteeism (including tardiness) and ultimately a lower likelihood of placement in occupations where absenteeism is more costly, such as supervisory positions. Though the data do not allow for a direct test of the model, partial correlations provide some suggestive evidence. Controlling for city fixed effects and using an occupation prestige index to proxy for occupations with more costly absenteeism, higher relative arrest rates for blacks compared to whites are associated with relatively worse occupation placement compared to whites. The model and suggestive evidence make a case for further research into the spillover effect of criminal justice outcomes and for consideration of spillover effects in the costs and benefits of enforcement mechanisms which disproportionately affect blacks.