Inflation and the Dispersion of Relative Prices: A Case for 4 % Solution

Unlike earlier literature that documented positive association between inflation and the dispersion of relative prices over time, the empirical evidence from this study suggests that the relative price dispersion increases in response to the deviation of inflation from certain threshold/target level in either direction rather than inflation per se. The striking feature of the empirical evidence from United States and Japan is that the inflation rate at which the dispersion of relative prices is minimised turn out to be 4%; hence, supporting the proposal of 4% inflation target for both the countries.     

Monetary policy and the behaviour of inflation in India: Is there a need for institutional reform?

Inflation rates in a number of developed countries follow a common trend over the past five decades: inflation starts out low in the 1950s, rises for a time before peaking in the 1970s, and then falls back to initial levels. Interestingly the behaviour of trend inflation in India broadly exhibits such a pattern. This similarity in the behaviour suggests that any explanation of inflation ought to apply across countries. To this end we construct a reduced-form inflation model for India that encompasses various well-known policy mistake theories as special cases. The restriction imposed by each of these theories on the behaviour of inflation is tested empirically. Reduced-form estimates lend support to all these theories. Although the reason for the inflation bias differs from one theory to the other, the mechanism at the heart of these theories are in fact quite similar. They all lay responsibility for inflation with the nature of monetary institutions. We use these results to interpret India's inflation experience over the past five decades and discuss the implications for institutional reform.     

Excel in the accounting curriculum: perceptions from accounting professors

Public accounting firms emphasize the importance of accounting graduates being proficient in Excel. Since many accounting graduates often aspire to work in public accounting, a question arises as to whether there should be an emphasis on Excel in accounting education. The purpose of this paper is to specifically look at this issue by examining accounting faculty's perceptions of Excel in public accounting and accounting education. We survey 245 faculty members at over 100 accounting programs. We find that a majority of faculty incorporate Excel in their accounting classes consistent with their perception of Excel importance. However, we find that students are not fully proficient in Excel based on faculty's perceptions. This study contributes to the accounting education literature by identifying possible disconnections between Excel skills faculty include in the accounting curriculum and specific Excel skills faculty believe new hires (i.e. recent accounting graduates) most often use in public accounting.     

Beyond institutional voids: Business groups,incomplete markets,and organizational form

We extend the “institutional voids” perspective on business groups by examining the value‐adding potential of two of the characteristic features of business groups: their diverse portfolio and multi‐entity organizational form. We maintain that portfolio diversity affords affiliates privileged access to opportunities hidden by incomplete strategic factor markets. We hypothesize that the multi‐entity organizational form enables superior sensing and seizing of these growth opportunities by affiliate firms. We further suggest that, in the context of institutional reforms, these characteristics strengthen business group affiliates' ability to capitalize on the expanded set of opportunities made available by the reform program. Empirical analyses on a sample of Indian firms over the period 1994–2010 support our hypotheses. Implications for theory and future directions are discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The role of spatial planning in coastal management—A case study of Tuticorin coast (India)

The focus of coastal management in recent years has shifted from a sectoral plan to a holistic and integrated one. A key component of this integrated plan is spatial planning. This paper serves to highlight the role of spatial planning in coastal management by making use of a study done for the Tuticorin coast in India. A quantification of the land use/land cover changes in this region was studied along with the existing laws and policies governing the Indian coast with particular reference to Tuticorin, to determine their influence/impact on coastal land use/land cover. The results of the study show the disparity that exists between current land use practices and the laws that have been enforced to safeguard the coast. This can be overcome by means of implementing a more stable management plan that incorporates the spatial aspects of this coast, which has been presented.     

Integrating knowledge and knowing: A framework for understanding knowledge-in-practice

The foundation of an organization's strategy often lies in its ability to generate, combine, recombine, and exploit knowledge. Two very different perspectives have emerged in knowledge management research: a commodity view which sees knowledge as something to be acquired, stored, and converted and a community perspective which emphasizes knowing and the ability to act on what one knows. We propose a new framework for understanding knowledge in organizations which integrates these two views and complements prior research by focusing on knowledge-in-practice. In doing so, we clarify the organizational knowledge construct by examining the underlying knowledge-based characteristics of work practices. We create a multidimensional understanding of the knowledge-in-practice construct and introduce the concept of learnability. We explain how the proposed framework can lead to future research and discuss managerial implications for achieving fit between knowledge-in-practice and organization policies.     

Stimulating Growth and Investment in Africa: From Macro to Micro Reforms

Abstract: How do we stimulate investment and growth in Africa? This paper focuses on low‐income countries that are ‘good performers’ and not especially endowed with natural resources. Many of these countries have undertaken a set of economic reforms, and have recorded growth rates in per capita GDP of around 5 percent over the past 10 years. But some constraints to growth persist. We look at three things — how business environments create ‘external costs’ for firms and inhibit performance, how investors perceive the constraints to doing business, and the role of political economy factors especially in those countries with lagging indigenous business sectors. Our analysis of investment climate and other data leads us to several recommendations for governments, donors and the private sector itself, including the following: deepen macro reforms; build a strong, unified business forum; create incentives for more responsive governments; and improve risk mitigation and broaden this to domestic investors.     

Measuring Knowledge Development and Developing Official Statistics for the Information Age

Measuring knowledge development is a new statistical activity that warrants urgent attention in the light of the current Internet explosion. The Internet creates virtual networks by connecting information nodes, knowledge nexus, people and institutions. The Internet has resulted in an unprecedented proliferation of Information, Communication, Knowledge and Entertainment (ICKE), which has in turn brought about structural changes in all aspects of social, economic and political governance. For public policy formulators, including the statistical community, it is imperative that the knowledge development aspect of ICKE be measured. Being abstract, knowledge is difficult to quantify. However, the manifestations of attributes and variables of any knowledge development activity are measurable. The paper outlines a conceptual framework for achieving this. This proposed framework adopts a socio-technological approach, premised on contemporary information and knowledge development as an integral of the people and technology dimensions. To illustrate the workability of the proposed model, the paper identifies some parameters and variables in the current statistical system, and highlights some new data generated via the Internet Subscriber Study and ICT Exposition Visitor Study. All illustrations refer to Malaysian data. Finally, the paper outlines 'way forward' initiatives for establishing a full-fledged set of information and knowledge development indicators.     

Systemic financial distress and auction-based bankruptcy reorganization

Most bankruptcy procedures try to reorganize a financially-distressed firm's debts to a serviceable level through negotiations overseen by courts. Markets are an alternative to such negotiations. This paper develops a market-based approach that is appropriate if claimants are severely cash-constrained and there is merit in having existing owners-managers remain in control.This approach was developed in response to the 1997 Asian Crisis, where the sheer numbers of over-indebted firms, creditors with poor incentives, and inexperienced courts stymied negotiated resolution. The scheme, however, can be applied to other crisis settings that exhibit particular characteristics. One such setting could be the resolution of external sovereign debts, a situation where creditors obviously cannot take possession of a country.The scheme arranges creditors in a queue to be serviced in sequence from the firm's operating cash flows. Creditors bid for their position in this queue, and those accepting a greater proportionate reduction in the face value of their claims are placed ahead of the others. Any existing hierarchy of claims is honored by having claimants bid for their positions within the relevant segment of the queue. No one in the queue (including owners who are last) is paid anything until the (reduced) debts of the first in line are fully discharged using the firm's operating cash surpluses. The queue then moves up and the next claimant in line is serviced.The paper shows that, in equilibrium, the aggregate debts of the firm are reduced enough to provide a positive expected residual return to the owner-managers, which improves their incentives to efficiently operate the firm and can result in an outcome that is Pareto superior to other bankruptcy procedures. We discuss the efficiency properties of this scheme and its appropriateness to situations of systemic financial distress.