Stationary equilibrium transition rules for an overlapping generations model with uncertainty

An overlapping generations model incorporating random production shocks is studied. Households have finite life spans. Futures markets are incomplete. Agents have full information in one case, and receive only a limited signal in another. In both instances the existence of a time-autonomous transition rule is proved such that if all agents forecast using it, the economy's actual growth will bear the predictions out. The rule corresponds to a steady state for a non-stochastic model. With limited information, it is seen to depend on all past signals. Several approximation theorems which may facilitate future applications are presented.     

Association between independent non-executive directors, family control and financial disclosures in Hong Kong

Our study examines whether comprehensive financial disclosures, used as a proxy for corporate board’s responsiveness, are positively associated with the proportion of independent non-executive directors (INDs) on corporate boards, and whether family control of the firm has an impact on this association. The findings suggest that the ratio of INDs to the total number of directors on corporate boards is positively associated with the comprehensiveness of financial disclosures, and this association appears to be weaker for family controlled firms compared to non-family controlled firms.     

Media allocation model using nonlinear benefit curves

An integral part of planning advertising campaigns involves the selection of those media vehicles that maximize the effectiveness of the advertising effort. This article describes a media allocation model designed to provide the media planner, responsible for a particular advertising campaign, with relevant information for use in selecting the most appropriate media vehicles and in determining the number of insertions in each vehicle. It is based on the derivation of nonlinear benefit curves for candidate media vehicles that can be derived from commercially available response data and from subjective estimates gathered from media planning experts. When tested in an actual advertising campaign, the results serve to provide relevant information that can make the media allocation decision a more objective one.     

Australian tariff preferences for LDCs

In the course of the discussion of the tariff preferences granted by various developed nations to less developed countries (LDCs) it should be noted that it was Australla which first set up a comprising preference scheme. The author of this article outlines the scheme and appraises the Australlan experience.     

THE EFFECT OF INSTITUTIONAL INTEREST ON THE INFORMATION CONTENT OF DIVIDEND-CHANGE ANNOUNCEMENTS

We test the hypothesis that the information content of dividend-change announcements, as reflected in stock prices, is directly related to the degree of pre-announcement information asymmetry in the stock. The dividend-change announcements include initiations, large increases, large decreases, and omissions. Information asymmetry is proxied by the proportion of stock held by institutions. Consistent with the hypothesis, we document a significantly positive relation between the absolute values of the announcement-period excess returns and the degree of pre-announcement information asymmetry in the stock. This finding appears to hold for all types of dividend changes except dividend omissions.     

Determinants of Underwriter Participation in Initial Public Offerings of Common Stock: An Empirical Study

This paper examines an optimal underwriter participation model and develops testable hypotheses regarding the influence of certain factors on the degree of underwriter participation in initial public offerings (IPOs) of common stock. The issue of underwriter participation is important primarily due to the tradeoff between foregone underwriter compensation and underwriting risk reduction. The results of this paper indicate that factors related to the issue, issuing firm, underwriter, and IPO market conditions all are important determinants of the participation decision. Interestingly, the results also show that the importance of these factors is not consistent across underwriter prestige groups. In particular, factors external to underwriters (e.g., the issuing firm and market characteristics) are more important for explaining nonprestigious underwriter participation, while factors related to underwriters themselves play a more important role for explaining prestigious underwriter participation.