Uninvited U.S. Investors? Economic Consequences of Involuntary Cross‐Listings

We study the economic consequences of a recent Securities and Exchange Commission securities regulation change that grants foreign firms trading on the U.S. over‐the‐counter (OTC) market an automatic exemption from the reporting requirements of the 1934 Securities Act. We document that the number of voluntary (sponsored) OTC cross‐listings did not increase following the regulation change, suggesting that it did not achieve its intended purpose of increasing voluntary OTC cross‐listings through a reduction in compliance costs. We do find that the design of the regulation allowed financial intermediaries to create an unprecedented number of involuntary (unsponsored) OTC ADRs: 1,700 unsponsored ADR programs for 920 firms were created for companies that had previously chosen not to cross‐list in the United States. Our difference‐in‐differences analysis based on a matched sample approach documents that foreign firms forced into the U.S. capital markets experience a significant decrease in firm value, and we further show that the decrease in firm value is related to an increase in U.S. litigation risk. We also find that depositary banks’ propensity to involuntarily cross‐list firms is positively related to banks’ expected fee revenue, and that banks chose firms that incur high costs when involuntarily cross‐listed. Our results provide evidence that securities regulation can be exploited for private gain and result in costly unintended consequences.     

Combined Income Taxes and Tax-Benefit Systems

We extend the analysis of income tax progression to combined taxes, benefits, and the tax-benefit system. The overall redistributive impacts of constituent reforms are identified. Our findings point to the importance of interaction effects and demonstrate the dangers of isolated reforms.     

The Impacts of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems on Accounting Practice – The Australian Experience

This paper reports on the enteqbrise resource planning (ERP) systems experiences of Australian companies. It examines the degree of information system integration and associated benefits that respondent companies believe they have achieved, and the impact of ERP systems on the adoption of new accounting practices. The results indicate that while ERP users report high levels of information integration for many functional areas, the pattern is similar to that of non- users. Also, ERP systems seem to perform better in transaction processing and ad hoc decision- support than in sophisticated decision-support and reporting. Finally, ERP systems were found to have little influence on the use of new accounting practices.     

The Bold and the Bankable: How the Nuestro Barrio Telenovela Reaches Latino Immigrants with Financial Education

This article presents and evaluates Nuestro Barrio, a Spanish‐language telenovela designed to reach Latino immigrants with financial education. Nuestro Barrio’s educational model is discussed in the context of the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change, which defines the stages individuals move through as they make incremental progress toward sustained behavior change. The Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change is also used to inform a limited evaluation of the impact of Nuestro Barrio on viewer behavior. The empirical evidence is consistent with Nuestro Barrio’s intended educational effects, suggesting that Nuestro Barrio is particularly useful as a tool for raising viewer awareness.     

Economies of Scale and Utilization: An Analysis of the Multi-Plant Generation Costs of the Electricity Commission of New South Wales, 1970/71–1984/85*

We examine the average costs of electricity generated in NSW at the site level employing a new simultaneous-equations model approach Further, we argue that costs depend principally on unit size and capacity utilization We reinterpret capacity utilization as a compositional variable which is a continuous proxy for the (inverse of) the intensity of demand for electricity, thus partially addressing the multi-product nature of electricity. Low capacity utilization corresponds to intense demands and hence peaking output We find that costs per kWh, as conventionally measured, are highly sensitive to the degree of capacity utilization but less so to unit size (scale). The results emphasize the need for tine-related pricing     

An Engel Curve Analysis of Household Expenditure in New Zealand*

In this paper we estimate systems of Engel curves for expenditure on eight commodity groups by New Zealand households. Six model specifications are considered, and the preferred results are based on the Almost Ideal Demand System. The estimated expenditure elasticities and marginal budget shares are quite insensitive, at the sample mean, to the choice of functional form. The results are compared with those from other Australasian, British and American studies.