A Comparative International Analysis of the Impact of Accounting Principles on Profits: The USA versus the UK,Sweden and The Netherlands

This paper explores the extent to which there are material quantitative differences in profits reported under US GAAP compared to profits reported in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the UK, Sweden and the Netherlands. From an analysis of Form 20-F reports filed with the SEC in the USA, there is support for the hypothesis that UK GAAP are significantly less conservative than US GAAP. On the basis of a case study approach, it seems that Swedish GAAP tend to be more conservative than US GAAP, particularly when the transfers to reserves are analysed, but there is insufficient evidence to establish a systematic pattern. In the Netherlands, on the other hand, there is evidence to suggest that Dutch GAAP are at the less conservative end of the spectrum of financial reporting measurement practices, in a position relatively similar to that of UK GAAP, although again the evidence is insufficient to establish a systematic pattern.     

Asymmetric effects of shocks on TFP

We study the TFP distribution and examine the non-stationarity of productivity series at various quantiles. Using the quantile autoregression unit root test, we find that the US TFP exhibits an asymmetric adjustment dynamics, that is, positive and negative shocks might have different (permanent or temporary) effects on the TFP. Shocks dissemination depends on the local behaviour of the TFP. We find that positive shocks have permanent effects on the TFP, while negative shocks can potentially have only transitory effects.     

The fifth credit tranche

This paper asserts that for all practical purposes the Compensatory Financing Facility (CFF) of the IMF has been abolished except in the name by an IMF decision of 14 September 1983. Since CFF was originally intended to finance temporary and reversible deficits resulting from export shortfalls due to factors beyond a country's control, drawings were usually authorized within a month at low conditionality. The 1983 decision does away with this semi-automaticity, thereby accommodating CFF to the high-conditional upper credit tranches. This development is symptomatic of a general tendency to limit the Fund to high-conditional financing regardless of circumstances.     

Profitability and social impacts of reduced impact logging in the Tapajós National Forest, Brazil — A case study

Brazil contains the world's largest tropical rainforests, most located in the Amazon River Basin. Over the last three decades, rapid growth of this region's deforested area has had negative impacts. To minimize these impacts and maintain biodiversity, the Brazilian Government has established several national forests in the Basin. The ITTO Project, a reduced impact logging (RIL) operation, was recently carried out at one of these forests: the Tapajós National Forest, also known as Flona Tapajós. This paper evaluates the Project's profitability and its effect on local residents. The Project, which ran between 1999 and 2003, was coordinated by the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA), with funding for planning and monitoring provided by the United Kingdom's Department of International Development (DFID) working through and approved by the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO). Treviso Agropecuária Ltda, a private logging company, carried out timber extraction on the Project site. Our evaluation found the ITTO Project to have been highly profitable for Treviso, even after their compliance with all Brazilian labor and environmental laws. This finding was based on field interviews and the examination of documents from IBAMA and Treviso. Treviso's mean internal rate of return from the Project was calculated to have been 35.79%, considerably higher than that generated by the region's farms and ranches. The ITTO Project positively impacted Project workers, providing employment and exposing them to rainforest management techniques that maximize timber production while minimizing forest destruction. The paper closes by suggesting that more of the direct and indirect benefits of new reduced impact logging projects on Brazilian national forest land need to be channeled to the local population to increase the probability of them act as capable forest custodians.     

Australian expatriates in Thailand: some insights for expatriate management policies

Expatriates are critical to the navigation of an increasingly complex international business world and, as such, the demand for their skills, knowledge and experience, as well as their supply, needs to be better understood. Furthermore, the role of human resource policies is of key concern in ensuring the right people are chosen to represent companies in overseas locations, as is the provision of pertinent support policies, such as preparation for overseas assignments and cross-cultural training. The purpose of this research is to examine these issues with the focus on Australian expatriates in Thailand. A questionnaire survey was conducted of members of the Australian-Thai Business Council in Thailand, an association representing Australian expatriates, in 1999. The findings provide some insights for expatriate management policy, including the notable conclusions that the market for expatriates is changing and becoming more demanding and that the imperatives of the emerging global market for human capital require a much more structured approach to expatriate management development.     

Towards causal estimates of children's time allocation on skill development

In this paper we examine how children's time allocation affects their accumulation of cognitive skill. Children's time allocation is endogenous in a model of skill production since it is chosen by parents and children. We apply a recently developed test of exogeneity to search for specifications that yield causal estimates of the impact time inputs have on child skills. The test exploits bunching in time inputs induced by a nonnegativity time constraint and it has power to detect a variety of sources of endogeneity. We find that with a sufficiently rich set of controls we are unable to reject exogeneity in our most detailed production function specifications. The estimates from these specifications indicate that active time with adult family members, such as parents and grandparents, are the most productive in generating cognitive skill.     

The long-run causal relationship between transport energy consumption and GDP: Evidence from heterogeneous panel methods robust to cross-sectional dependence

This paper employs panel methods that address/mitigate heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence to determine the direction and sign of long-run causality between transport energy consumption per capita and real GDP per capita. Granger-causality was determined to run from GDP to energy.