The micro-economic effects of financial market structure: evidence from 20th century North American steel firms

This paper analyzes the historical relationship between domestic financial institutions, firm level financing decisions, and average capital costs in a sample of US and Canadian firms from a large and economically important manufacturing industry—primary steel production. We find that national capital market characteristics and firm specific characteristics were important determinants of 20th century US and Canadian steel firms’ financing decisions. We also show that, despite source-specific price differences, average capital costs were approximately equal in the two countries, and the firms’ financing decisions were important determinants of these average capital costs. We conclude that firms structured their balance sheets in an effort to exploit the idiosyncratic features of their domestic financial institutions, and thereby, minimize their average capital costs.     

Reviews

“REDUNDANCY AND RECESSION” Danson, M. (editor) 1986: Redundancy and Recession: Restructuring the Regions? Norwich: Geobooks £25.00.

“BUSINESS FINANCE” International Management Centre, Buckingham for the Local Government Training Board 1986: Business Finance for Economic Development Officers. LGTB/Coventry Open Tech Unit. £48.50.

“NEW FIRMS” Johnson, P. 1987: New Firms, An Economic Perspective, London: Allen and Unwin £20.00.     

Review: Time machines,ethics and sustainable development: accounting for inter-generational equity in public sector organizations

This review paper explores the key challenges associated with effective inter-generational equity accounts in relation to the governance of public sector organizations and sustainable development transformations. Three different approaches to inter-generational equity accounting are evaluated and an outline for future research is provided.     

Measuring the future : Statistics and the information age

If the information age is to be more than a slogan, we need to address the issue of how to measure its emergence, and how to assess developments within it. This may well pose challenges to our existing statistics-,since structural change can render established definitions and frameworks inadequate. So far, most discussion of this issue has been conducted within a tradition of counting up the ‘information workforce’. This article argues for a different approach, focusing on the generation, diffusion and application of new information technology (IT). It considers how far available statistics can be used to throw light on IT-related developments, provides some examples of what these data tell us about possible future developments, and examines the implications for the future of statistical frameworks and statistical analysis itself.     

Does ownership matter for service delivery value? an examination of citizens’ service satisfaction

Governments across the world outsource service delivery to external agents, but does ownership matter for service delivery value? Though theory points to clear ownership differences on effectiveness, there remains limited empirical evidence of the impact of ownership on citizens’ satisfaction. Focusing on local authorities in England, we draw on secondary data (2007 and 2009) to examine if ownership type matters. The findings indicate that ownership – public, non-profit, private – confers no direct benefits for citizens’ satisfaction suggesting that the outsourcing decision should not rely on unfounded assumptions about performance differentials between ownership types. The implications for public management are explored.     

The influence of branding on adolescent smoking behaviour: exploring the mediating role of image and attitudes

• This study investigates the continuing effects of tobacco marketing communications in a post advertising era, focusing on the constructs of brand awareness, brand image, attitude formation and intention to smoke by adolescents.
• A conceptual model is presented, based on 926 respondents from a UK wide study, to assess brand‐related interrelationships and influences of peers on adolescents' attitudes toward smoking and intention to smoke.
• Results show the strong influence of branding on both attitude and intention, and have implications for government anti‐smoking policies specifically in regard to generic packaging and point of sale displays.

Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

News‐Specific Price Discovery in Credit Default Swap Markets

We examine the lead and lag relation between equity and credit default swap (CDS) markets. We find that price discovery in equity markets only leads CDS markets following aggregate positive news and not so following other news. While difficult to reconcile with standard asset pricing theories, asymmetric price adjustment is common in goods markets, arising from intermediary power. We provide an explanation for this asymmetry based on dealers exploiting informational advantages vis‐à‐vis investors with hedging motives. Consistent with this explanation, we find that the patterns we document are related to firm‐level proxies for hedging demand, as well as economy‐wide measures of information asymmetries.