Pensions: the voluntary growth of participation*

In spite of the deepening of the economic recession, the issue of employee participation or industrial democracy has not disappeared from the political or industrial agendas. This article, which reports the findings of a two year UK study at Glasgow University, examines one area of survival—employee participation in the management of pension schemes.     

Preference uncertainty in stated preference studies: facts and artefacts

The ordinal scale and polychotomous choice methods are two widely used techniques for estimating preference uncertainty in stated preference studies. This article presents the results of two experiments that apply these estimation techniques. The first experiment was designed to compare and contrast the scores of the ordinal scale and polychotomous choice method. The second experiment was conducted to test a scale that combines verbal expressions with numerical and graphical interpretations: a composite scale. The results of the study can be summarized in three key findings. First, the polychotomous choice method generates a higher proportion of ‘yes’ responses than the conventional dichotomous choice elicitation format. Second, the composite scale generates a significantly higher proportion of certain responses. Finally, the ordinal scale performs poorly on the ground of construct validity.     

A Note on Perceptions of Finance Journal Quality

Finance journal quality is a critical issue for faculty annual elevations, for the tenure and promotion process, and for the administration of faculty workload plans. Unlike other studies that use objective measures (such as citation frequencies) to rate journals, this study focuses on the opinions of chairpersons about the relative quality of 55 finance, insurance, and real estate journals. A sample of 218 finance department chairpersons at AACSB accredited business schools were surveyed, and 125 responses were received (57.34% response rate). Besides overall aggregate scores, responses are segregated and tested for differences across several dimensions. The results offer interesting and current insight on general perceptions of journal quality.     

Rethinking Accounting,Accountability, and Accounting Regulation: Concerns about the Proposed Canadian Sustainability Standards Board*

This paper expands on a letter recently submitted by a group of Canadian business academics to the Independent Review Committee on Standard Setting in Canada (IRCSSC) in response to the committee's proposed Canadian Sustainability Standards Board. We highlight sections of the IRCSSC's Consultation Paper that we find problematic and draw on accounting and other research to explain why it fails to live up to its potential. Chief among the problems we identify is that the IRCSSC appears to be wedded to the same narrow, investor-based focus promoted by the International Sustainability Standard Board. We also draw attention to the rushed nature of the process, its exclusion of lay experts, the IRCSSC's ambiguous use of the term public interest, and its inattention to alternative understandings of value and the environment (including the people within it). Finally, we problematize the IRCSSC's sidestepping of the issues of power, culture, and conflict; its neglect of monitoring and enforcement; and its surprising disregard of the Global Reporting Initiative. Along with a number of suggestions for improving the process and its outcome, this paper also contributes to ongoing debates on standard setting and the question of whether accounting is currently equipped to provide the necessary tools for sustainability reporting.     

Market Signals Associated with REIT IPOs

Previous studies have found significant but time-varying valuation effects associated with real estate investment trusts initial public offerings (REIT IPOs). Because REIT IPOs may disclose relevant information about real estate market conditions, they may serve to revalue existing real estate securities. To determine whether REIT IPOs signal information that is impounded into the share prices of other real estate securities, we assess the returns on rival portfolios of existing real estate securities upon the issuance of the IPO. On average, the rival portfolios experience insignificant effects on the REIT IPO filing date, but negative and significant abnormal returns around the issue date. A cross-sectional analysis of combined effects at the time of the filing date and issue date shows that the negative effects on the rival portfolios are more pronounced when (1) the size of the REIT IPO is larger, (2) market conditions are relatively weak, (3) more REIT IPOs come to market, and (4) the IPO is not associated with an umbrella partnership REIT.     

JobKeeper: An Initial Assessment

We present details of the design and implementation of the 2020–2021 JobKeeper program and review the literature on its impacts. JobKeeper stimulated the macroeconomy and restrained job loss in the downturn. But because the program was not narrowly targeted, the cost per job saved was high and the impact most likely regressive. However, it would not have been possible to devise and implement a more targeted program in the available time, and as it was, JobKeeper was arguably implemented later than needed for maximum effectiveness. We therefore recommend that Australia consider establishing a short-time work program for use in future recessions.     

Introduction

This article introduces the Policy Forum. It contains: (i) a brief overview of the fiscal policies introduced to deal with COVID-19 and their impact on Australia's economic performance; (ii) summaries of the articles in the Forum; and (iii) suggested learnings for policymaking in future crises.