The long run relationship between openness and government size: evidence from bounds test

The bounds test is applied to determine the existence of a level relationship between government size, openness, terms of trade volatility, and external risk using time series data from Australia, Canada, England, Norway, Sweden, and the USA. Bounds test results show that the existence of a long run relationship in the USA and Canada, but not in any of the other countries. Long run parameters are estimated using both autoregressive distributed lag and FM-OLS procedures. Results vary from country to country, with some evidence that government size is significantly affected by openness and terms of trade volatility. However, contrary to argument and evidence developed using cross-section data, empirical evidence presented in this paper show that the size of the government has not changed to mitigate the effect of increased income risks associated with greater openness.     

Nexus Between Cultural Dissonance,Management Accounting Systems,and Managerial Effectiveness: Evidence from an Asian Developing Country

This article examines the links between corporate cultural dissonance, the management accounting system (MAS) information adequacy gap, and managerial effectiveness of the financial sector in Bangladesh. Data were collected from a random sample of 146 bank managers and were analyzed using correlation matrices. The findings suggest that the level of managerial effectiveness can be improved by decentralizing the management accounting practices through maintaining minimal authoritative power distance, improving the system for gathering and sharing information, and enhancing transparency in information flow. These findings, which have important implications for the effective performance management of banks, are highlighted in the article.     

Some Empirical Evidence of Chinese Accounting System and Business Management Practices from an Ethical Perspective

China is moving from a centralized to a market economy to bring about efficiency in its economy and to form a business partnership with the West. With its reform adopting an open-door policy, there may be a need to assure its partners in the western world that appropriate steps would be taken to develop and foster a business culture with which the western countries and the Chinese businesses can work. The present study attempted to find whether there has been a change in business ethical culture, accounting system and practice in the Chinese business between 1978 and the present, and the degree of similarity in the Chinese ethics and guidelines compared to Western ethics and guidelines. The result of the study has been analyzed from an institutional perspective to explore institutional change. The result showed that there is general growing support of Chinese management toward change in business ethical culture and practice. It was observed that there was not much similarity in the documents used for ethical guidance and control with those of the West. The findings of the paper are expected to be relevant to international investors and executives interested in investing or working in China.     

Devaluation, Asymmetric Money Demand, and Investment in a Small Open Economy

This paper investigates the relationship between inflation and investment when cash is required to purchase some consumption goods in a small open economy while others are purchased with foreign currency or on credit. Devaluation acts as a differential tax on the good that must be purchased with domestic money and lowers the return to the factor used intensively in this sector. If this sector is relatively labor intensive, the steady-state capital stock will increase in response to higher inflation. Nonneutrality of inflation exists even though money is only held for consumption purposes.     

Applying economic methodology to the war on terrorism

The application of economic methodology to the problem of terrorism is discussed. Theoretical and empirical results are discussed with particular focus on the September 11 attack and the retaliatory response by the United States. Economists have relied on the rational agent model to derive testable hypotheses regarding the behavior of terrorists. The rational agent model postulates that terrorists respond to incentives, including media publicity, and the model predicts that when the net marginal benefit from one type of terrorist activity is diminished, terrorists will substitute into alternative modes of terrorism. Empirical results demonstrating that such substitutions indeed occur are discussed. Therefore, policy designed to reduce a particular form of terrorism, such as increased airport security to prevent airplane hijackings, may simply result in terrorists choosing alternative modes of terrorism. Empirical evidence demonstrating that terrorism is cyclical in nature is also discussed. Evidence on substitution and cycles suggests that following temporary reduction in terrorist activity after retaliation against terrorists and their infrastructure, terrorists are able to successfully regroup and attack using alternative means. Therefore, the current US focus on fighting terrorism on all fronts and over the long haul is the correct approach.     

Productivity Dynamics in a Large Sample of Countries: A Panel Study

Recent research shows that productivity differences are more important than differences in accumulation rates in explaining per capita income differences across countries. So far static differences in productivity have been mainly computed and analyzed in large samples of countries. This paper extends the research by focusing on productivity dynamics . It uses the panel approach to compute productivity indices for a large sample of countries for two time periods, namely an initial period of 1960–75 and a subsequent period of 1975–90. This allows computation of ordinal and cardinal changes in productivity between the two periods. The results show considerable variation in productivity dynamics across countries. The task ahead is to find out what accounts for the observed dynamics.     

Brazil's twin deficits: An empirical examination

This paper examines empirically the causal relationship between budget deficits and trade deficits for Brazil from 1973:1Q through 1991:4Q. This relationship is investigated in the context of Granger's test of causality. The final prediction error criterion, as outlined by Hsiao [1981], is applied in determining the appropriate lag length of the two variables. Empirical results suggested the presence of bilateral causality between trade deficits and budget deficits.     

Computation of non-linear continuous optimal growth models: experiments with optimal control algorithms and computer programs

In this paper we discuss the use of optimal control methods for computing non-linear continuous optimal growth models. We have discussed various recently developed algorithms for computing optimal control, involving step-function approximations, Runge–Kutta solutions of differential equations, and we suggest that the discretization approach is preferable to methods which solve first-order optimality conditions. We have surveyed some powerful computer programs by : , and for computing such models numerically. These programs have no substantial optimal growth modelling applications yet, although they have numerous engineering and scientific applications. A computer program named by is developed in this study. Results are reported for computing the Kendrick–Taylor optimal growth model using and programs based on the discretization approach. References are made to the computational experiments with and . The results are used to compare and evaluate mathematical and economic properties, and computing criteria. While several computer packages are available for optimal control problems, they are not always suitable for particular classes of control problems, including some economic growth models. The -based and , however, offer good opportunities for computing continuous optimal growth models. It is argued in this paper, that optimal growth modellers may find that these recently developed algorithms and computer programs are relatively preferable for a large variety of optimal growth modelling studies.