Do Analysts Matter for Corporate Tax Planning? Evidence from a Natural Experiment

We exploit an exogenous shock to analyst coverage as a result of brokerage house mergers and closures to examine whether financial analysts influence the tax‐planning activities of the firms they cover. Using a difference‐in‐differences design, we find that, on average, firms affected by broker mergers and/or closures experience a reduction in their GAAP (cash) effective tax rates (ETR) of 2.5 percent (2.6 percent), relative to control firms, translating into average tax expense (cash tax) savings of $34 ($35) million. The treatment effect is more pronounced among firms with lower pre‐event analyst coverage. To explore how analysts affect tax planning, we further document that the treatment effect is greater among firms that lose an analyst who provided an implied ETR forecast in the past, suggesting that analysts influence tax planning via their tax‐specific research efforts. In addition, we find that after merger/closure, weakly governed firms increase their use of aggressive tax strategies, and financially distressed firms experience a larger reduction of cash effective tax rates, relative to control firms. Overall, we provide evidence that a shock to analyst coverage sufficiently changes the cost‐benefit trade‐off of tax planning.     

Age heaping and numeracy: looking behind the curtain

Age‐heaping‐based numeracy indicators have served as valuable tools to derive basic human capital estimates, especially for periods where other indicators are unavailable. However, the accuracy of individual age statements usually remains unknown, and due to the lack of precise information it can only be assumed that excessive occurrence of multiples of five in age distributions reflects inferior numerical skills. This article addresses this lacuna by identifying 162 individuals in two independent data sources: self‐reported age statements and independently kept records which are based on family heritage books and church registers. This method makes it possible to identify individual misreporting and the degree of accuracy of each individual. Findings show that not everyone who reported a multiple of five was reporting an incorrect age, nor was it the case that everyone who reported an age that was not a multiple of five was reporting an accurate age. The empirical analysis shows that the commonly used binary numeracy indicator is correlated with the observed degree of accuracy in age statements, and that a more sophisticated occupational background reduces this inaccuracy. These results tentatively suggest that the commonly used binary indicator measuring age heaping is a valuable proxy for numerical skills and occupational background in a population.     

中国企业“逆周期”跨国并购研究

"新常态"经济周期中,中国企业跨国并购有何特征?从经济政策频繁波动的现实出发,如何理解跨国并购的"逆周期"成因?文章基于2001-2016年中国企业对91个国家的跨国并购数据,实证检验了经济周期、经济政策不确定性对跨国并购的影响,得出以下结论：首先,中国企业的跨国并购具有显著的"逆周期"特征,下行经济周期加剧了并购规模提升;其次,经济政策不确定性与跨国并购正相关,并且在国有企业中和2008年金融危机后表现为更明显;最后,经济政策不确定性差距以及市场增长潜力差距均提升了并购规模。     

完善贫困县政府采购制度的探讨--基于博弈理论的分析

县级政府采购工作虽然已经展开，但由于我国贫困县财政情况比较复杂，导致县级政府采购存在许多问题。本文通过博弈分析，提出了完善采购资金管理、规范采购预算、创新采购模式、建立县级政府采购信息系统、建立全方位的监督机制等对策完善贫困县政府采购。     

风险管理理论综述

随着世界金融体系的完善和发展,金融风险管理的重要性也逐渐凸现。金融风险管理理论从20世纪30年代开始萌芽,80年代末开始蓬勃发展。本文对风险管理理论发展各阶段的重要理论进行了梳理揭示了金融风险管理理论逐渐发展和成熟的过程。     

我国轴承产品出口市场及其发展战略研究

我国轴承产品出口快速增加,出口市场和占有率日益扩大,但与世界轴承工业强国相比,仍存在较大差距。文章根据我国轴承产品出口的相关统计数据,分析了出口市场的现状和特点,提出了扩大我国轴承产品出口市场的发展战略。     

流动人口非正规就业空间竞争:基于上海若干样点的调查

流动人口占有市场空间是个体或利益集团相互竞争、实现市场空间均衡的结果。本文以上海流动人口为研究对象,以非正规就业空间为研究视角,通过分析四类不同性质的非正规就业群体,阐明了流动人口就业空间竞争的基本原理与基本过程,并得出流动人口空间竞争的原动力来源于获利的可能性,空间竞争的过程是空间占有的过程,也是利益均衡的过程。     

政府信息资源共享的障碍因素分析与对策研究

政府信息资源共享是电子政务建设的关键环节。文章首先介绍了我国政府信息资源共享的重要意义,探讨目前我国政府信息资源共享过程中存在的主要障碍因素,有针对性地提出政府信息资源共享的对策。     

我国银保合作的渊源及其发展

银保合作对于银行和保险公司来说是双赢之举。近年来,我国银保合作发展迅速,但尚处于浅层次的阶段,因此,进一步发展我国银行保险业的合作,必须要完善高层交流机制,建立战略性的伙伴关系。注重产品创新、适时成立金融控股公司、强化专职人员培训,推动银保双方在资本层面上的融合。