Information Shocks and the Dynamics of the Housing Market*

In this paper, we analyze housing‐market reactions to the release of previously unpublished information on school quality. Using high‐quality housing data, which precisely bracket the timing of the information shock, we investigate housing‐price dynamics within school‐catchment areas. We find a robust short‐term housing‐market reaction to the publication of school‐quality indicators, suggesting that this information was new to the households, and that households are willing to pay for better schools. The publication effect does not seem to be permanent as prices revert to pre‐publication levels after two to three months.     

Globalization,transparency and economic growth: The vulnerability of Chinese firms to macroeconomic shocks

The process of globalization encompasses economic and financial integration. The abolition of capital controls and the dismantling of barriers of different kinds will expose previously sheltered companies to shocks originating in the global economic arena. Policy-makers in already globalized countries have learned that market participants should be prepared in due time to meet the new exposure to fluctuating rates of exchange, interest and inflation. China has recently adopted a version of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in an effort to improve the quality of information available for risk management and for pricing of risk. This paper analyzes the gains in transparency from the implementation of IFRS in Europe as of January 2005 and reports no improvements in regard to the macroeconomic impact on firms. Based on this experience, improvements for Chinese adoption are suggested. The paper presents a framework for how to understand and measure the impact of different scenarios on corporate performance. It also elaborates on how to communicate the macroeconomic effects to external stakeholders of the firm in a way that should foster further economic growth in China.     

The development of models of accounting information systems in Sweden

Traditionally, accounting has evolved as a technique. Practitioners and academics have striven to improve the technical features of accounting. Now, accounting is conceived increasingly as an organizational artefact which interacts with other organizational practices in shaping organizational reality. Taking a broad perspective of management control, this paper aims at contributing to our knowledge of accounting in this second sense and identifying some Swedish contributions to the tool-box of accounting. In reviewing the development of models of accounting information in Sweden mainly since World War II, different factors explaining the evolution of each model are identified. Analyses of these factors reveal that different groups of actors have been engaged in the development of different parts of the accounting information system (AIS). It is also noted that the introduction of models that are widely applied has delayed the emergence of new models better adapted to the current situation in business. Comparisons will be made with the development in some other countries.     

Accounting for Macroeconomic Influences on the Firm

Accounting based measures of exposure to macroeconomic shocks in exchange rates, interest rates and inflation do not capture the economic effects on the corporation of such shocks. We suggest measures that conceptually are coefficients in a multiple regression. The coefficients capture the sensitivity of a firm's real value or cash flows to unanticipated changes in each variable holding other variables constant. Information about such sensitivity coefficients would enable external stakeholders to distinguish between risk caused by firm-specific factors on the one hand and macroeconomic factors on the other. Scenario analysis is discussed as an alternative method for evaluating sensitivity coefficients. Information requirements for scenario and regression analysis are compared. Sensitivity coefficients can be used to identify a firm's functional currency or currency basket in which cash flows are independent of exchange rate changes. An example built on an actual case in Appendix demonstrates how insights can be gained from estimates of the suggested exposure measures.     

Factors affecting the price of Swedish forest land, 1965–1987

A model for the determination of the price of forest land is estimated for Sweden from 1965–1987, when (except for a few years) private non-industrial forest owners could finance their holdings at a negative real after-tax borrowing rate. It is assumed that credit has been limited by the value of mortgage security, assessed independently of the price settlement. The estimated coefficients of the regression equation are used for a calculation of the average real rate of discount of forest owners and the average value of amenities. The model also evaluates the effect of the temporary land price regulation from 1979–1987.     

A Note on Green Taxes and Double Dividends

Two highly influential articlesin the literature on green taxes and double dividends are Bovenbergand de Mooij (1994) and Goulder (1995). Goulder's primary concernis whether or not green tax reforms may increase welfare definedexclusive of environmental quality, while Bovenberg and de Mooijprimarily focus on the employment effects of such reforms. Unfortunately,Goulder misinterprets Bovenberg and de Mooij's results in takingthe sign of the uncompensated wage elasticity of labour supplyas being the decisive factor for whether or not welfare exclusiveof environmental quality rises under a green tax reform. Thiserror is pointed out and corrected in this note.     

MEDIEVAL MATCHING MARKETS

We study the regulation of brokerage in wholesale markets in premodern Central Western Europe. Examining 1,804 sets of rules from 82 cities, we find brokerage was primarily a centralized matchmaking mechanism. Brokerage was more common in towns with larger populations, better access to sea ports and trade routes, and greater political autonomy. Brokers' fee structures varied systematically: price-based fees were more common for highly heterogeneous goods, quantity-based fees for more homogeneous goods. We show theoretically that this was broadly consistent with total surplus maximization, and that brokerage was more valuable in markets with unequal numbers of buyers and sellers.