Social Security and Private Transfers in Developing Countries: The Case of Peru

Do social security systems "crowd out" private transfers fromyounger to older generations? This question has generated muchtheoretical discussion, but little empirical work exists toconfirm or refute this crowding-out hypothesis. We investigatethe connection between social security and private transfersin Peru, using the Peruvian Living Standards Survey, and findthat private transfers from young to old would have been nearly20 percent higher without social security benefits. This indicatesthat the Peruvian social security system is less effective atdelivering benefits to the elderly than a simple assignmentof government expenditures would suggest. Social security'sdisplacement of private transfers, while significant, is lessthan that predicted by models with widespread altruistic transfers.     

On the Analysis of Large Numbers of p‐values

Methods for the analysis of large numbers of p‐values, observed levels of significance, are reviewed with some emphasis placed on the Rényi decomposition hinging on the relation with independent exponentially distributed random variables. Some extensions are described. An empirical example is used in illustration, and simulation results examining potential complications are outlined.     

Tax loss selling and the contrarian investment strategy

Tax loss selling is examined as a possible explanation for the long term price reversal patterns associated with the contrarian investment strategy. Our empirical results are consistent with a tax effect. When we adjust for size and potential tax loss selling, the abnormally high returns previously found in January are eliminated. These results suggest that short term tax effects are associated with the longer term overreaction or contrarian hypothesis, and at this point cannot be dismissed.     

Financial reporting fraud and other forms of misconduct: a multidisciplinary review of the literature

Financial reporting fraud and other forms of financial reporting misconduct are a significant threat to the existence and efficiency of capital markets. This study reviews the literature on financial reporting misconduct from the perspectives of law, accounting, and finance. Our goals are to establish a common language for researchers interested in this line of research, describe the main findings and challenges in these literatures, and provide directions for future research. Although research on financial reporting misconduct faces challenges, those challenges provide significant opportunities to advance the literature, as the answers to many questions on financial reporting misconduct remain unsettled.     

The source of value of voting rights and related dividend promises

This paper examines the relative share pricing of 98 firms with two classes of common stock trading in the United States from 1984 to 1999. The firms feature common stock classes with differential voting rights and, in some cases, differential rights to dividends. The observed voting premiums are higher than those reported in previous studies of U.S. firms and are dependent on the form of dividend promise to the low-vote shareholder. The voting premium is higher in the presence of a control threat, when insiders do not hold controlling voting power, and during periods of poor firm performance.     

A primal-dual approach to nonparametric productivity analysis: The case of U.S. agriculture

Nonparametric methods for measuring productivity indexes based on bounds for the underlying production technology are presented. Following Banker and Maindiratta, the lower bound is obtained from a primal approach while the upper bound corresponds to a dual approach to nonparametric production analysis. These nonparametric bounds are then used to estimate input-based and output-based distance functions. These radial measures provide the basis for measuring productivity indexes. Application to times series data on U.S. agriculture indicates a large gap between the primal lower bound and the dual upper bound. This generates striking differences between the primal and dual nonparametric productivity indexes.Respectively, professor and associate professor of Agricultural Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Seniority of authorship is equally shared. We would like to thank Rolf Färe and an anonymous reviewer for useful comments on an earlier draft of the paper. This research was supported in part by a Hatch grant from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison.     

Trends and developments in east central European industrial relations

This article overviews developments in industrial relations in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland since the fall of the communist regimes in 1989, and assesses the extent to which key developments in these countries reflect both change and continuity from the communist period. We explore the four main institutions through which industrial relations have been conducted: trades unions, workers’ councils, employer organisations, and the tripartite arrangements involving representatives of unions and employers with the state.     

A Conversation with John C. Gower

Editors' Note: This conversation covers the extensive contributions of John C. Gower to statistical methodology, computing and applications. It also touches on the pioneering development of statistical computing at Rothamsted Experimental Station and the relevant work of Frank Yates, John Nelder and others who were at Rothamsted. See also the accompanying paper by John Gower (1985) on developments in statistical computing at Rothamsted (see Note 1) and the epilogue from Roger Payne.     

思考世界秩序的不同方式

从观念结构的角度出发,作者认为观念结构有两个面向:共时性和历时性。共时性如同一副全景式的画面,能够同时看到不同权力实体——国家或帝国——的相对地位,而历时性关注的是世界权力性质的结构性变化。对于参与国际关系的国家和其他实体而言,它们包括了内部和外部两个方面。新现实主义所见到的外部由人口、资源、军事能力以及经济能力组成,内部则包括现实生活、思维本质和社会,而国家只是社会的一种表现方式。中国和西方的历史经验对塑造世界秩序产生了各自的影响。源于二元论思想的西方传统一方面导致了实证主义的产生并成为当时思想的主流,另一方面又引起了有关文明上升、衰落以及可能重生的历史主义和周期论。中国传统的世界观一方面与所谓的英国学派在某些方面有交集之处,也在一定程度上得益于历史主义传统;另一方面,由于中国近年来经济的快速增长和社会结构的变化,这也可能助长了中国国内美国式的实证主义和进步信念的发展。