Professional scepticism in two economies with cultural differences and the public interest: evidence from China and the United States

Auditors’ professional scepticism is a topical concern for the audit profession and public interest. This study examines professional scepticism among fraud auditors in the forensic accounting profession in China (CN) and the United States (US). Data are collected from 373 and 401 CN and US auditors, respectively, in two economies with cultural differences. The multinomial logistic regression results indicate that both CN and US fraud auditors have higher levels of professional scepticism than general auditors do. There are no significant differences in traits between CN and US fraud auditors. High-ranking fraud auditors have higher levels of professional scepticism than junior-ranking fraud auditors for both CN and US auditors. The results of our sensitivity analysis validate the main results and indicate the findings’ robustness. Results support the normative pillar of the institutional theory (Scott 1995) that asserts actors (fraud auditors) of institutions would share common norms and beliefs in a social system because they are rooted in professional affiliations (accounting bodies) (DiMaggio and Powell 1983). Our findings contribute to the literature in the arena of the interests of the public and the economy.     

Cost-effectiveness of direct-acting antiviral regimen ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir in treatment-naïve and treatment-experienced patients infected with chronic hepatitis C virus genotype 1b in Japan

Objective: This study compared the cost-effectiveness of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1b (GT1b) therapy ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir (OBV/PTV/r) vs daclatasvir?+?asunaprevir (DCV/ASV) and no treatment in patients without cirrhosis. Cost-effectiveness analyses (CEAs) that compared OBV/PTV/r against DCV/ASV and sofosbuvir/ledipasvir (SOF/LDV) in Y93H mutation-negative, GT1b patients with and without cirrhosis were also included.

Methods: A health state transition model was developed to capture the natural history of HCV. A CEA over a lifetime horizon was performed from the perspective of the public healthcare payer in Japan. Costs, health utilities, and rates of disease progression were derived from published studies. Sustained virologic response (SVR) rates of OBV/PTV/r and DCV/ASV were extracted from Japanese clinical trials. Analyses were performed for treatment-naïve and -experienced patients. Alternative scenarios and input parameter uncertainty on the results were tested.

Results: OBV/PTV/r exhibited superior clinical outcomes vs comparators. For OBV/PTV/r, DCV/ASV, and no treatment, the lifetime risk of decompensated cirrhosis in treatment-naïve patients without cirrhosis was 0.4%, 1.4%, and 9.2%, and hepatocellular carcinoma was 6.5%, 11.4%, and 49.9%, respectively. Quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) were higher in treatment-naïve and -experienced patients without cirrhosis treated with OBV/PTV/r (16.41 and 16.22) vs DCV/ASV (15.83 and 15.66) or no treatment (11.34 and 11.23). In treatment-naïve and -experienced patients without cirrhosis, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) of OBV/PTV/r vs DCV/ASV were JPY 1,684,751/QALY and JPY 1,836,596/QALY, respectively; OBV/PTV/r was dominant compared with no treatment. In scenario analysis, including GT1b patients with and without cirrhosis who were Y93H mutation-negative, the ICER of OBV/PTV/r vs DCV/ASV was below the Japanese willingness-to-pay threshold of JPY 5 million/QALY, while the ICER of SOF/LDV vs OBV/PTV/r was above this threshold; thus, OBV/PTV/r was cost-effective.

Conclusion: OBV/PTV/r appears to be a cost-effective treatment for chronic HCV GT1b infection against DCV/ASV. OBV/PTV/r dominates no treatment in patients without cirrhosis.     

TESTING FOR A UNIT ROOT AGAINST TRANSITIONAL AUTOREGRESSIVE MODELS

This article develops a novel test for a unit root in general transitional autoregressive models, which is based on the infimum of t‐ratios for the coefficient of a parametrized transition function. Our test allows for very flexible specifications of the transition function and short‐run dynamics and is significantly more powerful than all the other existing tests. Moreover, we develop a large sample theory general enough to deal with randomly drifting parameter spaces, which is essential to properly test for a unit root against stationary transitional models. An empirical application of our test to the exchange rate data is also provided.     

Non-linearities in international prices

We consider multiple sources of non-linearity in good-level law-of-one-price deviations across the globe using a structural model that accounts for previously omitted variables and allows estimation of good-level convergence rates both within and outside the bands of no trade. Accounting for the role of theoretically implied variables and their non-linear interactions in the convergence process of law-of-one-price deviations, we find that good-level convergence rates are systematically faster compared with convergence estimates based on reduced-form models. Contrary to conventional wisdom, good-level price differentials exhibit mean-reverting behaviour even within the bands of no trade. Moreover, mean-reversion rates are strongly related to economic characteristics such as tradability and a good's non-traded input content.     

Gender wage penalty in parenthood: A comparative study of South Korea and Japan

Both South Korea and Japan attach significant importance to women′s marriage and their role in the family. Based on this fact, the present study analyzed gender wage penalty in parenthood in both the countries and compared the size and characteristics. We used conditional quantile regression models with counterfactual decomposition, and panel data from South Korea and Japan for 2007–2014. Results suggest that the gender wage penalty in parenthood of Japan was greater than in South Korea, indicating that discrimination against mother-workers in Japan is more serious than in South Korea. Analysis by wage distribution showed that the gender wage penalty in parenthood was high in the low-wage group in South Korea, whereas it was high for the high-wage group in Japan. This finding indicates that South Korea needs to give fair treatment to the low-wage group and mother-workers of small and medium enterprises, while Japan needs to alleviate discrimination against high-wage mother-workers.     

Market power among physicians in the U.S., 1983–1991

The growth of health care costs and expenditures recently led to suggestions for innovations that would affect demand for health care. However, supply side issues were largely ignored in the debate despite the fact that the American Medical Association has controlled entry since it was granted that power by legislators early in this century. We consider the supply side of the market for physicians' services over 1983–1991. Our estimated index of market power indicates nontrivial power among physicians. This suggests that conventional policy tools could reduce costs in this market. This, in turn, could effectively lower insurance premiums.     

The Role of Innovation in Upgrading in Global Value Chains

ABSTRACT

We examine the role of innovative efforts in industries from the perspective of global value chains (GVCs). We set up a simple model and empirically test it using patent and bilateral export decomposition data. The model shows that innovative activities assumed to decrease the cost of conducting high-skilled tasks can upgrade the position of the industry in GVCs. This is also supported by data on patents and GVC-related data from the OECD and the Asian Development Bank. The empirical results reveal that a higher number of patent applications are closely related to more production of intermediate goods rather than assembly.     

Why do They Come Back? The Effects of Winery Tourists’ Motivations and Satisfaction on the Number of Visits and Revisit Intentions

ABSTRACT

Few studies have examined the influence of winery tourists’ motivations and satisfaction on number of visits and revisit intentions. This study examined these relationships through 1602 online survey responses from former winery visitors. The data were analyzed through a series of multiple regression analyses. Findings show that among tourists’ motivations, the reputation, reviews, and perceived quality of the winery and its wines significantly affect the number of visits and revisit intentions, while media exposure affects revisit intentions. Further, visitors’ satisfaction with the winery significantly impacts revisit intentions. While visitors’ geographic proximity to the winery increased the number of visits, as expected, distance from the winery is shown to increase revisit intentions. Finally, the number of previous visits had a significant positive effect on revisit intentions.     

Developing sustainable rural tourism evaluation indicators

This study is to develop indicators that measure sustainable rural tourism development within a sustainable framework. It was conducted via a Delphi technique and the analytical hierarchy process method. After three rounds of discussions, the panel members reached consensus on a set of 33 indicators with four dimensions. This set of community‐based rural tourism development indicators can serve as a starting point for devising a set of indicators at the local and regional level in order to be useful rural tourism sector manager and administrators. The selected indicators are measureable, demand driven and practical to show the real performance in rural destination. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.