The Term ‘Non-financial Information’ – A Semantic Analysis of a Key Feature of Current and Future Corporate Reporting

Accounting and corporate reporting can be seen as a language for specific purposes. Such a language requires the use of terms and concepts with a precise and commonly shared meaning to allow effective and efficient communication. We analyze the term ‘non-financial information’, which has become a part of mandatory corporate reporting within the European Union (EU) through recent regulatory actions. Our analysis is based on a survey of the theoretical and empirical literature, on the rational of semantic theory, as well as on a questionnaire survey. The clear finding is that, up to now, neither a common meaning nor a generally accepted definition of ‘non-financial information’ exists. We derive from the applied theoretical concepts that this situation negatively impacts the efficiency and effectiveness of corporate communication. Against this background we discuss several venues that might help to overcome this deficiency like issuing a mandatory guideline or changing the terminology.     

Book Reviews

Review of World Economics -     

ORDER PLACEMENT STRATEGIES IN A PURE LIMIT ORDER BOOK MARKET

Using order book information from the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), we examine whether (and to what extent) the order book affects investors' order placement strategies. We find that the top of the book always affects order submissions, cancellations, and amendments, and the rest of the book mostly affects order cancellations and amendments. The previously documented order submission aggressiveness, given a crowded first step of the book, persists to other price steps and is found in order amendments and cancellations along the book. Finally, investors tend to fill in the large price gaps in the book by submitting or amending orders.     

The Effect of the Exchange Rates on Investment in Mexican Manufacturing Industry

This paper, considering revenue and cost exposure channels, investigates the effects of exchange rate on fixed capital investment in Mexican manufacturing sector over 1994–2003. We find that i) currency depreciation has a positive (negative) effect on fixed investment through the export (import) channel; ii) exchange rate volatility impacts mostly export oriented sectors; iii) the sensitivity of investment to exchange rate movements is stronger in non-durable goods sectors and industries with low mark-up ratios.     

打造个性化服务的物流服务业--发展中的中远物流

它独揽位居世界500强前列的通用汽车公司近100％的汽车散件运输,是美国最大的鞋业零售商首选物流承运人,海尔超过一半的进出口产品由它承运,举世瞩目的三峡工程巨型发电机组、秦山核电站、连云港核电站等运输项目都与     

Unemployment and the real wage gap: A reappraisal of the German experience

Unemployment and the Real Wage Gap: A Reappraisal of the German Experience.- The major European economies experienced a rise in unemployment since the late 1970s. At the same time, the real wage gap, a widely used measure of wage pressure, declined. This paper develops an analytical framework that relates the two phenomena. Particular emphasis is placed on the interaction of capital accumulation, wage setting and labour demand. The model is applied to the particular case of Ger-many and found to be consistent with the observed behaviour of wages, investment, output and employment.