An Experimental Investigation of Increased Professional Education Requirements*

Abstract. We experimentally investigate the effects of a mandatory increase in education on the market for professional labor services when several service qualities are assumed to exist. We show that when suppliers have insufficient incentives to offer high-quality services in a free market, an increase in mandatory education can improve the coordination of supplier decisions and increase efficiency. If suppliers voluntarily provide a sufficient quantity of high-quality services, an education constraint can have the opposite effect. In both instances, however, an increase in the mandatory level of education can be expected to reduce the price of high-quality services while increasing the price of lower service qualities. Résumé. Les auteurs ont procédé à une analyse expérimentale des conséquences qu'aurait une hausse imposée du niveau d'études sur le marché des services professionnels, si l'on suppose l'existence de plusieurs qualités de services. L'analyse démontre que lorsque les stimulants sont insuffisants pour inciter les fournisseurs à offrir des services professionnels de qualité supérieure dans un marché libre, une hausse imposée du niveau d'études peut améliorer la coordination des décisions des fournisseurs et augmenter l'efficience. Si toutefois les fournisseurs offrent de leur propre chef une quantité suffisante de services de qualité supérieure, le fait d'imposer un niveau d'études supérieur peut avoir l'effet contraire. Dans les deux cas, on peut s'attendre à ce qu'une hausse du niveau d'études obligatoire réduise le prix des services de qualité supérieure tout en augmentant le prix des services de qualité plus faible.     

Relationship of direct nursing care hours to DRG and severity of illness

Great variation in nursing resource use is documented within DRGs. Much of this variation may be explained by patient severity of illness. Variance in nursing resource use within DRGs can be reduced by using a severity of illness instrument to score patients.     

Marketplace and personal space: Investigating the differential effects of attachment style across relationship contexts

An individual's tendencies in purely personal relationships seem to lead to related tendencies in consumer relationships. The following article presents a study that illustrates how individual differences in personal relationship attachment style can be used to predict the likely success of consumer relationships. In addition, it illustrates how the success of consumption versus nonconsumption relationships can be explained by the effect of attachment style on the individual's perception of qualities of the relationship. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A model of translation of foreign financial statements under inflation in the United States and Canada*

Abstract. This study investigates the translation of foreign financial statements in inflationary economies. The analysis is conducted by comparing the results obtained from the temporal and current rate methods to the translated adjusted-for-inflation (TAI) financial statements under varying degrees of purchasing power parity. The findings indicate that under perfect purchasing power parity, the temporal method yields undistorted results versus TAI. The current rate method, however, results in a distortion. When the purchasing power parity degree is not perfect, both the current rate and temporal methods distort the results. However, if the inflation exceeds the devaluation of the local currency, translation using the temporal method results in a lower distortion. This result is reversed when the devaluation of the local currency exceeds the rate of inflation. The study then proceeds to examine, from the viewpoint of a standard-setting body, the translation models in a cost-benefit framework. The results indicate that TAI is usually the best. This result is due to the fact that the benchmark model is more informative than the other methods, and the information production costs are close to the costs under the temporal method. Further, if the rate of inflation exceeds the devaluation of the local currency, the temporal method dominates the current rate method. The opposite holds if the devaluation of the local currency exceeds the rate of inflation. Moreover, this study examines the implications of CICA Handbook. Section 1650. The findings indicate that the Canadian variant of the temporal methods results in a distortion even when the purchasing power parity assumption holds. Résumé. L'auteur s'intéresse à la conversion des états financiers dressés en devises, dans les économies inflationnistes. Son analyse repose sur la comparaison des résultats de l'application de la méthode temporelle et de la méthode du taux courant à la conversion des états financiers ajustés pour tenir compte de l'inflation, selon divers degrés de parité du pouvoir d'achat. Suivant les résultats obtenus en situation de parité parfaite du pouvoir d'achat, la conversion à l'aide de la méthode temporelle est sans biais par rapport à celle de la conversion des états financiers ajustés pour tenir compte de l'inflation. La méthode du taux courant donne lieu, quant à elle, à un biais. Lorsque la parité du pouvoir d'achat n'est pas parfaite, la méthode du taux courant et la méthode temporelle faussent toutes deux les résultats. Toutefois, si l'inflation excède la dévaluation de la monnaie nationale, la conversion à l'aide de la méthode temporelle donne un biais moins accentué, relation qui s'inverse lorsque la dévaluation de la monnaie nationale excède le taux d'inflation. L'auteur procède ensuite, du point de vue d'un organisme de normalisation, à l'analyse des modèles de conversion sous l'angle coûts-avantages. Les résultats indiquent que la conversion des états financiers ajustés pour tenir compte de l'inflation est habituellement la meilleure. Cette constatation découle du fait que le modèle étalon est plus informatif que les autres méthodes, et que les coûts de production de l'information se rapprochent des coûts associés à la méthode temporelle. En outre, si le taux d'inflation excède la dévaluation de la monnaie nationale, la méthode temporelle l'emporte sur celle du taux courant. L'opposé est vrai si la dévaluation de la monnaie nationale excède le taux d'inflation. Enfin, l'auteur analyse les conséquences du chapitre 1650 du Manuel de l'I.C.C.A. et en vient à la conclusion que la variante canadienne de la méthode temporelle donne lieu à un biais, même quand l'hypothèse de la parité du pouvoir d'achat est respectée.     

EFFECTS OF SMALL BUSINESS ACCOUNTING BASES AND ACCOUNTANT SERVICE LEVELS ON LOAN OFFICER DECISIONS

This study examines effects of four combinations of accounting bases and service levels — GAAP and income tax bases, and audit and review service levels — on loan officers' decisions, both separately and in interaction. It examines effects on loan decisions and perceptions of interest rates, default risk, confidence, and usefulness. The interaction of accounting basis and service level significantly affects perceived confidence but does not affect other decisions. Accounting basis and service level separately affect interest rates, default risk, and report usefulness, but do not affect the loan decision.     

Bayesian MCMC Mapping of Quantitative Trait Loci in a Half-sib Design: a Graphical Model Perspective

Graphical models provide a powerful and flexible approach to the analysis of complex problems in genetics. While task-specific software may be extremely efficient for any particular analysis, it is often difficult to adapt to new computational challenges. By viewing these genetic applications in a more general framework, many problems can be handled by essentially the same software. This is advantageous in an area where fast methodological development is essential. Once a method has been fully developed and tested, problem-specific software may then be required. The aim of this paper is to illustrate the potential use of a graphical model approach to genetic analyses by taking a very simple and well-understood problem by way of example.     

Bank and Business Performance Measurement

Given the objective of maximizing the wealth of existing shareholders, this paper discusses some of the issues that arise in attempting to measure the performance of individual businesses within a bank. The paper describes two return measures – return on assets within a business and the return on the 'equity' of an individual business – and discusses the appropriate bench–marks. The paper ends with a discussion of the cost of unused allocated capital and the appropriate performance metric.
(J.E.L.: G30, G31).