The Information Content of Nonfinancial Performance Measures in the Airline Industry

This research extends the literature on nonfinancial performance measures (NFPMs) by assessing (1) the information content of a broader set of NFPMs and (2) whether NFPMs provide information not provided by financial performance measures (FPMs) from all previously identified FPM categories, rather than just earnings and book value. Specifically, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis results presented in this paper demonstrate that nineteen NFPMs of major airlines capture seven underlying constructs not captured by eighteen common FPMs. Additionally, this research develops reliable composite measures of the identified performance measure constructs, which prior research argues are superior to individual performance measures.     

The durability of consumer durables

The life span of a product is a key component in assessing its environmental impact. Until very recently, however, product durability was far from prominent in the environmental debate. This has begun to change due to mounting concern about waste, the prospect of producer ‘take back’ schemes and the importance of quality in highly competitive international markets. This has led to product durability emerging on the business and environment agenda. This paper explores the significance of product life spans and identifies currently available data on the life-span of consumer durables. It defines product life and argues that, from an environmental perspective, optimum product life, rather than maximum product life should be the goal. It suggests that potential advantages to businesses of manufacturing and retailing products with longer life spans include improved environmental foresight (i.e. a greater responsiveness to new social trends, changes in consumer behaviour and tighter government regulations), an enhanced reputation for quality, greater potential market share and increased customer loyalty. Addressing claims that manufacturers deliberately make products with the intention that they should have life spans below the known technical potential, the paper identifies some of the influences upon manufacturers which encourage shorter product life spans. Finally, some means by which longer life products might be encouraged are proposed.     

Uniform Commercial Policy, Illegal Trade, and the Real Exchange Rate: A Theoretical Analysis

Countries on fixed exchange rates sometimes use uniform tariffcum subsidy (UTCS) schemes as a way of achieving a real depreciationwithout disturbing the nominal exchange rate. A potential drawbackof this policy in relation to an across-the-board devaluationis that a UTCS scheme provides incentives for illegal trade.Using an optimizing model with currency convertibility and illegaltrade. I find that welfare is lower under a UTCS scheme thanunder a corresponding across-the-board devaluation and thatin some cases the real exchange rate actually appreciates inresponse to an increase in the UTCS rate.     

The Robustness of the APT to Alternative Estimators

We test the robustness of the APT to two alternative estimation procedures: the Fama and MacBeth (1973) two-step methodology; and the one-step procedure due to Burmeister and McElroy (1988). We find that the APT is indeed sensitive to the chosen estimator and assumptions about the factor structure of stock returns. We believe that our findings have implications for the estimation of asset pricing models in general.     

美国房地产泡沫的崩盘:全球经济的魔鬼?

美国的房地产投机泡沫正在破裂。这种转变将通过多种途径影响到美国经济:建筑业下滑将使美国经济增长率减少约1．5个百分点,而财富效应的逆转会造成约0．5个百分点的影响。加之其他因素．房地产泡沫破裂将使美国经济增长率降低2．0个百分点以上。而对于失衡的全球经济而言．美国房地产泡沫的破裂将会造成很大影响。     

Initial public offerings in the gaming industry: an empirical study

The fastest growing segment of the hospitality industry is gaming-related business. This industry has experienced record numbers of companies going public, and their stocks are considered favorable long-term investments. Research in the initial public offering (IPO) area suggests that investors acquiring stock at the initial offering price earn large returns. The purpose of this study was to determine if large returns are being experienced for IPOs in the gaming segment of the hospitality industry, and if these large returns were limited to investors who purchased the stock at the initial offer price. There were 14 gaming-related companies selected for the study. The conclusions supported research reporting that the highest returns from IPO investments are made when the stock is purchased at the initial offer price. This study concludes that returns based on the initial offer price were greater than the casino index and the IPO index. When the investor purchased the stock at the first day's closing price, however, returns compared to the two indices were surpassed only after holding the stock for 8 weeks.     

'Men of small standing'? Locating accountants in English society during the mid-nineteenth century

The census enumerators' books for three counties in 1851 are utilized to explore the social standing of accountants in early-Victorian England. The objective is to illuminate sources of differential status within the occupation of accountancy and thereby enhance understandings of the problems of boundary definition and closure which confronted those who organized the profession in England from 1870. It is shown that accountants occupied various strata in local social structures, from the professional class to the pauper. Accountants were, however, predominantly positioned on the margins of the middle class and very few of their number exhibited styles of living which contemporaries identified as characteristic of professional men. The findings confirm that the term 'accountant' encompassed a wide range of occupational experiences and employment statuses and its meaning appears to have been subject to spatial variation.     

Rationing, defective inputs and Bayesian updates under central planning

The enterprise manager anticipates that he will be rationed in his input markets and is required to meet an output target. In order to avoid a penalty for missing the output target, he can purchase the inputs at an earlier time, when rationing is not in effect, but then he must incur an inventory cost. The inputs themselves are defective with a known mean rate but unknown variability; the manager has a prior density over this parameter. He can solve the relevant expected-cost minimisation problem in three ways: (a) by simultaneously determining the optimal amounts to be ordered on the two dates, (b) by dynamic programming, and (c) by dynamic programming combined with Bayesian learning. The paper investigates the properties of the optimal solution under the three scenarios with respect to variations in the defective rate, the level of uncertainty and the relative costs of inventories and of missing the target.We are indebted to the National Science, Olin and Guggenheim Foundations and the National Council on Soviet and East European Research for support. We are also indebted to Gregory C. Chow, J.-S. Pischke, and two referees for several insightful comments.