Illiquidity and the Measurement of Stock Price Synchronicity

This paper demonstrates that measures of stock price synchronicity based on market model R² s are predictably biased downward as a result of stock illiquidity, and that previously employed remedies to correct market model betas for measurement bias do not fix R² . Using a large international sample of firm-years, we find strong negative and nonlinear relations between illiquidity and R² across countries, across firms, and over time. Because variables of interest frequently relate to illiquidity as well, we illustrate the consequences of not controlling for illiquidity in synchronicity research. More generally, we demonstrate the importance of using nonlinear control variable methods. Overall, we conclude that the illiquidity-driven measurement bias in R² provides an explanation for why prior research finds low-R² firms to have weak information environments, and suggest future research carefully evaluate the sensitivity of its results to nonlinear controls for illiquidity.     

The cost of male subemployment in the black community

Summary and Conclusions In 1969, the direct and indirect costs of the subemployment of black men exceeded total federal expenditures on manpower programs by almost $2 billion ($4.0 vs. $2.1 billion) and today, with the black unemployment rate approaching 13 percent, it is improbable that this difference has narrowed appreciably. Nor is there any evidence to indicate that the black male’s tie to the family unit has strengthened to any significant extent. There is no readily available panacea for eliminating these economic costs and the continued waste of human resources, but the World War II and Korean War experiences are indicators of how society can act to simultaneously attack the related problems of subemployment and family instability.     

Ethical Issues Related to the Provision of Audit and Non-Audit Services: Evidence from Academic Research

Audit standards require auditors to conduct audits being independent in mental attitude from their clients. Regulators and financial statement users are concerned that auditors compromise their independence by allowing clients that contract for consulting services, i.e., non-audit services, more financial statement discretion relative to clients that demand relatively little non-audit services from their auditor. This paper begins by discussing the role of auditing in the capital markets and the various stakeholders that rely on audited financial information in making their capital allocation decisions. The paper continues by explaining the ethical dilemma inherent in audit contracts in general, and more specifically, how the provision of non-audit services threatens auditor independence. The paper concludes by summarizing research studies that report conflicting evidence that there is a violation of auditor independence due to the provision of non-audit services to audit clients.     

Interaction between theory and observation in development

The author reviews empirical research carried out over the past 30 years with respect to the process of development. He first examines the extent to which economic theories and generalizations derived from the experience of the developed countries are relevant to the developing countries. He next explores the relationship between the ‘structural transformation’ that occurs in the process of development and economic growth, summarizing his own current research on several issues. Finally he compares applications of the neoclassical growth model to both the more advanced countries, whose economic transformation is near completion, and the developing countries still in the process of structural transformation. The author argues that further empirical work can reduce the controversy between neoclassical and structural approaches to development by making possible the formulation of computable models in which the distinction between developing and developed countries can be largely reduced to observable differences in certain statistical parameters: initial conditions, price and income elasticities, and adjustment lags.     

Learning by doing: a case study of qualitative accounting research

The increasing number of master's degrees in accounting as well as specialist MBA's mean that an understanding of research methods is now an important part of the toolkit of accounting educators. In the literature there has been an increasing interest in qualitative accounting research. Whilst this interest has been mirrored by an increase in qualitative methods textbooks, less is known about the experience of undertaking such research. This presents a problem for educators, as they need material for students to work with and analyse before they are able to design their own research projects. This paper presents a case study based upon an extensive piece of qualitative research concerned with the use of accounting information in decision-making processes in banking. Review, exploratory and application questions provide a framework through which the case study can be used as a learning resource for accounting educators, supervisors and students.     

Target Financial Reporting Quality and M&A Deals that Go Bust*

This study investigates the role of financial reporting quality in merger and acquisition (M&A) deals that are ultimately terminated (i.e., go bust). If a target is a U.S. publicly traded company, an acquirer’s initial assessment of the potential benefits associated with the acquisition of the company is based on publicly available information. Generally, the acquirer obtains limited private information from the target prior to announcing the deal, but engages in transactional due diligence after signing the acquisition agreement to affirm that the financial reporting warranties made by the target are accurate. We construct a low‐quality financial reporting score based on measures prior research identifies as being associated with less reliable, less relevant, and less precise financial reporting. We find that acquirers offer higher premiums for targets with low‐quality financial reporting. However, we also find that low‐quality financial reporting increases the likelihood of deal renegotiation, and contributes to the probability of deals going bust. We document that failed targets are more likely to restate their financial statements after the announcement of the deal, supporting our conjecture that low‐quality financial reporting contributes to deals being terminated. Our research develops a new measure of low‐quality financial reporting, documents that the measure is related to M&A deal outcomes and financial restatements, and provides insights into the consequences of M&A transactional due diligence.     

Government Underpricing of Share‐Issue Privatizations

Abstract *** :  The purposes of the paper are to determine whether governments underprice shares in fixed‐price share‐issue privatizations (SIPs) and, if so, what their motivations are for doing so. This paper develops three models of SIP underpricing: one based on revenue goals, one based on political goals and an inclusive model which supposes that the level of underpricing depends on both government revenue goals and political goals. These models are estimated using an international sample of 104 SIPs from 25 countries. We find that, on average, SIPs are underpriced by approximately the same amount as private sector initial public offerings (IPOs). This is not consistent with the sole goal of revenue maximization because SIPs should not require the same degree of underpricing as IPOs. The inclusive regression fits the data well and indicates that both revenue and political goals affect the level of SIP underpricing .     

Stress: The legal and organizational implications

Evolving legal trends, as well as court cases in which stress related to employment situations led to liability for the employer, were reviewed and summarized. These results were integrated with those in current empirical stress research in order to identify potential areas of concern for managers. This unified approach was then used to examine some common organizational situations and to suggest practices, policies, and procedures that may be useful in reducing or eliminating the harmful effects of stress on employees. It was concluded that, while employers must be knowledgeable about general stressors likely to affect employee well-being, they must also identify factors unique to their own situations. The responsibility of the manager in analyzing the work situation and responding to the individuals involved is emphasized.     

Strategic Implications of Learning by Doing

This paper examines firm strategy when competitors are at different points along the learning curve. It shows that firms high on the learning curve will have strong incentives to exclude new competitors, while firms that are learning more slowly will have weaker incentives to hinder new competitors and may even wish to encourage entry. The same strategies are shown to apply when firm reputation is acquired through participation in an industry. Several examples of strategic behaviour that take advantage of differential learning speeds or heterogeneous reputations are suggested and a variety of applications of the principle involved are explored.     

Microcredit in Prefamine Ireland

Hundreds of independent, local, quasi-charitable microcredit societies, or “loan funds,” were lending to as many as 20% of Irish households in the mid-19th century. Their goal was to relieve poverty by providing credit to the “industrious poor” at competitive interest rates without public funding. They successfully mitigated informational, moral hazard, and enforcement problems, and operated at a surplus in a market where intermediation by the banks seems not to have been profitable. Loan fund activity offers new insights into capital formation in the 19th-century Irish economy and challenges traditional notions regarding the economic activities of the Irish poor. They are also relevant for economists studying current microcredit initiatives.