Freight rates and productivity gains in British tramp shipping 1869-1950

The standard source for pre-WWII global freight rate trends is the Isserliss index. We think it is time for a new look at his British tramp shipping index, especially given his sources offer vastly more information than Isserliss used. Our new estimates confirm the precipitous decline in real freight rates before World War I, but we also extend them to 1997, a long period of relative stability. In an effort to identify the contribution of transport revolutions to global commodity price convergence, we create route-specific deflators, rather than relying on the Sauerbeck index. Finally, using the price-dual and new factor price indices, we calculate total factor productivity growth for five global routes, and then identify the sources of productivity growth along them.     

Tenancy development in new shopping centres: implications for developers and retailers

This paper focuses on an investigation of the growing management and marketing problem of tenancy development in new shopping centres. The paper notes the critical importance of tenancy development in an increasingly competitive market, and reports on a survey of thirty shopping centres which examines patterns of tenancy development in the early crucial years of their growth. The survey highlights significant tenancy problems facing some developers/landlords, with major implications for rental income growth, retail synergy and sales growth, and for future shopping centre marketing strategies.     

Predicting the government's decision to seek a rescheduling of external debt

Drawing on the relevant literature on the link between economic growth and external debt accumulation of less developed countries (LDCs), this study seeks to identify the variables leading countries to experience debt servicing difficulties. Discriminant analysis was used to distinguish between the rescheduling and non-rescheduling countries. The available data are the values of finanical ratios for 75 LDCs in 1988. The common log and sin transformation were applied to the ratios, resulting in variables that satisfied the discriminant function model. Ten variables represcenting debt burden, foreign exchange position and domestic economy situation were found significant in exploring the rescheduling decision. The model can be useful for both the financial institutions and the borrowing countries.     

论三种成本核算方法的区别

成本核算是财务核算的重要组成部分,成本核算方法也在不断地发展。本文对比了制造成本法、作业成本法和资源消耗会计三种方法在成本核算上的特点、优势、存在的问题,进一步分析成本核算方法的发展趋势。     

事业单位企业化管理后的会计管理方式探讨

事业单位是我国社会管理和公共服务职能的主要载体,是政府经济和社会管理的重要组成部分,对国民经济和国计民生具有十分重要的作用。本文对事业单位企业化管理背景下,如何实现事业单位会计制度向企业会计制度转变进行了分析。     

Investor protection,taxation, and dividends

We test the impact of taxes and governance systems on dividend payouts across countries. We show that, unlike previous studies, firms in strong investor protection countries pay lower cash dividends than in weak protection countries when the classical tax system is implemented, but they repurchase more shares to maximise their shareholders' after-tax returns. In weak protection countries, cash dividends and repurchases are low and less responsive to taxes. Our results suggest that when investors are protected, they weigh the tax cost of dividends against the benefit of mitigating the agency cost, but, when they are not, they accept whatever dividends they can extract, even when this entails high tax costs.     

Water Conservation and Management with Hydrophobic Encapsulation of Sand

Hydrophobic sand (HS) is ordinary beach sand coated with tiny particles of pure silica, which have been exposed to a special chemical treatment vapors of a silicon compound called trimethylhydroxysilane (CH₃)₃SiOH. The additive creates a capillary breaking hydrophobic encapsulation of the sand making it resistant to salts, particularly sodium chloride salts. This can be serving as a pure water repellent material. The use of this hydrophobic layer in various industries has been explored. Here we tried to explore the utility aspects of this HS in agriculture with lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) crop as a model system, by providing a layer of HS beneath soil in potted plants. A layer of HS at the bottom of the pot stops water from passing through it, yet allows air to pass through the sand grains and provide the roots with the air needed to breathe. We analyzed the vegetative characteristics and soil mineral contents after the experimental period and found the results were promising. From the results, it can be concluded that HS can be used as a potential eco-friendly tool to reduce the water consumption in arid land agriculture, without any harm to ecological factors.     

The combination of contracts in Shariah: A possible mechanism for product development in Islamic banking and finance

The combination of contracts is a potential mechanism of product development in Islamic finance. However, this concept encounters legal issues due to ahadith that prohibit two contracts in one deal. The article argues for the validity of combining two or more contracts to structure Shariah‐compliant products. It discusses many aspects of combination of contracts, including terminologies and purposes of the con‐tracts, the degree of uncertainty and ambiguity, and the nature of the bargain in the contracts combined. If the contracts combined pass the tests established by legal prin‐ciples, there will be no legal objection to combine such contracts into one deal. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.