Financial implications of outdoor recreation planning practices: A case study from Virginia

Abstract

A financial analysis of Virginia's outdoor recreation program is presented. The conclusions of the paper may be applicable to many state recreation programs. First, state recreation planning procedures are not realistic; that is, projected requirements for recreational facility development cannot be satisfied within expected budget constraints. Second, increases in user fees and/or increases in general funds allocated to recreation will be necessary to support only modest recreation development for the future.     

THE ROLE OF FEES IN PATENT SYSTEMS: THEORY AND EVIDENCE

This paper reviews the economic literature on the role of fees in patent systems. Two main research questions are usually addressed: the impact of patent fees on the behavior of applicants and the question of optimal fees. Studies in the former group confirm that a range of fees affect the behavior of applicants and suggest that a patent is an inelastic good. Studies in the latter group provide grounds for both low and high application (or pre‐grant) fees and renewal (or post‐grant) fees, depending on the structural context and policy objectives. The paper also presents new stylized facts on patent fees of 30 patent offices worldwide. It is shown that application fees are generally lower than renewal fees, and renewal fees increase more than proportionally with patent age.     

The Effect of Corporate Status on External Audit Fees: Evidence From the UK

Abstract:  This paper simultaneously examines, for the first time, the determinants of external audit fees of UK companies drawn from the quoted sector (Main Market, the Alternative Investment Market and Ofex), and the unquoted sector (public and private limited companies). The paper also provides new evidence on the effects of corporate failure and the persistence of the big four and mid-tier auditor premiums across the public and private corporate sectors. After controlling for firm size, audit risk and complexity, we find that quoted and unquoted public limited companies have significantly higher audit fees than their private limited counterparts. Our estimates imply that relative premiums for market/corporate form are as follows: Main Market over AIM, 6.8%; AIM over Ofex, 19.5%; Ofex over unquoted plc, 15.5%; and unquoted plc over private, 16.7%. However, despite indications in prior US research to the contrary, we find no evidence that insolvent firms that failed were charged higher audit fees in the year preceding failure. A positive relationship is also found between audit and consultancy fees – a result that persists using an instrumental variables approach to control for endogeneity.     

The distraction effect of non-audit services on audit quality

Regulators have expressed concerns that an emphasis on non-audit services (NAS) could distract from the audit function, even for clients with minimal NAS purchases. Motivated by this concern, we examine whether a greater emphasis on providing NAS to audit clients generally (i.e., not to a specific client) can distract from the audit function, thus reducing audit quality. We find evidence of an NAS distraction effect, where a greater emphasis on NAS at the audit office-level results in more client financial statement restatements, even after controlling for client-specific NAS. Further, the association exists among clients that purchase minimal NAS, suggesting that this association relates to distraction effects in addition to independence issues examined in prior research. This study should be of interest to audit firms, audit committees, and regulators because it provides new evidence regarding issues related to a business model that includes both audit and non-audit services.     

THE BROKEN UNIVERSITY: WHAT IS SEEN AND WHAT IS NOT SEEN IN THE UK HIGHER EDUCATION SECTOR

Frederic Bastiat and others have previously argued that one of the key differences between a good and a bad economist is whether they are prepared to take into account not just the immediate and visible effects of a policy intervention, but also the hidden costs and unintended consequences which accumulate over time. In the field of higher education, when these additional factors are taken into account it soon becomes clear that the £14.3 billion annual public subsidy is now doing more harm than good in one of the UK's most important service sectors.     

The pricing responses of non-bag fee airlines to the use of bag fees in the US air travel market

Using a panel data for Southwest and JetBlue in the 1st quarter of 2009, 2011, and 2013, we develop an empirical study and find evidence suggesting that the amount of bag fee charged by bag fee airlines, including those direct rivals at the route level and indirect rivals competing from adjacent airports, has a positive and significant effect on the airfare of non-bag fee airlines and such a positive association is smaller on vacation-oriented routes, but greater on routes with higher per capita income at endpoint cities. Moreover, the results are found that on the routes where Southwest is the only non-bag fee airline, the amount of bag fee charged by other airlines has a positive and significant effect on the traffic volume of Southwest. This traffic increasing effect, however, may be offset by the higher airfare of Southwest in response to other airlines’ imposition of bag fees.     

农村税费制度改革研究

农村税费制度改革是减轻农民负担的根本出路。本文在对河北省农村税费状况考察的基础上 ,针对现行农村税费制度的弊端 ,提出了完善农业税制 ,调整农业税收负担 ,将乡统筹并入农业税 ,将村提留改为农业税附加的改革思路。     

信用评级收费机制研究

信用评级报告作为公共产品，由政府免费提供其服务存在诸多弊端。研究“谁受益谁付费”原则、道德风险理论与监督机制，发现选择市场收费形式提供信用评级服务具有内在的理论基础。具体分析向谁收费、收费标准以及收费的事后监督制度，说明现阶段采用信用评级收费机制具有现实可行性。     

Disclosure of fees paid to auditors and the market valuation of earnings surprises

We investigate if the SEC’s recently mandated disclosure of fees for audit and nonaudit services paid by firms to their incumbent auditors affected the market’s perception of auditor independence and earnings quality. Following the initial fee disclosures in 2001, we find that the market valuation of quarterly earnings surprises (earnings response coefficient) was significantly lower for firms with high levels of nonaudit fees than for firms with low levels of such fees. In contrast, in the year prior to the new fee disclosures, there was no reduction in earnings response coefficients for firms that subsequently reported high nonaudit fees. Our evidence suggests that mandated fee disclosures provided new information that was viewed by the market as relevant to appraising auditor independence and earnings quality.

农村税费改革后公共服务型乡镇政府构建的思考——以四川省为例

税费改革在取得农民负担明显减轻的同时,也涉及到了乡村利益格局和政治民主权利的调适,乡镇政府及其功能的重新塑造。因此,迫切需要合理定位乡镇政府职能,推动乡镇政府职能转变,构建公共服务型乡镇政府。本文以四川省为例,探索了乡镇政府的职能发挥状况,阐述了构建公共服务型乡镇政府的必要性,提出了要构建公共服务型乡镇政府,就必须理顺乡镇财税管理体制,妥善解决乡镇政府机构臃肿、人员过多等问题,合理划分职能,理顺各级政府间事权关系,强化乡镇政府提供公共服务功能,同时改变乡镇政府的工作模式。