Bank Failure,Mark‐to‐market and the Financial Crisis

This paper is concerned with the allegation that fair value accounting rules have contributed significantly to the recent financial crisis. It focuses on one particular channel for that contribution: the impact of fair value on the actual or potential failure of banks. The paper compares four criteria for failure: one economic, two legal and one regulatory. It is clear from this comparison that balance sheet valuations of assets are, in two cases, crucial in these definitions, and so the choice between ‘fair value’ or other valuations can be decisive in whether a bank fails; but in two cases fair value is irrelevant. Bank failures might arise despite capital adequacy and balance sheet solvency due to sudden shocks to liquidity positions. Two of the most prominent bank failures cannot, at first sight, be attributed to fair value accounting: we show that Northern Rock was balance sheet solvent, even on a fair value basis, as was Lehman Brothers. The case study evidence is augmented by econometric tests that suggest that mark‐to‐market accounting has had only a very limited influence on the perceived failure risk of banks.     

New development: The role of benchmarking in supporting improvement in local government— Scottish and Welsh practitioners' perspectives

A primary leadership challenge facing central budget agencies is sustaining the respect of finance ministers. Lessons are drawn in this article from the corrosive effect that missed opportunities to take the lead on economic strategy and public service modernization had on the long-term respect commanded by the Irish Department of Finance, and from the strategic re-orientation the New Zealand Treasury undertook to correct its tendency to ‘over-reach’ itself in these areas following a process of capacity-building and cultural transformation in the 1980s.     

论会计信息管制的成本及分摊

文章认为实施会计信息管制是必需的。市场失灵是会计信息管制的重要依据。会计信息管制将耗费巨额成本,文章分别从直接成本和间接成本的角度对会计信息管制的成本作了分析。最后,对会计信息管制的直接成本在利益相关者之间的分摊作了尝试性的探讨。     

基于顾客知识的服务失误归因模型研究：以航空服务业为例

本文基于顾客知识的视角，从消费者归因的内部驱动因素出发，通过文献回顾和航空旅客对航班延误归因过程的实证分析，建立并验证了“知识-归因”模型。研究证明了顾客知识对归因结果的显著影响，并且验证了信任在归因过程中起到了重要的作用。     

Increasing failure rate and decreasing reversed hazard rate properties of the minimum and maximum of multivariate distributions with log-concave densities

For a multivariate random vector X = (X ₁,...,X _n ) with a log-concave density function, it is shown that the minimum min{X ₁,...,X _n } has an increasing failure rate, and the maximum max{X ₁,...,X _n } has a decreasing reversed hazard rate. As an immediate consequence, the result of Gupta and Gupta (in Metrika 53:39–49, 2001) on the multivariate normal distribution is obtained. One error in Gupta and Gupta method is also pointed out.      

Regulation Issues for the Internet Market

Regulation of Internet market attracts more and more scholars and governments＇ attention as the Internet＇s commercial potential is displayed worldwide. Key characteristics of Internet market prove there are also market failures in Internet market, so regulation is an avoidable issue for the Internet market. Policy approaches relating to competition, intellectual property, and information privacy are three key areas of regulation that the paper emphasizes. The paper also analyzes the current regulation practices carried by some developed countries and calls for countries to cooperate and coordinate thus build a legal and fair environment for the Internet market.     

Why do Most Firms Die Young?

A model is developed to explain why most firms die in the first few years of trading. A risk averse entrepreneur with initial capital endowment faces a Brownian motion in net worth over time. To balance return (profits growth) and risk (variance of profits) she adopts a portfolio strategy, choosing market positioning to achieve an optimal combination of risk and return at each instant, given her financial and human capital endowments and attitude towards risk. Failure occurs when the firm’s value falls below the opportunity cost of staying in business. The resulting distribution of failure is Inverse Gaussian, implying, for specific parameter values, a positively skewed failure curve of the type observed in practice. In addition the model presents a novel-measure of management human capital (MHC) which implies that high MHC entrepreneurs will have higher absolute and marginal profits growth than low MHC entrepreneurs at given levels of risk.     

加热炉水管汽化冷却事故分析

介绍了河北津西钢铁股份有限公司轧钢厂二轧车间蓄热式加热炉的发生的几个事故现象,并针对事故进行分析,说明烧火制度、汽化冷却控制、检修施工等存在问题。并针对各种原因进行了分析,最后提出了相应措施。     

Predicting Corporate Failure in the UK: A Multidimensional Scaling Approach

Scaling techniques are proposed as a tool for the analysis and prediction of corporate failure. This approach, while keeping a strong theoretical basis, has the advantage of visualising the main features of the data in the form of statistical maps that lend themselves to intuitive interpretation. The maps contain directional statistics to help with interpretation. The methodology is demonstrated using a sample of UK industrial companies. A future‐dated holdout sample is also employed to illustrate how the Multidimensional Scaling technique can aid practitioners when assessing the financial health of a company.     

How to improve government performance?

The article reviews Timothy Besley's book Principled Agents? The Political Economy of Good Government and considers application of the concepts and conclusions of the book to China.