The effect of general counsel prominence on the pricing of audit services

We investigate the effect of corporate general counsel (GC) ascension to the senior management team on the pricing of audit services. Prior research suggests that the GC position may have a significant influence in setting the tone at the top by promoting corporate integrity, ethics, and serving as a governance and monitoring mechanism, but also recognizes that prominent GCs may face ethical dilemmas, causing them to disregard professional responsibilities to curry the favor of the CEO and other executives. Using audit fees to proxy for audit engagement risk, we find a negative association between GC ascension to top management and audit fees. We investigate the mechanisms behind this relation and find GC ascension is associated with a reduction in both default risk and financial misstatement risk, which supports auditors’ perceived reduction in client business risk and audit risk, respectively.     

控制权收益与超控制权收益：大股东补偿与侵占

大股东获取控制权需要付出相应的成本,这些成本应该得到补偿,在公司治理实践中大股东有获得这种回报即控制权收益的正当要求。同时,由于大股东的控制优势,他们可能会利用公司治理、法律机制等不完善的治理环境侵害其他投资者的利益而获得超控制权收益。本文计量了这两种收益,修正了既有文献所认为的控制权私人收益就是大股东侵害的观点,对大股东公司治理机制提出建议。     

管理层权力与上市公司薪酬业绩敏感性的实证研究——来自国有上市公司的经验证据

本文在对国内外文献进行充分回顾的基础上,立足于中国资本市场的特殊制度背景,以国有上市公司为研究样本,检验了管理层权力对上市公司薪酬业绩敏感性的影响。在此基础上,本文利用回归模型对上市公司的业绩进行了分离,经验证据发现,在管理层权力的影响下,高管薪酬与上市公司非正常业绩之间存在显著的正相关关系,与此同时,高管薪酬与上市公司的正常业绩之间的相关性却明显减弱。     

并购重组中大股东补偿承诺与中小股东权益保护——基于苏宁环球与世荣兆业的比较案例研究

我们对2007年以来并购重组中大股东盈利补偿的统计发现,补偿方式主要有两种:现金补偿和股份回购(或赠送股份)补偿,而且具有明显的时间特征,即2009年11月之前均采用现金补偿方案,之后基本上采用了股份回购(或赠送股份)的补偿方案。在此基础上,通过上市公司和大股东两个层面分析出两种补偿方案均在一定程度上保护了中小股东的权益,其中,股份回购方案比现金补偿方案更能改善上市公司财务状况和经营业绩,同时更能制约大股东在并购重组活动中对过高评估或过高盈利预测的冲动,因而更能保护中小股东权益。     

基于演化博弈的监测—约束—激励系统生态补偿机制研究——以旅游胜地漓江流域为例

"两山"理论要求重构"经济—环境"生态,因地制宜设计生态补偿机制。以漓江流域作为研究对象,利用演化博弈理论分析不同情境下漓江流域各主体策略的演化趋势,再使用SD进一步模拟仿真,结论如下:(1)上下游地方政府实施策略概率的初始值会影响最终的稳定状态;(2)仅依靠上下游政府的相互自发监督,不能有效实施利于生态补偿的合作机制;(3)上下游都不履行义务时的惩罚应比只有一方不履行义务时的惩罚更大,上下游履行义务时的奖励应比不实现合作时的惩罚更大;(4)当中立机构监管流域水质状态时,上游提供给下游的补贴应该比下游给上游的生态补偿更少。据此提出漓江流域生态补偿机制政策建议。     

区域耕地保护补偿分区实证研究

由于我国各地自然、经济、社会条件的差异,区域间耕地保护补偿关系必然不同。依据外部性理论,采用人均耕地阈值方法,将全国31个省级行政区划分为耕地赤字区、耕地平衡区以及耕地盈余区,确定了省级层面耕地保护补偿关系。分区结果显示:全国耕地赤字区12个省份,耕地平衡区8个省份,耕地盈余区11个省份,并将补偿分区与我国传统粮食分区进行比较,显示出了我国耕地资源的恶化趋势及补偿的迫切性。分区结果为耕地保护区域横向补偿额度及其流向提供了方向性指导。     

The impacts of SOX and SEC investigation on the corporate governance of option backdating firms

This study investigates the combined impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) and the subsequent related Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) initiatives on the corporate governance characteristics of firms that had historically backdated stock options. Our results show that backdating firms had both weaker board-level and committee-level corporate governance characteristics than control firms in the pre-SOX period. In contrast, backdating firms dress up their board-level governance to meet regulatory requirements but still feature weaker committee-level corporate governance in the post-SOX era.     

Debt Issue Costs and Issue Characteristics in the Market for U.S. Dollar Denominated International Bonds

This paper analyzes the issue costs and initial pricing of bonds in the international market. In particular, we investigate the determinants of three components of issue costs: underwriter fee, underwriter spread (the difference between the offering price and the guaranteed price to the issuer), and underpricing (the difference between the market price and the offering price). Total underwriter compensation increases with the bonds' credit risk and maturity, but it is insignificantly related to issue size. Interestingly, underwriters appear to price some issue characteristics directly (by adjusting the fee) and other characteristics indirectly (by setting the guaranteed price). The two compensation components (fee and spread) are negatively related to each other. We provide evidence that this trade-off is consistent with income tax considerations, as well as with two-tier pricing by underwriters. We find no evidence of underpricing.     

Semi-quantitative risk assessment of groundwater resources for emergency water supply

The submitted paper proposes the possible use of integrated semi-quantitative risk assessment of groundwater resources. There are risks resulting from both natural and anthropogenic hazard sources. Activation of these types of hazard sources can cause damage to, or destruction of, particular hydrogeological structures and technological equipment of selected groundwater resources suitable for the emergency drinking water supply of the population. The process of risk assessment is based on the described register of hazards, including semi-quantitative assessment of the frequency with which the assessed sources of hazards are activated, the register of sensitivity together with the semi-quantitative sensitivity assessment of selected threatened elements of the assessed water resource and the determination of their criticality. The semi-quantitative risk assessment should become one of the important criteria for classifying groundwater resources which have been proposed for emergency water supply. The classification carried out on the basis of the above-mentioned principle can contribute to faster selection and effective use of groundwater resources, as well as to the enhancement of emergency and crisis planning systems when the public system is either damaged or destroyed.     

Performance-related pay and gender wage differences

We study the impact of performance-related pay (PRP) on gender wage differences using Finnish-linked employer–employee panel data. Controlling for unobserved person and firm effects, we find that bonuses increase women’s earnings slightly less than men’s, but the economic significance of the difference is negligible. Piece rates and reward rates, however, tend to increase gender wage differentials. Thus, the nature of a PRP plan is important for gauging the impact of PRP on gender wage differentials. A comparison with OLS results shows the importance of controlling for an unobserved person and firm effects.