Endogenous political organization and the value of trade agreements

In a bargaining model of endogenous protection, I introduce fixed costs of political-organization that need to be incurred by capitalists prior to actual lobbying. Unlike Maggi and Rodriguez-Clare [J. Pol. Econ. 106(3) (1998) 575] intersectoral capital mobility is disallowed. Nevertheless, I am still able to obtain their main result that a government with low bargaining power vis-à-vis the import-competing lobby precommits to a free-trade agreement. Further, with high fixed organizational costs, the government prefers to stay out of such agreements. Its maximum bargaining power consistent with signing a trade agreement has an inverse-V-shaped relationship with respect to the size of fixed costs.     

A Critical Analysis of the Accounting Industry’s Voluntary Code of Conduct

The public accounting industry’s voluntary code of conduct in the United States is the American Institute of CPA’s Code of Professional Conduct. Based on our analysis, we conclude that the accounting industry’s current code is limited in its ability to serve the public interest in three respects. Specifically, the code is input-based, requires no third-party attestation of compliance with the code, and contains no public reporting process of code compliance/noncompliance at the accounting firm level. We propose that the accounting profession should reorient its largely input-based Code of Professional Conduct to include output-based performance measurements. We also conclude that third-party attestation of compliance with the profession’s code would help to promote compliance. Finally, we maintain that the accounting industry should initiate a public reporting process at the individual accounting firm level. Such a requirement would add a degree of public accountability as to whether a firm complies or fails to comply with the industry’s voluntary code of conduct. John D. Neill, Ph.D., CPA, is a professor of accounting at Abilene Christian University and has previously published articles in numerous journals including the Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Accounting Literature, Accounting Horizons, Advances in Accounting,theFinancial Analysts Journal,and theJournal of Accounting, Ethics, and Public Policy. O. Scott Stovall, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of accounting at Abilene Christian University and has published articles in the Journal of Business Ethics, Management Accounting Quarterly, and Cases from Management Accounting Practice. Darryl L. Jinkerson, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of management and chair of the Management Sciences Department at Abilene Christian University and was formerly the Director of Assessment and Measurement for Arthur Andersen.     

Difference in degrees: CEO characteristics and firm environmental disclosure

We contribute to the literature on firms' responses to institutional pressures and environmental information disclosure. We hypothesize that CEO characteristics such as education and tenure will influence firms' likelihood to voluntarily disclose environmental information. We test our hypotheses by examining firms' responses to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and find that firms led by newly appointed CEOs and CEOs with MBA degrees are more likely to respond to the CDP, while those led by lawyers are less likely to respond. Our results have implications for research on strategic responses to institutional pressures and corporate environmental performance. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

NAFTA as a Means of Raising Rivals' Costs

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was designed to reduce tariff rates between Mexico, Canada and the U.S.A. over a period of ten years. However, lower tariff rates are only available to firms that comply with complicated and costly NAFTA filing regulations. Such regulations raise costs of small firms relative to large firms in a domestic industry which engages in trade between NAFTA countries. This implication of NAFTA regulations can lead to increased concentration in domestic industries, an hypothesis which can be tested as the transition period comes to an end. Finally, our model suggests an explanation for why the levels of trade from the U.S.A. to Mexico have been lower than general expectations.     

The Need to Provide Internationally Comparable Accounting Information and the Application of IFRS: Empirical Evidence from German Private Firms

Abstract

Our study, which is based on a survey carried out among German private firms, aims to ascertain which characteristics determine private firms’ need for providing internationally comparable accounting information and whether or not those firms that perceive such a need actually apply IFRS voluntarily. The relevance of equity from foreign investors and inclusion within an international group are positively associated with this perceived need, whereas international operating activities and a firm’s size are not. Regarding the voluntary adoption of IFRS, both the perceived need and also the interaction between size and need are significant. Our results show that smaller firms, despite perceiving a need for providing their stakeholders with internationally comparable accounting information, often do not apply IFRS.     

民办高校决策机制建设研究

决策的正确性在民办高校发展中起着重要的作用。然而，民办高校的个人所有和经营特点往往严重影响其决策的正确性和有效性，值得我们去探索。     

Mean-Variance Optimal Reinsurance Arrangements

Reinsurance reduces the risk but it also reduces the potential profit. The aim of the paper is to derive optimal, from the cedent's point of view, reinsurance arrangements balancing the risk measured by variance and expected profits under various mean-variance premium principles of the reinsurer. We find that quota share, excess of loss or combinations of excess of loss with quota share are the optimal rules according to a fixed expected gain of the cedent     

中期财务报告自愿审计的经济后果研究——基于中国证券市场的初步证据初步证据步证据

我国证券市场特殊的制度背景下存在着中期财务报告的自愿审计这一典型的研究课题。对自愿接受审计公司与未接受审计公司的经济后果进行研究发现,自愿接受中期审计的公司与未接受中期审计的公司并无显著差别,在我国审计市场上缺乏保险价值和信息价值,我国的注册会计师民事赔偿责任亟需加强。     

关注NTYAA的实施,警惕新的贸易技术壁垒

本文对NTTAA的产生、主要内容及其实施进行了深度分析，并提醒人们NTTAA的实施可能产生新的贸易技术壁垒。     

国际投资协定中最惠国待遇条款的新发展与中国的应对之策

在经济全球化时代，跨国投资日益成为与跨国贸易相提并重的国际经济支柱之一。对跨国投资的保护也成为当今社会各国间谈判的主要议题。国际投资协定在具体内容上已显现出与传统国际投资协定的很大区别，最惠国待遇条款作为其中的一个核心要素，在具体内容、适用范围以及投资仲裁实践中也出现了一些新的发展，成为国际投资领域经济自由化的一个重要手段，体现了国际投资领域的发展趋势。