The value relevance of disclosure: Evidence from the emerging capital market of Egypt

This study examines the value of voluntary and mandatory disclosure in a market that applies International Accounting Standards (IAS) with limited penalties for non compliance. The lack of enforcement creates an element of choice in the level of mandatory disclosure by companies. Using panel-data analysis, our empirical results show that, after controlling for factors such as asset size and profitability, mandatory disclosure has a highly significant but negative relationship with firm value. This result, although puzzling from a traditional perspective, is consistent with the predictions of analytical accounting models, which emphasize the complex interplay of factors determining disclosure effects. Our results also show that voluntary disclosure has a positive but insignificant association with firm value. This lack of statistical significance supports the view that there is a complex interplay of different factors determining the relationship between disclosure and firm value.     

投资者关系管理的内涵、理论与实践——基于粤传媒的案例研究

研究表明,投资者关系管理的本质是自愿披露与市值管理,市场化是形成自愿披露的内在动力,信号显示和声誉机制是解决冲突的有效方法。在此基础上,以中小企业板上市公司＂粤传媒＂信息披露案例为背景,考察了投资者关系管理部门的设置方法,信息披露成本的变化,如何选择信息的披露内容、披露时点、披露程度和披露形式;总结了对财务信息、重大事项信息和高管勤勉尽职信息披露的经验。得到的启示是上市公司需要用＂心＂来真诚地对待投资者,才能得到投资者的认同;利用好网络平台,才能通过直接披露成本的有效投入来降低或规避间接成本的发生。这些结果为投资者关系管理的内涵、理论与实践的运作过程提供了参考。     

我国上市公司过度投资行为的识别

由于股东和经理之间存在信息不对称而产生的代理成本问题,使得经理有过度投资的倾向,但是原有过度投资的检验方法并未能准确地界定过度投资行为。本文在综合考虑项目投资的期限、投资的行业差异和投资收益情况因素后确定了过度投资行为的判断标准,在此基础上进行过度投资的识别可以更好地发现存在过度投资的企业,并为进一步研究过度投资的治理提供准确的数据支持。过度投资上市公司在负债比例、投资年度的收益以及是否处于战略扩张阶段等方面和其他上市公司存在显著差异。     

An interest rate peg might be better than you think

Active interest rate policy is frequently recommended based on its merits in reducing macroeconomic volatility and being a simple device. Yet, it might be outperformed by an even simpler policy. A peg can be welfare-enhancing and can uniquely be implemented.     

Migration Effects of Welfare Benefit Reform

This study tests for a migration response to the implementation of stricter rules for receiving welfare benefits (means-tested social assistance for individuals who lack sufficient work-related income), in the form of mandatory participation in activation programmes in Stockholm town districts. The results give no indications that activation programmes affect the moving choices of recipients of welfare benefits.     

软聚硅酮泡沫吸收敷料(美皮康)治疗压疮的循证药物经济学研究

目的 综合评价软聚硅酮泡沫吸收敷料(美皮康)在压疮治疗中的有效性与经济性.方法 通过文献研究,进 行规范化系统评价,结合临床治疗数据,应用决策树模型进行成本效果分析.结论 研究结果表明美皮康在产品疗效、综合成本和改善患者疼痛等诸多因素上的表现与传统的无菌纱布相比存在明显优势.     

Economies of scale and trade policy: The median voter model revisited

Why do some political economy models perform so poorly in predicting actual trade policy? Do scale economies provide the missing puzzle to our understanding of the anti-trade bias? By integrating economies of scale in production, this paper theoretically reinstates the median voter model as in Mayer [Mayer, W. (1984). Endogenous tariff formation. The American Economic Review, 74, 970–985] as a suitable political economy model in predicting trade policy. The modified model generates the scope for the anti-trade bias and predicts that sometimes economic, rather than political, considerations may lead to restrictive trade.     

The Fama-French model for estimating the cost of equity capital: The impact of real options of investment projects

We use the classic and modified Fama-French models to estimate the cost of capital of stock portfolios listed on selected markets. We compare four highly developed markets (US, EU, Japanese and global) and the Polish market as an alternative investment opportunity and a CEE emerging market. The performance of the applied procedures for estimating the cost of capital for company projects is examined and cost of capital is assessed with and without real option adjustment. We adjust the portfolios’ returns using the firms’ book-to-market ratios and idiosyncratic volatility as option proxies. The variability of cost of capital is evaluated using bootstrap methods. Our study shows a clear difference between bootstrapped distributions of cost of capital for the tested developed market and the Polish market portfolios. Wider confidence intervals of the estimated cost of capital of the studied Polish portfolios may result from political motivations in managing state-controlled companies. Our findings also indicate a clear difference between the cost of capital for tested portfolios with and without option adjustment. The widths of the estimated confidence intervals increase after option adjustment. The highest/lowest values of the cost of capital both with and without option adjustment are found for the US/Japanese market portfolios.     

收购方为什么要在兼并交易中雇用投资银行

本文考察了当兼并交易具有哪些特征时,收购方公司更可能会在兼并交易中雇用投资银行作为其兼并交易的财务顾问。研究结果表明,在下列情况下,收购方公司更有可能雇用投资银行作为其兼并交易的财务顾问：兼并交易较复杂,收购方公司的兼并交易经验不足,收购方公司仅收购目标公司部分资产或股权,兼并交易价格较高,兼并交易为敌意收购,收购方公司在金融行业运营,目标公司在很多行业经营。     

Politically connected boards,family and business group affiliations,and cost of capital: Evidence from Indonesia

We investigate the effect of politically connected boards (both supervisory boards [SBs] and boards of directors [BODs]) on cost of debt and equity capital of listed companies in Indonesia which has established a two-tier corporate governance system. The results, based on 250 firms, suggest that companies with politically connected SBs experience lower cost of debt and equity capital, whereas politically connected BODs have no association with cost of either debt or equity. Furthermore, we find that family firms and firms belonging to business groups with politically connected SBs enjoy lower cost of debt and equity capital. Our main results are robust to alternative measures and to tests for endogeneity.