Measuring International Harmonization and Standardization

This paper analyses six recent studies dealing with the measurement of international harmonization of financial reporting. Methodological issues and problems relating to the definition and operationalization of terms, sources of data, statistical methods and causation are discussed, and an alternative methodology for measuring harmonization suggested.     

British Evidence on The Employment Effects of Profit Sharing

A sample of British firms with diverse sharing arrangements is used to investigate the effects of profit sharing on employment levels. Employment effects are sometimes significant, but this depends upon the measure of profit sharing, how the dynamics are modeled, and whether measures of employee participation in decision making are included in the estimating equation. Using a continuous measure of profit sharing, employment effects, which typically range from -6 per cent to 6 per cent, are much more modest than those obtained by some other researchers. Most findings are not dramatically affected by estimating the specifications separately for discrete time periods, for individual industries, or for larger firms.     

Determinants of the Use of Advanced Technologies

There is an extensive literature about the influences on the adoption of new technologies. However, while we often assert the role of qualifications and skills in the innovation and diffusion processes, there has been little formal econometric work in this area. One of the key reasons for this is the lack of information about human capital in firm accounts, at all levels of the organisation, including the top executive and board of directors. This paper draws on a large, firm level data set to explore the linkages between the adoption and use of 13 advanced technologies and the qualification and skill structure of the enterprise. In addition, it provides a number of further insights about the effects of ownership, firm size and industry structure.     

Social Security Foments the Black Economy

Social security incites a tendency to exploit other citizens. Hermione Parker demonstrates the effects of social benefits in discouraging work and encouraging dishonesty, not least by forcing recipients into the black economy.     

PRIVATIZATION OF THE UK'S PUBLIC UTILITIES: THE BIRTH OF THE POLICY 1979–1984

The Conservative governments of the 1980s and 1990s privatized large numbers of state industries. Yet the privatization of the public utilities was not on the political agenda at the time of the May 1979 General Election or during the early months of the first Thatcher government. Privatization of the public utilities was considered both economically unattractive and beyond practical politics. This study details how and why the sale of the public utilities became government policy by the mid‐1980s. In explaining the change two particular developments are singled out. The first involved a commissioned study by the Central Policy Review Staff of the Cabinet Office on whether monopolies could be privatized and the public interest protected. The second was the financing needs of BT at a time of strict controls on public borrowing.