A case study of land reform and coastal land transformation in southern Sonora, Mexico

This paper examines the coastal ejido (collectives of peasant landholders) sector's response to the 1992 amendment to Article 27 of Mexico's Constitution, which for the first time legalized the sale and rental of ejido lands. Our analysis is based on a case study of southern Sonora, Mexico. The results indicate a shift in land tenure from the ejido to the private sector and a corresponding conversion of coastal lands to shrimp aquaculture ponds. Our analysis suggests these land-tenure and land-use changes, and the implications of these changes for the coastal ejido sector, vary depending on the historical, geographic and socio-economic characteristics of the ejido communities.     

Dennis C. Rasmussen,The Infidel and the Professor: David Hume,Adam Smith,and the Friendship That Shaped Modern Thought

The Review of Austrian Economics -     

A river runs between them: An instructional case in professional services provided by a CPA firm

This instructional case presents a realistic situation in which there is a request for professional services by a CPA firm. Two towns, Weston and Easton, are involved in a dispute over the costs of a shared wastewater treatment facility. The mayor of Easton believes his town has paid more than its agreed-upon share of the facility's operating costs over the years. The mayor of Easton has approached a local CPA firm to “audit” the amount Easton has paid towards operation of the plant and determine the amount of the overpayment. Students are asked (1) to determine whether an audit can be performed, (2) if an audit cannot be performed, to decide what type of service is appropriate, (3) to research the applicable professional standards, (4) to assess whether the applicable standards can be met, (5) to develop a program that outlines the steps/procedures to be completed when providing the professional service to the mayor, and (6) to identify other concerns relevant to accepting this engagement.     

Taking a Moment to Teach Engineering Economy

The acquisition of knowledge can be facilitated when previous knowledge or experience can be applied to the learning process. This article describes an approach for teaching engineering economy that utilizes knowledge from previous courses, statics and mechanics of materials, to improve learning. The concept of moments from these engineering mechanics courses was adapted and used to explain the concept of equivalence in engineering economy. Initial results after one semester indicated less time required for learning the concepts without adverse effects on student exam scores. Results after four semesters show higher course grades with the mechanics-based approach as well as improved student attitudes and higher teaching evaluations.     

Strategies of resistance to internal control regulation

This paper applies the institutional concepts of resource dependence, power, resistance, and dramaturgical exchange to the legislative history of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) of 1977, internal control proposals and regulations from the late 1970s to the late 1990s, and the internal control requirements under the Sarbanes–Oxley Act (SOX) of 2002. The analysis documents that from 1976 to 2001 powerful organizations and individuals employed active strategies of avoidance, defiance, and manipulation to successfully defeat proposals that would have required all public companies to assess and publicly report on their internal controls over financial reporting. During this same period, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) vacillated between actively advocating mandatory internal control reporting and passively acquiescing to industry and White House demands for voluntary internal control reporting. The resulting dramaturgical exchange between the SEC and its regulatees made it appear as if the voluntary initiatives were reasonably effective, but subsequent accounting and financial scandals challenged this view and eventually precipitated mandatory internal control assessment and reporting. The paper also considers how the ongoing dramaturgical exchange between regulators and regulatees could significantly weaken the internal control requirements of SOX (2002) [Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 (2002). Public Law 107–204, 116 Stat. 745], and discusses implications for future research and recent critiques of neoinstitutional theory.