Internal labour markets in the Australian banking industry: their nature prior to the Second World War and their recent decline

This paper uses evidence from late nineteenth-and early twentieth-century personnel records of two Australian banks to examine the nature of internal labour markets prior to the Second World War. It is argued that the industry possessed all the classic features of internal labour markets: limited ports of entry, internal promotion, long careers, and assignment of wages by well-defined rules. The paper then examines the reasons why banks adopted internal labour markets. Finally, the paper examines the recent decline of internal labour markets and examines the role of technological and social changes in this decline.     

Should there exist secondary markets for executive stock options?

This paper investigates the potential disadvantages of the secondary markets for executive stock options (ESOs). The benefits of such markets are evident, but they might also have negative effects for shareholders. Executives might, for example, use inside information to time their ESO selling. We investigate two personal motives of managers that can be assumed to affect their optimal selling decision, that is, managers' personal portfolio management issues and the use of inside information. We explore these motives by analyzing unique data from Finland, where there are secondary markets for ESOs. The results of the study support the traditional portfolio diversification hypothesis according to which managers tend to sell their ESOs when holding an ESO is equivalent to holding the underlying stock; that is, in such a case a manager's wealth is closely tied to the stock price of the firm. With respect to the use of inside information the results indicate that ESO selling activity is not related to future stock price behaviour, suggesting that managers do not use inside information to determine the selling time of their ESOs. These results imply that the existence of secondary markets for ESOs does not weaken the usefulness of ESOs as the management compensation, although the benefits of such markets are evident.     

Accounting for Option–based Compensation: The Economic Cost Approach

The intrinsic value approach amortizes over the life of the option, the difference between the stock price on the date of the grant and the exercise price of the option. The fair market value approach amortizes over the life of the option, the market value of stock options on the date of the grant. These approaches do not reflect the changes in the option–based compensation cost after the grant date. This paper proposes an economic cost approach that not only adjusts for the changes in the value of the options during its life but also records the issuance of the stock at fair market value on the exercise date.     

Value of Multinationality: Internalization, Managerial Self-interest, and Managerial Compensation

In this paper, we examine the impact of managerial self-interest on the value of multinationality. Since agency theory also suggests that a divergence between the interests of managers and shareholders can be aligned by effective managerial incentive, we also examine the effect of managerial compensation on the value of multinationality. Our results show that for high- Q (Tobin's Q > 1 ) firms, investors do not associate the spending of free cash flow on multinationality with the problem of overinvestments. For high- Q firms, it is also found that the value of multinationality can be enhanced by effective managerial incentives. For low- Q firms (Tobin's Q < 1 ), it is found that the concern of managerial self-interest overwhelms the benefits of internalization, making multinationality a value-decreasing event. For low- Q firms, managerial compensation is also ineffective in promoting value-enhancing foreign direct investments.     

Investment Opportunities and the Relation Between Equity Value and Employees' Bonus

A sample of firms where employee stock options and other long‐term incentives are absent but an annual bonus is required is examined. A positive relation is found between firm equity value and stock bonus but not cash bonus. The positive relation is stronger when the firm has greater investment opportunities. Additionally, the relation is shown to be nonlinear in the sense that the marginal effect of stock bonus on equity value is positive but decreasing (negative) when the stock bonus is below (above) the breakpoint. Overall, the annual stock bonus is valued positively by investors even though it is linked to the firm's contemporaneous but not future performance.     

浅析绵阳生态城市建设

This paper probes into the establishment of ecological city of Mianyang and directive thoughts, measures,and countermoves are put forward based on analyzing the current situation about ecological environment of Mianyang City.     

生态伦理：从生态理想到生态文明

人与自然的和谐是一种生态理想,生态文明是生态理想的现实化,生态理想的现实化有赖于制度变革和制度安排,制度安排应当遵循生态伦理的基本原则。     

传统山地建筑的生态价值评析——以滇南彝族土掌房为例

在当今全球低碳经济视野下,生态建筑已然成为建筑设计的一种必然趋势。而如何将传统建筑的生态价值合理的发掘、改进并创新,然后运用到现代建筑设计中,这更是值得我们去认真探讨的。通过对滇南彝族传统民居土掌房的生态价值分析和评价,总结出了土掌房的生态优势对现代山地建筑的借鉴意义,以此来为生态建筑设计提供设计思路。     

上市银行高管人力资本存量与薪酬水平相关性研究

近年来,上市银行高管薪酬备受社会各界关注。通过对沪深两市上市银行2006年至2009年数据进行分析,结果显示：上市银行高管年龄与高管薪酬之间存在显著的正相关关系;高管任期和高管学历对上市银行高管薪酬不具有解释力;上市银行高管薪酬与业绩呈正相关关系,但相关性不显著;银行规模对高管薪酬具有显著的正向影响。可见,高管人力资本水平和公司绩效能够在一定程度上解释上市银行高管薪酬,但解释力度较弱。     

长株潭两型社会林业生态建设研究

长株潭两型社会获批给区域生态建设提供了良好契机,林业生态建设是目前生态建设的首要任务,两型社会建设和林业生态建设的最终落脚点是生态文明。目前该区域局部环境状况恶化、森林覆盖率、城市绿化率低于全省平均水平,城市社会发展不可持续。在提出构建环境友好型两型社会的背景下,沿湘江流域和三市结合部布局生态公益林带,加强林业生态建设和都市生态圈建设,对保护湘江水质、改善区域环境、支撑两型社会建设具有重要的战略意义。