Contracting and Reporting Conservatism around a Change in Fiduciary Duties*

We exploit an influential 1991 Delaware court ruling to examine simultaneously two types of conservatism that play important roles in resolving creditor–owner agency conflicts: contracting conservatism and reporting conservatism. The ruling expanded managerial fiduciary duties in favor of creditors for Delaware-incorporated firms in the vicinity of insolvency. In those firms, following the ruling, debt contracts are less likely to include conservative adjustments to accounting numbers used for covenant compliance (i.e., contracting conservatism decreases), while public financial reporting becomes more conservative (i.e., reporting conservatism increases). The decrease in contracting conservatism is concentrated in firms that exhibit a greater increase in reporting conservatism, suggesting that reporting conservatism is more cost-effective in resolving agency conflicts. In addition, the substitution effect is more pronounced in firms facing greater business uncertainty and firms with greater board independence.     

The Infusion of Relational Market Obligations into the Austrian Agenda—Some Lessons Learned from Economic Sociology

Given its dictum of market equilibrium, economics in general obviously does poorly in shouldering market dynamics. Pervading obligatory traits of the market (other than mere dyadic contracting) is yet another area where not much attention is devoted. Whereas the Austrian agenda fills the first of these voids in a most sophisticated manner, its current discourse appears as oblivious concerning the manner in which market exchange transforms into relational interconnected obligations. That is to say, exchange is hardly understood as an indispensable facet of durable market obligations such as relationships 'constituting the market', but exclusively as immediate entrepreneurial arbitrage. Apart from an outright peculiar failure to recognize some of its own roots in this regard this omission unnecessarily delimits the manner in which Austrians can proceed and deepen their market analysis. The principal idea of this paper is to scrutinize the manner in which relational market obligations can be introduced into Austrian reasoning by drawing on ideas from within economic sociology. Max Weber's dictum on market openness takes on a particular role in this regard. An adjacent contribution strived for is to let this scrutiny foreshadow the manner in which such a partial reconciliation of market ideas from within economic sociology and Austrian economics could proceed.     

Introduction to the special issue on positive conflict—Conflict and employees: The right and processes to be heard

Conflict, defined as clash, competition, or mutual interference of opposing or incompatible forces or qualities, may be positive. The appropriate amount of conflict may be a delicate balance not easily achieved. Thus, a key issue is conflict management. The major charter of this special issue is the presentation of work which suggests or demonstrates that conflict can be a positive force in the modern organization. It also is pointed out that conflict, positive or otherwise, and its resolution involves a broad spectrum of inquiry into the rights and obligations of those involved in the conflict     

Credit derivatives: international developments and lessons for India

Credit derivatives have been popular instruments for hedging of credit risks by banks and financial institutions. The notional value outstanding of credit default swap contracts, a type of credit derivative most in use, increased from US$6.4 trillion in December 2004 to US$57.89 trillion in December, 2007. However, this instrument, which was once ‘apple of the eye’ of market players, lost its sheen in the wake of the sub-prime crisis when it was perceived to have played a major role in igniting the crisis and spreading it across the global financial system. This article presents how this came about and the after thought of the regulators of developed countries in regulating these instruments. It then looks at what lessons India can draw from the experience of the Western nations before considering introduction of credit derivatives in the Indian markets.     

Religious obligations to travel: first-generation Pakistani migrants from Newcastle-upon-Tyne

This article analyses the religious travel experiences of members of the first generation of the Muslim Pakistani diaspora living in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK drawing upon qualitative interpretations collected from semi-structured interviews. Religious travel for first-generation Muslim Pakistanis is influenced by Islamic principles and practices associated with obligations to travel to meet with friends and relatives. Religious obligations to travel are considered as a key factor influencing visiting friends and relatives (VFR) mobilities at a local and national level. The religious obligation associated with VFR travel is examined in view of one of the five pillars of Islam, which is salah (prayer), which stimulates various mobilities. Central to the analysis of religious-orientated (VFR) journeys are the conceptual underpinnings of obligations situated in the mobilities paradigm, which give rise to understandings of spiritualities of place. Religious obligations to travel unite the Muslim diaspora in various local (in Newcastle-upon-Tyne) and national (UK) settings. The contribution of this paper is, therefore, to advance the understanding of the relationship between Islam and travel, and add to existing knowledge of the journeys of Muslim travellers in the context of VFR travel. We conclude by suggesting further avenues of research concerning religious obligations to travel.     

关于修改《税收征管法》的几点思考

我国的《税收征管法》经过了两次修改,增加和修改了很多规定,大大丰富了我国税收法律制度的内容,但是它还有许多地方需要修改和完善。现行的《税收征管法》扮演着实质税收基本法的角色,从宏观上在立法基本原则和纳税双方权利义务及责任等方面都有待于进一步的完善。     

浅论财务监督在国家财产安全中的地位与作用

在地勘单位企业化进程中,财务部门对单位经济活动、资金运行具有极其重要的监督职能,把好财务这道闸门,对于防止国有资产流失具有举足轻重的作用。目前地勘单位财务部门财务监督尚存在对预算编制不够重视,费用支出管理制度不够健全,会计信息模糊,财务人员索质不高等问题。应从依法理财,健全内部控制制度,完善内部监督,加强社会监督,加大违法违规的处罚力度,提高会计人员素质等方面入手加强财务监督。     

浅谈纳税人权利的保障

从税法的修订,到企业所得税法的颁布实施,都体现了对纳税人权利保障的重视。纳税人权利的保障,是市场经济与民主法治的产物,各个发达国家已从各个层面对纳税人权利都有全方位的保护。     

Perceptions of postretirement benefit obligations by bond rating analysts

This research examines the measurement and impounding of alternative measures of a corporation's other postretirement benefits obligation (OPEBs) by an important segment of the capital markets. The Kaplan and Urwitz (1979) model is used as a benchmark from which to assess the importance of an added OPEB variable in the bond rating process. Using the corporate bond rating as the dependent variable, multiple measures of the OPEB obligation are inserted individually as an added independent variable into an N-chotomous probit model. The results for 1987 and 1988 indicate that measures calculated from publicly available information produce highly significant results. The developed postretirement liability measures are found to provide relevant and material information regarding the risk level of a firm's bonds as represented by its bond rating. This insight concerning the additional risk represented by a firm's postretirement benefits is beyond that supplied by the firm's pension information. This suggests that the additional investor default risk attributed to a firm's OPEB can be reasonably proxied by data found in the company's annual report footnote disclosures.     

再论公司社会责任

公司社会责任理论被我国公司法学界和经济学界广为倡导，并且为2005年《公司》第5条明文确认。公司承担社会责任确实有利于推动社会文明的进步，然而这是否就意味公司应当承担法律上的社会责任？公司社会责任入法化对公司和社会究竟是福还是祸？追问公司社会责任的本质，并引导公司社会责任回归其本源的路径，正是本文宗旨所在。