Still Searching for Excellence? International Accounting and the World's Most Outstanding Companies

This paper measures the effect of accounting policy choices in the context of Davis, Flanders and Star's (DFS) (1991) league table of the world's most outstanding companies. Our study is an investigation of the robustness of the research underlying Kay (1993). The sensitivity of the rankings to the three major conventions that are used in calculating added value are examined: depreciation policy, the estimation of the cost of capital inputs and consistency of international generally accepted accounting principles. The key finding is that the degree of disruption caused by international accounting differences is likely to be the most material. It is equivalent, in this study, to a 60% increase in the cost of capital or an 80% change in the depreciation lives of fixed assets. After adjusting towards consistent international accounting, we now find that four Japanese companies appear in the top ten. Before adjustment there were none.     

Nonstationary regression models with a lagged dependent variable

This paper studies regression models with a lagged dependent variable when both the dependent and independent variables are nonstationary, and the regression model is misspecified in some dimension. In particular, we discuss the limiting properties of leastsquares estimates of the parameters in such regression models, and the limiting distributions of their test statistics. We show that the estimate of the lagged dependent variable tends to unity asymptotically independent of its true value, while the estimates of the independent variables tend to zero. The limiting distributions of their test statistics are shown to diverge with sample size.     

Accounting for dynamic selection bias in educational transitions: The Cameron-Heckman latent class estimator and its generalizations

The sequential logit model of educational transitions has long been the dominant modeling framework for the study of inequality of educational opportunity ever since the seminal works of [Mare, 1980] and [Mare, 1981]. But conventional applications of the model are known to be biased by the ubiquitous presence of unobserved heterogeneity. Cameron and Heckman (1998) propose a logit model that allows for two or three latent classes if the selection bias is solely generated by a person-specific component of stable unobserved heterogeneity. To evaluate the latent class logit regression estimator, this study makes use of simulated data to eliminate the influences of other problems of transition modeling. The simulation is based on five independent pairs of large samples generated from standard distributional assumptions of transition modeling. The new estimator appears to be an effective way to adjust for dynamic selection bias when family background effects are transition-invariant and sample size is in the order of ten thousand or above. By contrast, the conventional sequential logit model produces results that are very different from the data generating models. This study also considers two alternative ways to improve statistical efficiency: (1) incorporate a crude indicator of stable unobserved heterogeneity; (2) pool the effect estimates across transitions, background variables, and alternative estimators to smooth out noise under the null hypothesis of transition invariance. In addition, this study examines the impact of indicator reliability and sample size on the performance of the latent class regression models and suggests practical guidelines.     

The Moderating Role of Power Distance on the Reaction of Consumers to the CEO as a Spokesperson During a Product Harm Crisis: Insights From China and South Korea

During a crisis the corporate message is not the only issue facing the company. The role of the spokesperson is an under-researched area which is examined in this paper. In studies conducted in South Korea and China we examine the reaction of consumers to the CEO as a spokesperson during a product harm crisis. We find in both countries that consumer responses to the CEO was contingent on the consumers' level of power distance. When consumers had high levels of power distance they had higher future purchase intentions when compared with consumers who had low levels of power distance when the CEO was the spokesperson during the crisis. In addition, in a study conducted in South Korea we find that higher levels of power distance generate increased levels of brand trust when the CEO is the spokesperson, which in turn increases future purchase intentions. Our studies have important theoretical and managerial implications which are discussed in the paper.     

Socio-economic inequalities in mortality for Asian people: New Zealand Census-Mortality Study, 1996–2004

Journal of Population Research - This study examines the association of socio-economic factors with mortality for the Asian population, and compares with those of the European/Other group....     

Disclosure among victims of elder abuse in healthcare settings: a missing piece in the overall effort toward detection

Elder abuse remains a largely hidden problem in our society and only a small minority of victims are connected to formal support/protective services. Healthcare settings have been identified as a critical milieu to uncover cases of elder abuse; however, under-detection in these settings is a major issue. Victimization disclosure is an important component within the overall detection effort, yet it has received little attention in the elder abuse literature. Drawing on relevant literature from other domains of family/interpersonal violence, this article highlights the disclosure process, as well as disclosure barriers, facilitators, and competencies to consider when working with older adults.