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Regulatory Changes (regulatory + change)
Selected AbstractsAGENCY COSTS OF THIRD-PARTY FINANCING AND THE EFFECTS OF REGULATORY CHANGE ON UTILITY COSTS AND FACTOR CHOICESANNALS OF PUBLIC AND COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS, Issue 4 2007Francis J. CRONIN ABSTRACT,:,Beginning in 1999, the Canadian Province of Ontario undertook restructuring and tried to implement performance based regulation for local electricity distribution utilities. Regulatory parameters were based on productivity research covering 1988,1997 that found little productivity difference by size, but wide variations in costs, factor mix, financing, and returns to capital among utilities. While some utilities questioned their ability to improve efficiency, other observers maintained many utilities were over-capitalized, especially from third-party financing paid by customers for connection/development charges; these observers noted that rates, profits, and valuations would be inflated. Despite its pervasive use, we can find no literature dealing with the implications of third-party funding. We assess the effects and adjustment dynamics of regulatory and financing changes on costs, factor mix, and performance. [source] Effects of Market and Regulatory Changes on Livestock Manure Management in Southern AlbertaCANADIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, Issue 2 2006Elwin G. Smith A spatial model of intensive livestock production for a region in southern Alberta was used to evaluate the impact of economic factors and regulation on regional returns and optimal manure management. Under current conditions, profit maximizing application of manure met nitrogen requirements but phosphorus application was about three times the crop requirements. Higher commercial nitrogen prices did not significantly alter the optimal manure application, but reduced regional returns. With a phosphorus limit regulation, it was less costly to compost about half of the beef cattle manure to remove it from the region than to truck manure long distances to meet the regulation. A $0.91/t reduction in the costs of composting, or a subsidy to reduce costs, was required to meet the phosphorus regulation. The net costs of the subsidy were slightly less than that ofphosphorus regulation. Future research needs to explore the economic market and limitations of composting for manure management before any composting policy is initiated. Nous avons utilisé un modèle spatial de la production animale intensive dans une région du sud de l'Alberta pour évaluer l'impact de la réglementation et de facteurs économiques sur les rendements économiques régionaux et la gestion optimale du fumier. Dans les conditions actuelles, l'épandage de fumier effectué en vue de maximiser les profits a respecté les exigences en azote, tandis que la quantité de phosphore était trois fois supérieure aux besoins des cultures. Le prix élevé de l'azote commercial n'a pas modifié de manière significative l'épandage optimal de fumier, mais a diminué les rendements économiques dans la région. En raison de la réglementation sur le taux d'application limite du phosphore, il a été moins coûteux de composter environ la moitié du fumier de bovins pour l'éliminer de la région que de le transporter par camion sur de longues distances. Pour respecter la réglementation sur le phosphore, il faudrait diminuer le coût du compostage de 0,91 $/tonne ou offrir une subvention équivalente pour diminuer les coûts. Les coûts nets de la subvention étaient légèrement inférieurs à ceux de la réglementation sur le phosphore. Des recherches ultérieures devront être effectuées pour explorer le marchééconomique et les limites du compostage dans le cadre de la gestion du fumier avant d'élaborer toute politique sur le compostage. [source] Dental hygiene regulation: a global perspectiveINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DENTAL HYGIENE, Issue 3 2008PM Johnson Abstract:, Occupational regulation of health personnel is important to professional associations and their members, the public that relies on their services and the regulatory agencies responsible for their conduct. There is increasing interest in ensuring that dental hygiene regulation fosters the continuing evolution of the profession and its contribution to oral health. The keynote address for the 2007 Regulatory Forum on Dental Hygiene, this paper discusses the rationale for and issues pertaining to occupational regulation, outlines the evolvement of dental hygiene and identifies regulatory options for the profession. Professional regulation exists to ensure public safety, health and welfare. However, negative political-economic side effects coupled with environmental pressures have resulted in increased scrutiny for health professionals. One such profession is dental hygiene. Its evolution has been dramatic, in particular over the past few decades, as illustrated by its rapidly increasing numbers and broader distribution globally, gradual shift to the baccalaureate as the entry-level educational requirement and increase in postgraduate programs and expanding scope of practice and increased professional autonomy. Regulatory changes have been more gradual. Regulation is mandatory for the vast majority of dental hygienists. Of the options available, the practice act , the most rigorous type, is predominant. Globally, regulation tends to be administered directly by the government (n = 9 countries) more so than indirectly through a dental board (n = 4) or self-regulation (n = 3). Whether regulated directly or indirectly, dental hygienists increasingly are seeking a greater role in shaping their professional future. Self-regulation, its responsibilities, misperceptions and challenges, is examined as an option. [source] THE LOCUS OF EVOLUTION: EVO DEVO AND THE GENETICS OF ADAPTATIONEVOLUTION, Issue 5 2007Hopi E. Hoekstra An important tenet of evolutionary developmental biology ("evo devo") is that adaptive mutations affecting morphology are more likely to occur in the cis -regulatory regions than in the protein-coding regions of genes. This argument rests on two claims: (1) the modular nature of cis -regulatory elements largely frees them from deleterious pleiotropic effects, and (2) a growing body of empirical evidence appears to support the predominant role of gene regulatory change in adaptation, especially morphological adaptation. Here we discuss and critique these assertions. We first show that there is no theoretical or empirical basis for the evo devo contention that adaptations involving morphology evolve by genetic mechanisms different from those involving physiology and other traits. In addition, some forms of protein evolution can avoid the negative consequences of pleiotropy, most notably via gene duplication. In light of evo devo claims, we then examine the substantial data on the genetic basis of adaptation from both genome-wide surveys and single-locus studies. Genomic studies lend little support to the cis -regulatory theory: many of these have detected adaptation in protein-coding regions, including transcription factors, whereas few have examined regulatory regions. Turning to single-locus studies, we note that the most widely cited examples of adaptive cis -regulatory mutations focus on trait loss rather than gain, and none have yet pinpointed an evolved regulatory site. In contrast, there are many studies that have both identified structural mutations and functionally verified their contribution to adaptation and speciation. Neither the theoretical arguments nor the data from nature, then, support the claim for a predominance of cis -regulatory mutations in evolution. Although this claim may be true, it is at best premature. Adaptation and speciation probably proceed through a combination of cis -regulatory and structural mutations, with a substantial contribution of the latter. [source] Capital gains taxation and shareholder wealth in takeoversACCOUNTING & FINANCE, Issue 2 2010Martin Bugeja H24; G32; G34 Abstract Before December 1999, the capital gains of shareholders who sold their shares into Australian takeovers have been taxable irrespective of payment method. Subsequently, shareholders can elect to rollover capital gains in equity takeovers. We examine the effect of this change on the association between target shareholder capital gains and bidder and target firm shareholder wealth. The results indicate that prior to the regulatory change, cash consideration results in higher target shareholder returns for non-taxation reasons. After the introduction of capital gains tax rollover relief, we find that target and acquiring firm shareholders earn lower returns when cash consideration is offered to shareholders with greater capital gains. [source] Global Markets and National Regulation: The Protection of Shareholder Interests in Germany and ItalyGOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION, Issue 1 2007Dermot McCann Global market integration is widely perceived as presenting a major challenge to the sustainability of many national economic regulatory systems. There is far less agreement, however, about precisely how these pressures feed into the politics of reform and reshape national public policy. This article will seek to cast light on this relationship by identifying four influential ,models of linkage' between global pressures and regulatory change. It will then comparatively assess their capacity to elucidate the progress of shareholder protection reform in Germany and Italy. While no single model proves fully satisfactory, it will be argued that the weaknesses of two of them can be largely overcome through a process of refinement and integration. [source] Low-paid women: the impact of regulatory change in AustraliaINDUSTRIAL RELATIONS JOURNAL, Issue 5 2009Marian Baird ABSTRACT How is low-paid work experienced and understood by women at a time of marked regulatory change? Using a qualitative methodology, we examine women's experiences under Work Choices to assess the impact of the new laws. As in other neoliberal environments, we find that labour standards can have marked effects on low-paid workers; that heightened managerial prerogative leads to fear and insecurity; and that, in spite of all this, low-paid women have significant pride in their work. Furthermore, the results of regulatory change go beyond the workplace to affect women as carers, citizens and community members. [source] Molecular mechanisms of heavy metal tolerance and evolution in invertebratesINSECT SCIENCE, Issue 1 2009Thierry K. S. Janssens Abstract Following the genomics revolution, our knowledge of the molecular mechanisms underlying defenses against stress has been greatly expanded. Under strong selective pressure many animals may evolve an enhanced stress tolerance. This can be achieved by altering the structure of proteins (through mutations in the coding regions of genes) or by altering the amount of protein (through changes in transcriptional regulation). The latter type of evolution can be achieved by substitutions in the promoter of the gene of interest (cis -regulatory change) or by altering the structure or amount of transcriptional regulator proteins (trans -regulatory change). The metallothionein system is one of the best studied stress response systems in the context of heavy metals. Metallothionein expression is assumed to be regulated by metal transcription factor 1 (MTF-1); however, up to now the involvement of MTF-1 has only been proven for some vertebrates and Drosophila. Data on invertebrates such as nematodes and earthworms suggest that other mechanisms of metallothionein induction may be present. A detailed study of Cd tolerance was done for a species of soil-living springtail, Orchesella cincta. The metallothionein gene of this species is overexpressed in metal-exposed field populations. Analysis of the metallothionein promoter has demonstrated extensive polymorphisms that have a functional significance, as shown in bioreporter assays. In a study comparing 20 different populations, the frequency of a high-expresser promoter allele was positively correlated with the concentration of metals in soil, especially Cd. The springtail study shows that cis -regulatory change of genes involved in the cellular stress response may contribute to evolution of metal tolerance. [source] Empirical Analysis of Delays in the Signing of Audit Reports in SpainINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDITING, Issue 2 2008Enrique Bonsón-Ponte This study sets out to analyse the factors that determine delays in the signing of audit reports. The delays are measured as a function of the number of days that elapse from the closure of the accounting period until the date when the audit report is signed. The study has been conducted in Spain, on 105 companies of the Spanish continuous market, from 2002 to 2005. The results obtained utilizing panel data methodology demonstrate that the two factors characterizing the companies that present less audit delay are: classification to sectors that are subject to regulatory pressure, such as the financial and energy sectors; and the size of company relative to its sector. Variables such as audit firm, qualifications or regulatory change show no significant relationship with audit delay in the Spanish context. [source] Ocean liner shipping: Organizational and contractual response by agribusiness shippers to regulatory changeAGRIBUSINESS : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 4 2003Hayden G. Stewart The Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 1998 (OSRA) promotes changes in international ocean liner shipping. An important policy issue attendant to the passage of OSRA is the Act's likely impact on the international competitiveness of the sectors that depend upon ocean shipping. Thus, to establish how freight rates and other logistical costs of using ocean liner services are now determined, this study examines emerging methods of organization and contracting among exporters of food and forest products. We find that, although many shippers negotiate private contracts with carriers, many others utilize a third-party agent to negotiate a rate with a carrier on their behalf. This article also identifies differences between two key types of third-party agents. Finally, given that a shipper in this trade does not contract directly with a carrier, this article explains the shipper's conditional choice about which type of agent to use. [EconLit citations: L140, L980, Q130]. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Agribusiness 19: 459,472, 2003. [source] Regulatory reform and managerial choice: an analysis of the cost savings from airline deregulationMANAGERIAL AND DECISION ECONOMICS, Issue 2-3 2008Margaret Peteraf This paper explores the question of how the differential exercise of managerial choice can facilitate organizational adaptation and improve efficiency over periods of regulatory change. We address this question in the context of the US airline industry, with a detailed decomposition of an airline cost function. Our findings suggest that managers employ choice in unconstrained domains to counteract the effects of constrained or pre-determined choices. This is an adaptive mechanism that helps firms adjust to environmental change or maneuver over a rugged landscape. We view this as a type of dynamic managerial capability for achieving dynamic fit under changing conditions. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Copyright, Parallel Imports and National Welfare: The Australian Market for Sound RecordingsTHE AUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 4 2000Theo Papadopoulos For more than a decade now there has been considerable, often heated, debate over the issue of the parallel importation of sound recordings into Australia. Citing anti-competitive monopolistic distribution, an increasingly integrated global market and the challenges of new technologies, the Australian government recently passed the Copyright Amendment Act (No.2) 1998, which permits the parallel importation of ,non-infringing' copies of a sound recording. This paper investigates the economic rationale underpinning this regulatory change and, using a partial equilibrium model, attempts to measure the likely welfare effects on consumers, copyright owners and the nation. In addition the paper examines the likely welfare impact of piracy within the new regulatory framework. This paper demonstrates that in a global music market characterised by exclusive territorial licences and price discrimination, the removal of parallel import restrictions by a small net-importer of intellectual property may be welfare enhancing for the nation. This welfare gain is at the expense of largely foreign copyright owners. [source] A Review of the Proposals for Reform of Independence of Australian Company AuditorsAUSTRALIAN ACCOUNTING REVIEW, Issue 27 2002Jane Culvenor The Ramsay Report on the Independence of Australian Company Auditors, released in October 2001, contains a review of the current Australian requirements and proposals for reform of the rules and regulations governing auditor independence. In this paper we provide a critical examination of these proposals, in conjunction with any underlying rationale offered in the report. Assuming the onus of proof rests with the proponents of change, we argue that the justification for regulatory change is not well made. We pose a series of questions about the proposals and their potential economic consequences. Many of these questions are empirical and provide opportunities for further research. [source] The effects of different regulation systems on television food advertising to childrenAUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 4 2007Bridget Kelly Abstract Objective: The aim of this study was to model children's potential exposure to television food advertisements under different regulatory scenarios to demonstrate the policy implications of regulatory change in Australia. Methods: Television advertising data was collected from Sydney commercial television channels from 14,20 May 2006. Extrapolating from these data, the patterns of food advertising under four regulatory scenarios were examined, including arrangements restricting the content, volume and timing of advertisements. Results: Each scenario resulted in a reduction of total and non-core food advertisements. The scenario to restrict non-core food advertisements during the major viewing period (7:00-20:30) led to the largest reduction in total and non-core food advertisements (79.2% reduction), with no change in the frequency of core food advertisements. Conclusions: The results illustrate the potential for reducing children's exposure to food advertising through simple regulatory restrictions. Implications: This research contributes to future debates on the regulation of television food advertising. It is particularly relevant as Australian regulations will be under review in 2007. [source] Too small for concern?AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 4 2007Public health, nanotechnology Abstract While advances in nanotechnology promise to deliver significant benefits to many aspects of health care, there is increasing concern that regulatory regimes do not adequately capture the potential risks associated with this new technology. Concerns have arisen due to preliminary evidence suggesting that some engineered nanoparticles may display undesirable toxicological properties, presenting potential risks to human and environmental health and safety. Within this context, the role of Australia's National Industrial Chemicals and Assessment Scheme and the Therapeutic Goods Administration in regulating nano-based substances is explored. Drawing on earlier regulatory failures, combined with the scientific uncertainty surrounding nanotechnology, this article recommends that Australia adopt a proactive regulatory approach to nanotechnology through amendments to present legislative regimes. The approach articulated in this article strikes a balance between the current approach and that of the European Union's comprehensive new chemicals regime. Immediate regulatory change is called for in order to ensure that the health of the Australian public is adequately protected over the coming years. [source] The evolution of development in Streptomyces analysed by genome comparisonsFEMS MICROBIOLOGY REVIEWS, Issue 5 2006Keith F. Chater Abstract There is considerable information about the genetic control of the processes by which mycelial Streptomyces bacteria form spore-bearing aerial hyphae. The recent acquisition of genome sequences for 16 species of actinobacteria, including two streptomycetes, makes it possible to try to reconstruct the evolution of Streptomyces differentiation by a comparative genomic approach, and to place the results in the context of current views on the evolution of bacteria. Most of the developmental genes evaluated are found only in actinobacteria that form sporulating aerial hyphae, with several being peculiar to streptomycetes. Only four (whiA, whiB, whiD, crgA) are generally present in nondifferentiating actinobacteria, and only two (whiA, whiG) are found in other bacteria, where they are widespread. Thus, the evolution of Streptomyces development has probably involved the stepwise acquisition of laterally transferred DNA, each successive acquisition giving rise either to regulatory changes that affect the conditions under which development is initiated, or to changes in cellular structure or morphology. [source] Winners and losers of conservation policies for European eel, Anguilla anguilla: an economic welfare analysis for differently specialised eel anglersFISHERIES MANAGEMENT & ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2010M. DOROW Abstract, Recreational specialisation theory was coupled with a discrete choice experiment to understand eel, Anguilla anguilla L., angler's heterogeneity in their reaction to regulatory changes and the associated welfare changes. Differently specialised eel anglers exhibited distinct preferences for catch variables and eel angling regulations. All anglers preferred slightly to moderately stricter regulations than are currently in place; however, such policies particularly benefited casual eel anglers. In contrast, advanced eel anglers would be most penalised by highly restrictive regulations as indicated by substantial reductions in economic welfare. Aversions to stricter regulations found for advanced anglers contradicted predictions from specialisation theory. From an eel management perspective, the implementation of some simple tools such as increased minimum-size limits will reduce angling mortality on eel and simultaneously increase the welfare of anglers. By contrast, highly restrictive eel angling regulations will result in considerable economic welfare losses of several million , per year for northern Germany alone. [source] Tailored for Panama: Offshore Banking at the Crossroads of the AmericasGEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES B: HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, Issue 1 2002Barney Warf With the steady integration of a deregulated world of hypermobile capital, offshore banking has become an increasingly significant part of the geography of international finance. Many interpretations tend to treat offshore banking centres as identical sites of investment that can be easily substituted for one another by completely mobile, fungible capital. This paper explores the nature of offshore banking in one largely overlooked centre, Panama. It charts the historic context that led to the creation of Latin America's most important centre of international banking, emphasizing the unique qualities that stand in contrast to hyperglobalist interpretations, including the Canal and the role of the US dollar. Second, it summarizes the regulatory changes initiated in the face of global neoliberalism, including the absence of a central bank and recent reforms designed to attract foreign capital. Using primary and secondary data, the paper maps Panama's growing role as a net capital exporter, charting domestic and foreign loan markets. Finally, it also addresses the trade,offs between confidentiality, and transparency in the context of illicit activities frequently alleged to occur in offshore banking centres, which in Panama revolve around drug trafficking and money laundering. It concludes by noting that even in an ostensibly seamless world, offshore banking exhibits the place,based embeddedness of financial capital within local institutional relations. [source] Emerging Market Efficiencies: New Zealand's Maturation Experience in the Presence of Non-Linearity, Thin Trading and Asymmetric InformationINTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF FINANCE, Issue 1-2 2007CHARLES RAYHORN ABSTRACT This paper examines the efficiency of New Zealand's stock market by assessing the prevalence of thin trading, non-linearity and information asymmetry. We find that the efficiency of this emerging market has been enhanced over time due to regulatory changes and the transition of the New Zealand economy to a free market orientation. During the 1970s and 1980s, the stock market appears to have been inefficient with thin trading and non-linearity as leading causative agents. Our evaluation of non-linear models, adjusted for thin trading effects, however, strongly suggests that the New Zealand stock market has become more efficient since 1990. [source] RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN GERMAN CAPITAL MARKETS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCEJOURNAL OF APPLIED CORPORATE FINANCE, Issue 3 2001Eric Nowak Financial economists continue to point to Germany as a relatively successful model of a "bank-centered," as opposed to a market-based, economy. But few seem to recognize that, in the years leading up to World War I, German equity capital markets were among the most highly developed in the world. Although there are now only about 750 companies listed on German stock exchanges, in 1914 there were almost 1,200 (as compared to only about 600 stocks then listed on the New York Stock Exchange). Since German reunification in 1990, there have been signs of a possible restoration of the country's equity markets to something like their former prominence. The last 10 years have seen important legal and institutional developments that can be seen as preparing the way for larger and more active German equity markets, together with a more "shareholder-friendly" corporate governance system. In particular, the 1994 Securities Act, the Corporation Control and Transparency Act passed in 1998, and the just released Takeover Act and Fourth Financial Market Promotion Act all contain legal reforms that are essential conditions for well functioning equity markets. Such legal and regulatory changes have helped lay the groundwork for more visible and dramatic milestones, such as the Deutsche Telekom IPO in 1996, the opening of the Neuer Market in 1997, and, perhaps most important, the acquisition in 2000 of Mannesmann by Vodafone, the first successful hostile takeover of a German company. [source] Asset Write-Offs in the Absence of Agency ProblemsJOURNAL OF BUSINESS FINANCE & ACCOUNTING, Issue 3-4 2008Neil Garrod Abstract:, Using a large sample of small private companies, we show incremental influence of economic incentives over prescriptions from accounting standards by financial statement preparers in a code-law setting with high alignment between financial and tax reporting and no agency problems. Contrary to predictions from standards, more profitable companies are more likely to write-off and the write-off magnitude is greater, reflecting tax minimisation. Larger companies are more likely to write-off, but the magnitude decreases with size, reflecting increasing political costs due to greater visibility to tax authorities. Previous write-off patterns and magnitudes are persistent, reflecting institutional learning linked to regulatory changes. [source] The Seasoned-Equity Issues of UK Firms: Market Reaction and Issuance Method ChoiceJOURNAL OF BUSINESS FINANCE & ACCOUNTING, Issue 1-2 2006Edel Barnes Abstract: This study examines the seasoned equity issues of companies traded on the London Stock Exchange. Recent regulatory changes have allowed UK firms more discretion in choice of issue approach, and this has led many firms to issue through placing in preference to a rights issue. Having first documented the trend towards increasing use of placings, we go on to identify an interesting subset of placings that are less likely to be anticipated by the market, and find a significant positive market reaction to such placings, which contrasts with the significant negative reaction we find for issues by rights. We also examine the choice of seasoned equity issuance method, focusing on the choice between placings versus rights issues. We develop a model to explain the choice of equity issue method that achieves a high level of predictive accuracy. [source] The Multijurisdictional Disclosure System and Value of Equity OfferingsJOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT & ACCOUNTING, Issue 1 2006Usha R. Mittoo The Canada and US multijurisdictional disclosure system (MJDS) implemented in 1991 lowered the indirect barriers for investors and issuers by easing reporting and disclosure requirements for cross-border issues. This paper examines the impact of the MJDS and related regulatory changes on Canada,US equity market segmentation using a sample of Canadian seasoned equity offerings in the 1991,1998 period. We find that the number of cross-border issues by Canadian firms increased, and the typical negative stock price reaction that accompanies seasoned equity issues declined over time, supporting increased integration between the two markets after the MJDS. We also document that cross-border issues experience about 1.4 per cent lower negative stock price reaction compared with domestic issues, consistent with Canada,US market segmentation. We find mixed support for Merton's (1987) investor recognition hypothesis. While Canadian firms cross-listed in the US experience a less adverse price reaction to their cross-border offerings compared with their non-US-listed peers, there is no significant difference between the two groups in the case of purely domestic issues. [source] Foreign Speculators and Emerging Equity MarketsTHE JOURNAL OF FINANCE, Issue 2 2000Geert Bekaert We propose a cross-sectional time-series model to assess the impact of market liberalizations in emerging equity markets on the cost of capital, volatility, beta, and correlation with world market returns. Liberalizations are defined by regulatory changes, the introduction of depositary receipts and country funds, and structural breaks in equity capital flows to the emerging markets. We control for other economic events that might confound the impact of foreign speculators on local equity markets. Across a range of specifications, the cost of capital always decreases after a capital market liberalization with the effect varying between 5 and 75 basis points. [source] The Effect of Options on Stock Prices: 1973 to 1995THE JOURNAL OF FINANCE, Issue 1 2000Sorin M. Sorescu I show that the effect of option introductions on underlying stock prices is best described by a two-regime switching means model whose optimal switch date occurs in 1981. In accordance with previous studies, I find positive abnormal returns for options listed during 1973 to 1980. By contrast, I find negative abnormal returns for options listed in 1981 and later. Possible causes for this switch include the introduction of index options in 1982, the implementation of regulatory changes in 1981, and the possibility that options expedite the dissemination of negative information. [source] BANK COMPETITION, CONCENTRATION AND EFFICIENCY IN THE SINGLE EUROPEAN MARKET,THE MANCHESTER SCHOOL, Issue 4 2006BARBARA CASU The deregulation of financial services in the European Union (EU), together with the establishment of the Economic and Monetary Union, aimed at the creation of a level playing-field in the provision of banking services across the EU. The plan was to remove entry barriers and to foster both competition and efficiency in national banking markets. However, one of the effects of the regulatory changes was to spur a trend towards consolidation, resulting in the recent wave of mergers and acquisitions. To investigate the impact of increased consolidation on the competitive conditions of the EU banking markets, we employ both structural (concentration ratios) and non-structural (Panzar,Rosse statistic) concentration measures. Using bank-level balance sheet data for the major EU banking markets, in a period following the introduction of the Single Banking Licence (1997,2003), this paper also investigates the factors that may influence the competitive conditions. Specifically, we control for differences in efficiency estimates, structural conditions and institutional characteristics. The results seem to suggest that the degree of concentration is not necessarily related to the degree of competition. We also find little evidence that more efficient banking systems are also more competitive. The relationship between competition and efficiency is not a straightforward one: increased competition has forced banks to become more efficient but increased efficiency does not seem to be fostering more competitive EU banking systems. [source] Diversification and co-option of RAD-like genes in the evolution of floral asymmetryTHE PLANT JOURNAL, Issue 1 2007Catherine E. L. Baxter Summary To understand how changes in gene regulatory networks lead to novel morphologies, we have analysed the evolution of a key target gene, RAD, controlling floral asymmetry. In Antirrhinum, flower asymmetry depends on activation of RAD in dorsal regions of the floral meristem by the upstream regulators CYC and DICH. We show that Arabidopsis, a species with radially symmetric flowers, contains six RAD -like genes, reflecting at least three duplications since the divergence of Antirrhinum and Arabidopsis. Unlike the situation in Antirrhinum, none of the Arabidopsis RAD -like genes are activated in dorsal regions of the flower meristem. Rather, the RAD -like genes are expressed in distinctive domains along radial or ab-adaxial axes, consistent with a range of developmental roles. Introduction of a RAD genomic clone from Antirrhinum into Arabidopsis leads to a novel expression pattern that is distinct from the expression pattern of RAD in Antirrhinum and from the endogenous RAD -like genes of Arabidopsis. Nevertheless, RAD is able to influence developmental targets in Arabidopsis, as ectopic expression of RAD has developmental effects in this species. Taken together, our results suggest that duplication and divergence of RAD -like genes has involved a range of cis- and trans- regulatory changes. It is possible that such changes led to the coupling of RAD to CYC regulation in the Antirrhinum lineage and hence the co-option of RAD had a role in the generation of flower dorsoventral asymmetry. [source] Capital Markets Regulation: How Can Accounting Research Contribute?AUSTRALIAN ACCOUNTING REVIEW, Issue 4 2009Stephen Taylor In examining the possible contribution that accounting research can play in ensuring effective and efficient regulation of securities markets, two principal opportunities stand out. First, the role of research in informing debate about proposed regulatory intervention (ex ante contribution to regulatory debate). Second, the ability of research to inform analysis as to the effectiveness of previously implemented regulatory changes (ex post contribution to regulatory debate). In the ex ante case, there is a natural tension between the way in which regulatory initiatives often arise quickly and the inevitable passage of time required to fully appreciate the degree to which underlying problems have been correctly characterised and can be framed in a manner suitable for addressing via rigorous analytical and empirical research. It is also impossible to empirically assess the effect of regulatory intervention that has not yet occurred. Finally, if data are simply not available, then research is limited to analytical analysis and prediction. In the ex post case, there is often a natural reluctance to subject regulatory intervention to mandatory analysis, and even when a statutory requirement exists for such analysis and review, the time horizon is often far too short for meaningful analysis. In both the ex ante and ex post cases, what is unavoidable is that regulation can only be legitimately informed by research that is sufficiently rigorous so as to have robust conclusions. Assessing research on these dimensions means that transparency is required so as to allow researchers to engage in meaningful debate about the validity of the conclusions. This inevitably means that research needs to be a partnership between regulatory agencies and academia, and that when research is used to justify regulatory interventions it must be publicly available and subject to robust debate. [source] Solarium use in Australia, recent trends and contextAUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 4 2010Kate Francis Abstract Objectives: To describe the prevalence of solarium use among representative samples of Australian adolescents (12,17 years) and adults (18,69 years). Methods: In national surveys conducted in 2003/04 and 2006/07 using equivalent methods, n=11,509 Australian adolescents and adults self-reported their use of solaria. Results: In 2006/07 10.6% of adults had ,ever' used a solarium, and use was most prevalent among women aged 18 to 24 (17.1%) and 25 to 44 (20.7%). Few adolescents (2.5%) had ever used a solarium. The prevalence of past year use was much lower (0.6% of adolescents, 1.5% of adults) and there was a significant reduction among adults between surveys (OR=0.69, 95% CI=0.52,0.94). Adults' attitudes related to past year solarium use were preference for a suntan (OR=4.68, 95% CI=2.48,8.85); perceived protan attitudes of peers (OR=2.10, 95% CI=1.17,3.77), belief that a suntan looks healthy (OR=1.92, 95% CI=1.09,3.39); and perceiving they have some risk of getting skin cancer (OR=1.69, 95% CI=1.03,2.78). Conclusions and implications: Although solarium use in Australia is relatively low, it is highest among young adult women. These data show encouraging downward trends in use, and provide a foundation for monitoring the impact of forthcoming regulatory changes to the solarium industry. [source] Securities Regulation Reform and the Decline of Rights OfferingsCANADIAN JOURNAL OF ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCES, Issue 2 2001Nancy D. Ursel This paper develops the hypothesis that the decline in the use of rights offerings is due to reductions in issue costs brought about by changes in securities regulation. The hypothesis is tested in two jurisdictions: Canada and the United States. Time series analysis is used to determine if the decreased use of rights offerings in the 1970,1985 period is associated with regulatory changes designed to ease stock issues, such as short form registration and shelf registration in the U.S. and the Prompt Offer Qualification (POP) system in Canada. The findings are consistent with a significant decrease in rights usage concurrent with the earliest reform in each country. Résumé La présente étude avance l'hypothèse que la réduction de l'emploi des droits de souscription est due à la diminution des coûts d'émission permise par les réformes des lois sur les valeurs mobilières. L'hypothèse est testée dans deux juridictions: le Canada et les États-Unis. Nous faisons une analyse de données chronologiques pour déterminer si la réduction du nombre de droits de souscription entre 1970,1985 reflète les réformes des règlements conçues pour diminuer les coûts d'émission, par exemple, aux États-Unis, l'enregistrement simplifié et l'enregistrement préalable et, au Canada, le Régime du prospectus simplifié. Les résultats sont compatibles avec une diminution significative de l'emploi des droits de souscription, dans chaque pays, dès les premières réformes. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||