bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Coal: a privatisation postponed?
Authors: Whitfield Dexter
Published: January 2010

Apart from their manifesto, the Conservatives have published no overall plan for privatisation. The first indication that a nationalised industry is under threat usually comes when one or other senior party ideologue floats a proposal. In this article, Dexter Whitfield documents the indications that the National Coal Board, or its more profitable parts, is amongst the industries that the government plans to privatise – but only if the power of the National Union of Mineworkers can be broken.
Monopoly in Marxist method
Authors: Bryan Richard
Published: January 2010

The theory of competition and monopoly in Marxist analysis has started to receive attention and generate debate only in recent years. But with this development, analysis of the effects of competition and monopoly has extended ahead of analysis of their meanings within a Marxist discourse. This paper is concerned with the general question of how competition and monopoly might be defined in a specifically Marxist way, divorced from the preconceptions of neo-classical usage. A theory of monopoly defined in terms of the market power of large corporations is rejected. Instead, monopoly is defined at a more abstract level, within the circulation of social capital. Here, monopoly is identified with the reproduction of non-equivalence in the movement of value between the forms of money, production and commodities. Hence it is contended that monopoly does have a widespread existence but that, unlike the school of monopoly capitalism, which emphasises the power of giant corporations, monopoly is understood as just a form of competition, not its antithesis.
Fixed and circulating capital
Authors: Shortall Felton C
Published: January 2010

Felton Shortall argues that in analysing capital in terms of constant and variable capital in order to bring out the inner nature of capitalist relations of production, Marx was forced to suppress the distinction between fixed and circulating capital. By means of an analysis of the circuits of capital, the significance of the concepts of fixed and circulating capital is established and the implications for Marxian theory of price formation, divisions within the capitalist class and the periodisation of capitalism discussed.
International capital, indigenous accumulation and the state in Papua New Guinea: the case of the Development Bank
Authors: MacWilliam Scott
Published: January 2010

Much has been asserted about the comprador status of the bourgeoisie in Africa and the way it has been blackenised at the behest of old colonial powers and new international agencies such as the World Bank. Scott MacWilliam takes up this issue which has been extended to Australia's former colony of Papua New Guinea to show whether and how an indigenous bourgeoisie is capable of subverting the strategy of the World Bank in promoting small-scale production, especially in agriculture. MacWilliam argues that money capital which is advanced as loans to schemes based on peasant production can become finance to propel the accumulation propensities of indigenous capitalists. Equally, he concludes, the small-scale basis of production blocks the further acquisition of land by the local capitalist class.
Ten years of Capital & Class
Authors: Piciotto Sol
Published: January 2010

This issue marks the tenth anniversary of the production of Capital and Class. During that time the journal has played a leading role in the development of important academic and political debates on the left. On the occasion of this anniversary issue Sol Picciotto presents a personal view of its development and its contribution to a number of significant debates. In presenting this view he suggests that the current situation raises important opportunities for the development of the journal
Sanctions
Authors: Hanlon Joseph
Published: January 2010

The move towards sanctions against South Africa may be glacially slow, but there clearly is now movement. Joseph Hanlon suggests that it is time to look more closely at the goals of sanctions, as well as at the key role to be played by TNCS.
The Midwife of Mining
Authors: Feickert Dave
Published: January 2010

The change of the National Coal Board's name to British Coal was meant to symbolise a new era for the coal industry—a rebirth of its fortunes. Since the end of the miners' strike in March 1985, managers have set about dismantling the old working practices and introducing new ‘flexible’ methods of working the coal seams. Dave Feickert surveys these developments, assesses the NCB's strategy for the industry, and concludes by considering the problems facing the mining unions. He argues for an alternative vision for the industry which takes account of long-term energy needs and the welfare of the mining labour force.
The Atlantic arms economy: towards a military regime of accumulation?
Authors: Lovering John
Published: January 2010

The new international division of labour among arms producers is increasingly subordinating European high-technology military industries to the industrial-military complex of the United States This is paving the way towards a new, military, regime of accumulation, coincident with recent patterns of capitalist economic growth increasingly dependent upon the production of department three output, luxury goods and. This has important consequences for traditional socialist strategies focusing upon ‘arms conversion’. They are no longer sufficient.
Regulation theory, post Fordism and the state: more than a reply to Werner Bonefield
Authors: Jessop Bob
Published: January 2010

Jessop criticises Bonefeld's analysis of the French Regulation Approach to the state as it has been utilised by the German ‘Reformulation’ theorists ( C&C 33). Jessop sets out an agenda for future research on the state which develops the regulation approach, but himself criticises some of the formulations of the post-Fordist state.
The transformation non-problem and the non-transformation problem
Authors: Kliman Andrew , McGlone Ted
Published: January 2010

Most criticisms of Marx's attempt to solve the transformation problem focus on his failure to separate value and price calculations. It is argued here that there is nothing wrong with Marx's approach once it is construed as an exercise in dialectics rather than some attempt to map mathematically values on to prices. Consequently, much of the debate over values and the transformation of values has been wrongly directed at matters of mathematical technique when the real issue concerns one of method.
The dynamics of value, price and profit
Authors: Walker Richard
Published: January 2010

This article argues that in place of the fundamentally static neoclassical concept of an economy in equilibrium, economic theory is in need of a dynamic vision of growth as a disequilibrating process which is driven by competition and the accumulation of capital. The theory of price and profit shold be errected on these foundations. This was the project of classical economics, and it reached its apogee in Marx's Capital.
Capital in general and the structure of Marx's Capital
Authors: Heinrich Michael
Published: January 2010

So far, the Grundrisse, Contribution and ‘Urtext’ to the Contribution have been published in the English-language Complete Works, Volumes 28 and 20. Of the 1861-63 manuscripts, which consist of 1472 notebooks in all, the first have been available in translation as the three parts of Theories of Surplus Value. The remaining manuscripts have been translated and publication is forthcoming. The article assesses the difficulties faced by Marx in presenting the capitalist form of social reproduction in a dialectical form. Heinrich argues that the Economic Manuscripts of 1861/63 provide explanation for the changes of Marx's plan in the Grundrisse and Capital.
American Dreams and Soviet Realities: Socialism and Taylorism A Reply to Chris Nyland
Authors: Kössler Reinhart , Muchie Mammo
Published: January 2010

After a brief review of the development of Taylorism in the us, the authors provide an account of the introduction of Taylorism into the Soviet Union under party control. They insist that Taylorism operates to dispossess workers of control in the productive process and cannot therefore, be used for socialist strategies of social and economic transformation.
Opencast coalmining and the politics of coal production
Authors: Beynon Huw , Cox Andrew , Hudson Ray
Published: January 2010

Focusing on the general picture, as well as the specific changes in the Northeast, the authors consider the ramifications of an expanding opencast sector in British coal mining. They draw attention to the intersecting politics of employment and environment and suggest that a basis for opposition campaigns may be constructed.
’No military solution: The 1984/5 miners strike and its aftermath in South Derbyshire
Authors: Carter Bob
Published: January 2010

Bob Carter's account of the miner's strike in South Derbyshire locates it in relation to the broader debates about the character of the strike. He argues that the events in Derbyshire suggest a modification to existing pictures of the dispute.
Neither fundamentalism nor ‘new realism’: a critical realist perspective on current divisions in socialist theory
Authors: Lovering John
Published: January 2010

The catch-phrase ‘realism’ remains ambiguous between ‘new realism’ and realism of a critical nature. Lovering urges the case for realism which is critical and addresses current schools of socialist thought in this light.
Whose flexibility? the politics of informalisation in Southern Europe
Authors: Hadjimichalis Costis , Vaiou Dina
Published: January 2010

Drawing on a wide range of empirical and historical material, the authors argue that informal working is neither a historic survival nor a response to new technologies. Rather informal working is a long standing and integral, if subordinate, aspect of labour in Southern Europe.
Beyond Nationalism, Beyond Protectionism: Labour and the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement
Authors: McNally David
Published: January 2010

This article advances a theoretical and political critique of the protectionist opposition of Canada's labour movement to the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the United States. North American free trade is examined in the context of the global trend towards regional trade blocs. The author suggests that nationalist politics have seriously divided English-speaking and Quebec workers in Canada, and makes the case for an alternative politics of working class internationalism.
Rubel's Marxology: A Critique
Authors: Anderson Kevin
Published: January 2010

Due to a lack of translated material the work of Maximilien Rubel is little known in the English speaking world. In the following article Kevin Anderson analyses Rubel's achievements as a ‘Marx editor’ and interpreter of Marx's ‘economics' overall. Anderson then explores possibly Rubel's greatest flaw—his anti-Hegelianism.
Economics and Epistemology: A Realist Critique
Authors: Kanth Rajani
Published: January 2010

Bhaskarian Realism offers a vantage point from which both the individualism of neoclassical economic theory, and the collectivism of orthodox Marxism and Stalinism, can equally be rejected in favour of the original insights into the real ontology of societies as found in Marx.
Once More on Labour, Nationalism and Free Trade
Authors: McNally David
Published: January 2010

McNally argues that there are major flaws in the nationalist politics dominating the Left in English Canada which succeed in dividing the working class movement at a critical time and divert attention from the real issues.
‘Value in Process’: A Reply to Naples
Authors: Kliman Andrew J.
Published: January 2010

In response to Michele Naples' critique, the author suggests that the dispute revolves around different concepts of value. Exploring the contrast between Marx's concept of value as a ‘self-moving substance’ and technological determinist concepts, this paper further develops Kliman and McGlone's view of the value-price transformation.
The Structural and Ideological Contradictions of Britain's Post-War Reconstruction
Authors: Hay Colin
Published: January 2010

Hay's essay offers a critique of both liberal and Marxist historiographies, providing an alternative theoretical-informed account of Britain's post-war reconstruction which suggests the existence of twin domestic post-war settlements.
Striking a New Balance: New Social Organisations in Post-Mao China
Authors: Howell Jude
Published: January 2010

With the liberalisation of the economy and the influx of foreign capital into China, new social organisations have emerged which mediate between the state and society. Howell argues that although these organisations harbour elements of a civil society, they have a complex relationship with the Party/state, casting doubt upon their credentials as organs of civil society. They are best understood in the dual context of state transformation and socio-economic transition.
Capital in General and Marx's Logical Method: A Response to Heinrich's Critique
Authors: Moseley Fred
Published: January 2010

Heinrich ( C&C 38, 1989) argued that, while working on the second draft of Capital in the early 1860s, Marx encountered crucial difficulties in maintaining the distinction between capital in general and competition. Moseley argues that, to the contrary, this 1861–63 manuscript shows Marx's increasing clarity on this distinction and its profit and in the distribution of surplus values into revenues.
Radical Geography as Mere Political Economy: the Local Politics of Space
Authors: Byrne David
Published: January 2010

David Byrne argues that both the structuralist ‘new geography’ and the poststructuralist ‘new new’ geography ignore or deny the role of class as a creative agency in the formation of urban life. New perspectives on class, which reduces it to an essentially cultural position, reinforce this tendency to allocate all creative capacity under capitalism to capital and capitalists. The consequent pessimism has informed the collaborative politics characteristic of ‘the new urban left’ in the UK. The article concludes with an argument for active strategies of ‘empowerment’ directed towards the working poor as a component of the ‘social proletariat’.
Beyond the Technological and the Social Paradigms: A Political Reading of Abstract Labour as the Substance of Value
Authors: De Angelis Massimo
Published: January 2010

De Angelis proposes an approach to value which gives central place to the capital-labour relation, and specifically to the category of abstract labour as the form taken by work under capitalism—alienated, imposed, and inherently boundless. This approach is counter-posed to alternative readings of the labour theory of value in both the technological and social paradigms.
Capital Moves
Authors: Holloway John
Published: January 2010

In this new section, Capital & Class will carry contributions which address contemporary themes of concern to the left. It is our intention that contributions provoke controversy, challenge taken-for-granted assumptions and raise themes and issues of concern to marxists and socialists in an unusual manner.
The Birth of Socialist Labour
Authors: Heron Brian
Published: January 2010

In this section, Capital & Class will carry contributions which address contemporary themes of concern to the left. It is our intention that contributions provoke controversy, challenge taken-for-granted assumptions and raise themes and issues of concern to readers of Capital & Class in an unusual manner.
Money and Credit in Socialist Economies: a Reconsideration
Authors: Itoh Makoto
Published: January 2010

How should socialist economies treat money? Theoretically at least three different cases are conceivable. First, a form of socialist quasi-money (s-money) or labour certificate is introduced, called labour-money’. Second, another form of s-money is possible without accounting for labour-time but with publicly determined prices. Third, money exists in a market socialist economy. This paper examines the nature of money in the Soviet Union, and criticizes the Soviet orthodox view defining the rouble as real money by the false dichotomy of posing either labour certificate or real money. The possible forms and functions of (s-)money as well as those of (s-)credit in socialist economies should be more flexibly understood in accordance with various possible forms of socialist economies.
Restructuring State Employment: Labour and Non-Labour in the Capitalist State
Authors: Carter Bob
Published: January 2010

Changes in the organization of the state, and labour within it, are giving new urgency to the need for a Marxist account of state labour. Traditionally, Marxist theory concerning the capitalist state and the labour process have remained disconnected. The article examines both these areas and attempts to extract elements from each to present a coherent account of state labour. The perspective developed argues for a strategy which connects state labour to the recipients of state services and transforms the state functions of control to ones of labour.
Response to Lau's ‘China: Labour Reform and the Challenge Facing the Working Class’
Authors: Minqi Li
Published: January 2010

In Capital & Class, no. 61 (Spring 1997) we published an article ‘China: Labour Reform and the Challenge Facing the Working Class’, by Raymond Lau which discussed workers' and students' struggles in and around the 1989 democratic movement. In the article below, Li Minqi, who was involved in student democratic activities and in one of the organisations mentioned by Lau, offers a critical response to the author. We also publish Lau's rejoinder.

Iread with great interest Raymond W. K. Lau's article, ‘China: Labour Reform and the Challenge Facing the Working Class’, published in Capital & Class, no. 61 (Spring 1997). In fact, I was personally involved in the underground organization which Lau referred to as ‘Wage Workers' Federation’ ( dagongzhe lianhehui). Thus, I can probably help to explain some of Lau's puzzles concerning this organization. I do think Lau's article provides many important insights into and about the conditions of China's working class, and its struggle against capitalist oppression and exploitation. However, I also have some serious disagreements with him, especially on how to evaluate the historical heritage of the Chinese socialist revolution, and how this heritage will impact on the Chinese working class in its current struggle against capitalism. Thus, I would also like to make some comments on these problems.
Rejoinder
Authors: Lau Raymond W. K.
Published: January 2010

Li rightly points out that I was puzzled by the contrast between certain Marxianlike language employed by Dagongzhe lianhehui and its plea for migrant workers only to be treated ‘justly’ in the labour market. My sources of information were the group's documents and a Hong Kong labour activist in touch with the two persons mentioned in Li's letter. I can now confirm that the Hong Kong activist had met them only after Li's departure and was unaware of Li's existence. Checking the group's documents also confirms that the Marxian-like language appears only in the one Li says was edited by him, while the plea for ‘just treatment’ appears elsewhere. I thank Li for solving my puzzle to the reader's benefit.
From the Law of Insurance to the Law of Lottery: An Exploration of the Changing Composition of the British State
Authors: Neary Mike , Taylor Graham
Published: January 2010

It is a commonplace assumption that human life has become increasingly risky, and the concept of risk has become increasingly central to social scientific investigation. In this paper the increasing riskiness of everyday life is explored through an analysis of the origins, development and crisis of the welfare state. It is argued that the development of the National Lottery is part of a fundamental recomposition of the state which reflects the decomposition of the ‘law of insurance’ as the organising principle of the Keynesian Welfare State and its replacement by the ‘law of lottery’ as the principle regulatory mechanism of the neo-liberal capitalist state
In Defence of Critical Realism
Authors: Joseph Jonathan
Published: January 2010

This article reassesses critical realism's role as an underlabourer to the sciences and whether it is of any use to a Marxist analysis. It deals with some of the issues raised in the debate between regulation theorists and open Marxists whilst arguing that this debate does not do full credit to the scope of critical realism. Whilst a rejection of the regulation approach is necessary, it is also necessary to analyse forms of regulation and hegemonic strategies based on the fact that the social world is complexly stratified. However, this stratification also points to the dominant contradictions within capitalism and the centrality of struggle in shaping the social world.
The United States Economy at the Turn of the Century: Entering a New Era of Prosperity?
Authors: Moseley Fred
Published: January 2010

This paper argues that the US economy is not entering a new era of prosperity, mainly because the rate of profit remains 30-40% below its earlier postwar peaks, in spite of a 20% reduction of real wages since the early 1970s. Under these conditions, real wages are unlikely to increase very much (if at all) in the years ahead. The paper also argues that an important reason for the acceleration of growth in the US economy since 1995 is a large and rapidly increasing net inflow of foreign capital (which also precipitated the worsening depression in Asia). The final section argues that the chances of a recession in the US in 1999 are high, and that such a depression would probably propel the world capitalist economy into deep depression.
Welfare, Neo-Liberalism and New Paternalism: Three Ways for Social Policy in Late Capitalist Societies
Authors: MacGregor Susanne
Published: January 2010

This article presents an overview of three tendencies in advanced capitalist societies as far as social policy is concerned. These are characterised as ‘welfare state’, ‘neo-liberal’ and ‘new paternalist’. The article characterises each phase and shows how each is a response or reaction to what went before. Related sets of theories and key concepts can be seen to perform both explanatory and ideological roles. The article ends by setting out an alternative way forward towards a society organised around principles of social justice, equality and democracy.
Financial Liberalisation, Currency Instability and Crisis in Brazil: Another Plan Bites the Dust
Authors: Morais Lecio , Filho Alfredo Saad , Coelho Walter
Published: January 2010

THIS PAPER PROVIDES AN INTERPRETATION of the Brazilian Real (stabilisation) plan, and its recent collapse. The plan was designed to maximise Brazil's ability to profit from the exceptional liquidity of the international credit markets, when low interest rates in the industrialised economies (especially the US) facilitated surges in capital flows to a select group of countries, the so-called ‘emerging markets.’ The general backdrop of the Brazilian plan, as well as similar policy initiatives in other emerging markets, was the neo-liberal fundamentalist prescription that countries should ‘liberalise, privatise, cut government spending and show to the world your commitment to liberal principles.’ Allegedly, this would be enough to inspire investor confidence, and allow the country to benefit from the exuberant power of capital inflows. The events that followed the adoption of that prescription in Brazil tell a very different story.
Policing Ireland
Authors: Smyth Jim
Published: January 2010

The Royal Ulster Constabulary can be located within a context of policing which deviates significantly from other Western European countries. A centralised, armed and paramilitary force has existed in Ireland since 1822, not as a response to social changes induced by industrialisation, but as a direct agent of British colonial policy in Ireland. The RUC is culturally, politically and organisationally locked into its role as a counter-insurgency force and is now a dysfunctional element in the context of the Good Friday Agreement and movement towards a more inclusive and democratic society in Northern Ireland.
Masculinity, Violence and the Irish Peace Process
Authors: Bairner Alan
Published: January 2010

This paper examines the role of gender in the north of Ireland. This is not to imply that a study of gender relations on its own is adequate to explain recent political developments. Indeed, there is a need to challenge all one-dimensional and reductionist analyses such as those which concentrate solely on ethnicity and including Marxist approaches which are excessively economistic. Whilst giving special attention to gender issues, therefore, the paper will also recognise that these cannot be fully understood unless they are located within the context of social and economic change as well as the politics of ethnic and national identities.
The Capabilities and Perfor Mance Advantages of Market‐Driven Firms: An Empirical Investigation
Authors: Vorhies Douglas W. , Harker Michael
Published: January 2010

Although progress has been made in understanding the development of businesses competencies from a theoretical perspective, relatively few empirical studies have addressed the capabilities needed to become market‐driven and the perfor Mance advantages accruing to firms possessing these capabilities. One of the barriers faced has been in defining what is meant by the term ‘market‐driven’. This study develops a multi‐dimensional measure useful for assessing the degree to which a firm is market‐driven. Evidence is presented in this study that strategically focused market‐driven business units developed higher levels of capabilities than their less market‐driven rivals and significantly outperfor Med these rival business units on four measures of organisational perfor Mance.
Estimating and Evaluating Proxies for the Marginal Tax Rate
Authors: Pattenden Kerry
Published: January 2010

Graham (1996b) tested proxies for the marginal tax rate and derived a number of important results. This paper re-examines two factors raised by Graham's work: the impact of tax regulations on proxy performance, and the presence of bias in proxy construction. Simulation methods create a simple tax world where the ‘true’ marginal tax rate is known. Tax proxies are ranked against this rate using regression diagnostics. Manzon's proxy is the best performing of the simple tax proxies tested and is an unbiased estimate of the underlying tax process. The impact on proxies of tax loss treatments is assessed. Evidence is found that proxies differ in performance across different loss treatments. Evidence is found of an inbuilt preference between some variants of a simulated tax proxy and the tax benchmark.
Time-Related Issues in Training and Career Development
Authors: Hesketh Beryl
Published: January 2010

Several ideas are outlined that help place a focus on time and the way in which it affects many issues relevant to HRM. The concept of time-discounting is introduced, and its relevance to a range of organisational decisions outlined. A brief summary is provided of a series of studies testing time discounting in relation to training and career-related choices. Finally, future research needs are highlighted.
Intellectual Capital: More Than the Interaction of Competence x Commitment
Authors: Burr Renu , Girardi Antonia
Published: January 2010

Ulrich (1998) has suggested that intellectual capital is a product of competence and commitment. This broad proposition, though intuitively appealing, does not identify theoretical links between these variables, and has little empirical foundation. This paper draws on organisational behaviour theory to propose a model that specifies mechanisms, intermediate linkages and boundary conditions that predict intellectual capital. In doing so, we respond to a recent call for research that is specific about human resource management-firm effectiveness relationships. Moderated relationships between competence, commitment and control are proposed as predictors of intellectual capital. Implications for future theory and practice are highlighted.
Espoused Values of Organisations
Authors: Kabanoff Boris , Daly Joseph
Published: January 2010

We review a series of studies whose focus is the measurement and comparison of values espoused by organisations in their public documents, in particular their annual reports. We begin by considering the construct of organizational values and the advantages and assumptions involved in using content-analysis of organizational documents to measure espoused values. Three interrelated studies of espoused organisational values are then described. The first of these investigates the value profiles of a sample of large Australian companies in order to test the validity of a previously developed typology of organisational values derived from distributive and procedural justice theory (Kabanoff, 1991). Changes in organisational values over time for the same group of companies are then considered. This study illustrates that how one studies value change, either in a univariate way by comparing single values over time or by comparing the incidence of different organisational ‘types’, that is organisational with different types of value profiles, significantly influences the results and interpretations of changes over time. The final study is a cross-national comparison involving Australian and US organisations that reveals several meaningful differences between the countries in the incidence of organisations with different value profiles. We conclude with a brief discussion of future planned research using the same methodology and focusing on the role of espoused values in organisational mergers and acquisitions.
Tracking Error and Active Portfolio Management
Authors: El-Hassan Nadima , Kofman Paul
Published: January 2010

Persistent bear market conditions have led to a shift of focus in the tracking error literature. Until recently the portfolio allocation literature focused on tracking error minimization as a consequence of passive benchmark management under portfolio weights, transaction costs and short selling constraints. Abysmal benchmark performance shifted the literature's focus towards active portfolio strategies that aim at beating the benchmark while keeping tracking error within acceptable bounds. We investigate an active (dynamic) portfolio allocation strategy that exploits the predictability in the conditional variance-covariance matrix of asset returns. To illustrate our procedure we use Jorion's (2002) tracking error frontier methodology. We apply our model to a representative portfolio of Australian stocks over the period January 1999 through November 2002.
Are Hot Markets Driven by Hot Resource Shares or Hot Commodities?
Authors: Suchard Jo-An , Woo Li-Anne
Published: January 2010

Cycles in initial public offer (IPO) underpricing have been historically linked to both the proportion and pricing of resource-based IPOs issued relative to the entire population of IPOs. In addition, IPOs in the less diversified resource sector are exposed to changes in underlying commodity market prices which directly affect firm valuation. However, prior IPO research has largely ignored the various risk factors affecting resource firms. In this paper, we explicitly consider the explanatory power of ‘traditional’ IPO risk factors and augment these with specific risk characteristics associated with the resource sector, such as the underlying changes in resource commodity prices, the nature of activities (exploration versus production), and, the level of commodity diversification.

IPO market cycles over the period March 1983 to January 1990 are identified using the switching regression technique of Goldfeld and Quandt (1972). The regression results suggest that for ‘hot’ markets, the level of underpricing is unrelated to any previously identified risk characteristics. Yet in ‘cool’ markets, both the underlying commodity price change, period of subscription, issue size and the proportion of resource to total listing are influential. Interestingly, the level of firm diversification and the nature of resource activity do not systematically affect the level of underpricing.
Computer-Intensive Time-Varying Model Approach to the Systematic Risk of Australian Industrial Stock Returns
Authors: Yao Juan , Gao Jiti
Published: January 2010

This paper aims to investigate the form of systematic risk of Australian industrial stock returns. We suggest using four stochastic state-space models for the analysis. The stochastic properties of systematic risk are studied by examining four classes of state-space models: random walk model, random coefficient model, ARMA(1, 1) model and mean reverting model (or moving mean model). We have found that the industrial portfolio betas are unstable. The variation of industrial portfolio beta is either random or mean-reverting. Among the nineteen industrial groups, ten of them have the mean-reverting process betas but six of them seem to have a moving long-term mean. Five of the industrial groups have the random process betas, more specifically; the betas of three of them are the random walk processes while the betas of the other two are just the random coefficients. We have also identified that the betas of five industrial groups seem to follow an ARMR(1,1) process.
Are Auctions More Efficient Than Fixed Price Schemes When Bidders Learn?
Authors: Hailu Atakelty , Schilizzi Steven
Published: January 2010

Auctions are increasingly being considered as a mechanism for allocating conservation contracts to private landowners. This interest is based on the widely held belief that competitive bidding helps minimize information rents. This study constructs an agent-based model to evaluate the long-term performance of conservation auctions under settings where bidders are allowed to learn from previous outcomes. The results clearly indicate that the efficiency benefits of one-shot auctions are quickly eroded under dynamic settings. Furthermore, the auction mechanism is not found to be superior to fixed payment schemes except when the latter involve the use of high prices.
The Index Tracking Strategies of Passive and Enhanced Index Equity Funds
Authors: Frino Alex , Gallagher David R. , Oetomo Teddy N.
Published: January 2010

This study represents the first empirical examination of the daily trading and portfolio configuration strategies of index and enhanced index equity funds. We document that passive funds benefit from employing less rigid rebalancing and investment strategies. During index revision periods, enhanced index funds commence portfolio rebalancing earlier than index funds, and employ more patient trading strategies. This activity translates into higher returns and lower trading costs for enhanced index funds. In cases where passive funds do not perfectly mimic the benchmark, passive funds exhibit a greater propensity to overweight stocks with higher liquidity, larger market capitalization and higher past performance. For non-index portfolio holdings, enhanced funds exhibit a higher propensity to hold ‘winners’ and sell ‘losers’.
Strategic Use of Employee Opinion Surveys: Using a Quasi-Linkage Approach to Model the Drivers of Organisational Effectiveness
Authors: Mason Claire M. , Chang Artemis C. F. , Griffin Mark A.
Published: January 2010

Traditionally, organisations use benchmarking to evaluate their employee opinion survey data. This approach is useful for identifying strengths and weaknesses in organisational performance, but it does not tell us how to bring about improvements on those indicators. Although linkage research (whereby survey data are linked with other organisational measures of performance) can provide this information, this approach is often not feasible. The ‘quasi-linkage’ approach described in this paper represents a practical compromise. We illustrate this approach using survey data collected from 1246 employees, demonstrating how it can be used to derive strategic information from employee opinion data.
Australian Research Output in Economics and Business: High Volume, Low Impact?
Authors: Harzing Anne-Wil
Published: January 2010

This paper investigates publication patterns of Australian academics in Economics & Business. I show that this discipline follows the general Australian trend of declining impact, measured as citations per paper, from the mid-1990s. However, the gap in Australia's ranking of publication quantity (number of papers) and publication quality (impact) is much wider in Economics & Business than in other disciplines. The discipline combines the highest ranking in quantity with the lowest ranking in quality. Seven possible explanations for this pattern are discussed.
Do Past Performance and Past Cash Flows Explain Current Cash Flows into Retail Superannuation Funds in Australia?
Authors: Frino Angela , Heaney Richard , Service David
Published: January 2010

This paper examines the link between current-quarter cash flows and both past performance and past cash flows using a sample of Australian retail superannuation fund data (managed growth and managed stable) drawn from the period 1994 to 2000. This is a rapidly growing sector within the superannuation industry and it reflects investment behaviour of smaller investors rather than institutions and large corporations. Using both the Gruber (1996) approach and panel-data analysis we find a positive relationship between past performance and current-quarter cash flows as well as evidence of persistence in cash flows over time. Panel-data analysis also identifies a positive relationship between current net cash flows and past performance and cash inflows as well as a negative relationship between current net cash flows and past outflows. Market-wide growth in the retail superannuation sector over the study period does not appear to be driving these results.
Capital Structure Decisions Under Classical and Imputation Tax Systems: A Natural Test for Tax Effects in Australia
Authors: Pattenden Kerry
Published: January 2010

The paper investigates determinants of capital structure, focusing on tax incentives for debt. The paper makes use of a panel of Australian firms in two tax regimes: a classical regime, and a dividend imputation regime. An important feature is the identification of the economic model using Bayesian selection methods. This methodology offers a new way of examining and assessing interactions between variables where there are competing explanations, noisy data and no unifying theory. As hypothesized, the results demonstrate a significant tax coefficient during the classical era and an insignificant tax coefficient in the imputation era. Risk and signalling variables, represented by firm size, Z-score, operating risk and asset base are also found to help explain capital structure choice.
Micro-Strategizing and the Three Logics of Action
Authors: Janczak Sergio
Published: January 2010

This study explores the three logics of action used by middle managers when undertaking projects. While this study was an exploratory one, it demonstrated that three logics clearly exist in the decision-making process, and that decision-making is discursively heterogeneous. Each of these logics, authoritarian, emotional, and conciliatory, implies a particular kind of rationality. Such logics depend mainly on the managers' perceptions of their endeavours. Each of these three logics implies a particular kind of rationality that goes much beyond the bounded rationality.
Regulatory Revenues and the Choice of the CAPM: Australia Versus New Zealand
Authors: Lally Martin
Published: January 2010

This paper compares the revenues resulting from the Officer model, which is generally used by Australian regulatory bodies, the simplified Brennan-Lally model, which is used by the New Zealand regulatory body, the Sharpe-Lintner-Mossin model, which is widely used in other regulatory regimes, and a comprehensive model that is free of simplifying assumptions concerning the tax environment and the extent to which firms attach imputation credits to dividends. The question of which of the three simplified models is best depends upon the proportion of a firm's company tax that is passed through as imputation credits, the utilisation rate on imputation credits, the extent to which ordinary income is taxed more heavily than capital gains, and the issue of whether revenue underestimates are considered to be more important than revenue overestimates. If the utilisation rate is considered to be close to 1, ordinary income is considered to be more heavily taxed than capital gains, and revenue underestimates are considered to be more serious than overestimates, then the Officer model will be inferior to the other two simplified models regardless of the proportion of a firm's company taxes that are passed through as imputation credits. By contrast, if revenue underestimates and overestimates are considered equally significant, then the Officer model will be superior to the other two simplified models, in so far as at least 75% of a firm's company taxes are passed through as imputation credits.
International Evidence on the Determinants of the Decision to List
Authors: McKenzie Michael D.
Published: January 2010

This paper offers empirical insights into the determinants of listing activity using, annual data sampled across 38 exchanges. Listing activity in developed countries stock markets is influenced by a range of variables which capture stock market and business conditions. The single most important factor in explaining the current level of listing activity, however, is the past level of listing activity. For emerging stock markets, none of the variables tested possessed any real explanatory power. Evidence is also found to suggest that high listing activity is accompanied by an increase in seasoned equity issues.
The Market For Australian Vice-Chancellors
Authors: Soh Lisa H. C.
Published: January 2010

Are Vice-Chancellors and CEOs remunerated on the same basis? We analyse data from university annual reports on Vice Chancellors' remuneration over 1995–2002 and test whether there is alignment between the market for Vice-Chancellors and CEOs in Australia by investigating the relationship between remuneration and size between universities and companies. We find that the responsiveness of pay to institution size is dissimilar, with Vice-Chancellors receiving on average about 56% less than CEOs. We also compare the demographic profile of Vice-Chancellors against CEOs, showing that relative to CEOs, Vice-Chancellors are appointed later in life but do not have shorter tenures.
Australian Evidence Regarding the Value-Relevance of Technical Information
Authors: Bettman Jenni L.
Published: January 2010

This paper employs an unconstrained version of Ohlson's (1995) residual income valuation model to evaluate the value-relevance of technical information in Australia. Specifically, we employ the methodology of Bettman, Sault and Welch (2006) to investigate whether models that incorporate both fundamental and technical measures are superior to models that consider either fundamental or technical information in isolation. Preliminary testing confirms the positive dependence of contemporaneous price with the fundamental factors commonly employed in modelling, namely book value per share, earnings per share and consensus earnings forecasts. Supplementation of fundamental models with three technical variables sees all technical factors being significant in explaining contemporaneous share prices, consistent with US evidence provided by Bettman, Sault and Welch (2006). Overall, our results provide further evidence that augmenting fundamental valuation models with technical information yields models with greater explanatory power than those that only consider fundamental or technical information in isolation.
An Empirical Analysis of Strategic Behaviour Models
Authors: Comerton-Forde Carole , O'Brien Michael A. , Westerholm P. Joakim
Published: January 2010

Existing theoretical models indicate that intraday patterns on stock exchanges are caused by the strategic interaction of informed and liquidity traders. Using unique data from the Helsinki Stock Exchange, which allows individual trades to be attributed to informed and liquidity traders, this paper examines strategic behaviour and intraday patterns. We find that both informed and liquidity traders concentrate trading at the open and close. The results illustrate that a significant proportion of intraday patterns can be explained by strategic trading by informed and liquidity traders.
A Disaggregated Analysis of Movements in East Asian Regional Stock Volatility
Authors: Sault Stephen J.
Published: January 2010

In the absence of comprehensive evidence regarding disaggregated volatility and correlations, this paper applies a disaggregated approach to examine these characteristics in the East Asia region. Testing commences with an examination of portfolio risk faced by an East Asian investor with the application and extension of the models advanced by Campbell, Lettau, Malkiel and Xu (2001) to a portfolio of East Asian stocks. Thereafter, we identify diversification benefits accruing to investors expanding their portfolio composition beyond Australian securities (Sault 2005) to include stocks within the East Asia region. Testing reveals that an increase in the geographical scope of the investment opportunity set is coupled with decreases in mean levels of volatility and correlations. Further, investors holding this regionally diversified portfolio are rewarded by reduced correlations during times of increased volatility, highlighting the benefits of wider-reaching diversification.
Australian Options
Authors: Moreno Manuel , Navas Javier F.
Published: January 2010

We study European options on the ratio of the stock price to its average and vice versa. Some of these options have been traded in the Australian Stock Exchange since 1992, thus we call them Australian options. For geometric averages, we obtain closed-form expressions for option prices. For arithmetic means, we use different approximations that produce very similar results.
Cost-of-Capital Estimation and Capital-Budgeting Practice in Australia
Authors: Truong Giang , Partington Graham , Peat Maurice
Published: January 2010

We use a sample survey to analyse the capital-budgeting practices of Australian listed companies. We find that NPV, IRR and Payback are the most popular evaluation techniques. Real options techniques have gained a toehold in capital budgeting but are not yet part of the mainstream. Discounting is typically by the weighted average cost of capital, assumed constant for the life of the project, and with the same discount rate across divisions. The WACC is usually based on target weights for debt and equity. The CAPM is widely used, while other asset pricing models are not. The discount rate is reviewed regularly and is updated as conditions change. In most companies, project analysis takes no account of the value of imputation tax credits. Australian corporate practice is generally consistent with the practice of Australian price regulators, except that regulators take into account the value of imputation tax credits when computing the cost of capital.
Monetary Policy Surprises and the Bank Bill Term Premium
Authors: Walsh Kathleen , Tan David
Published: January 2010

Has Australia's shift to an inflation-targeting monetary policy regime had a significant impact on investors' perception of interest-rate risks in the market? We find that since 1990, unanticipated adjustments to monetary policy have had a significantly larger impact on the term premium. This coincides with Australia's adoption of an inflation-targeting monetary policy. Since its implementation, unanticipated adjustments have conveyed more information to financial markets regarding the interest-rate risks in the economy. This new information is immediately assessed and accounted for in the term structure, consequently influencing the term premium in the direction of the unanticipated cash rate adjustment.