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Full-Text Articles in Business
Testing Conflicting Political Economy Theories: Full-Fledged Versus Partial-Scope Regional Trade Agreements, Xuepeng Liu
Testing Conflicting Political Economy Theories: Full-Fledged Versus Partial-Scope Regional Trade Agreements, Xuepeng Liu
Xuepeng Liu
We apply a duration analysis to test the conflicting predictions of the median voter model and the lobbying model using panel data on regional trade agreement (RTA) formation. Our results show that the pro-labor prediction of the median voter model is supported by the full-fledged free trade areas and customs unions (FTAs/CUs), while the pro-capital prediction of the lobbying model is supported by the partial-scope preferential trade arrangements among developing countries. This finding holds better for the country pairs with more different capital-labor ratios as a result of the stronger distributional effects of RTAs. The support for the median voter …
Rationalism's Irrationality - An Example From Australian Mental Health Policy, Ciorstan J. Smark
Rationalism's Irrationality - An Example From Australian Mental Health Policy, Ciorstan J. Smark
Ciorstan Smark
This article reflects on the way in which accounting-related thinking influenced one particular historical event: the process of deinstitutionalisation from mental hospitals in New South Wales. The article suggests that accounting (via economic rationalism and other allied philosophical lenses ) led to the under funding of the deinstitutionalisation process to the detriment of society as a whole. Some of the societal difficulties inherent in using such rationalist calculus (biased towards quantified, monetary, accounting entity assumptions) as a means of evaluating social policies are then considered.
The Stock Market Implication Of Political Connections: Evidence From Firms' Dividend Policy, Jerry Cao, Sheng Huang, Qigui Liu, Gary G. Tian
The Stock Market Implication Of Political Connections: Evidence From Firms' Dividend Policy, Jerry Cao, Sheng Huang, Qigui Liu, Gary G. Tian
Qigui Liu
Political connections are valuable for shareholders of privately-run firms especially in countries with weak legal institutions. We study the effect of a firm's political connections in the public equity market by focusing on its impact on the firms' dividend policy. Prior studies suggest that dividends signal the commitment for proper treatment of minority shareholders and thus high growth firms pay dividends to establish such a reputation for better access to equity market in the future. Using a sample of privately-owned Chinese firms, we find that politically connected firms are less likely to pay dividends and pay less if they pay. …
National Electronic Health Records And The Digital Disruption Of Moral Orders, Karin Garrety, Ian Mcloughlin, Rob Wilson, Gregor Zelle, Mike Martin
National Electronic Health Records And The Digital Disruption Of Moral Orders, Karin Garrety, Ian Mcloughlin, Rob Wilson, Gregor Zelle, Mike Martin
Karin Garrety
The digitalisation of patient health data to provide national electronic health record systems (NEHRS) is a major objective of many governments. Proponents claim that NEHRS will streamline care, reduce mistakes and cut costs. However, building these systems has proved highly problematic. Using recent developments in Australia as an example, we argue that a hitherto unexamined source of difficulty concerns the way NEHRS disrupt the moral orders governing the production, ownership, use of and responsibility for health records. Policies that pursue digitalisation as a self-evident 'solution' to problems in healthcare without due regard to these disruptions risk alienating key stakeholders. We …