City-level auditor industry specialization, economies of scale, and audit pricing

We examine the effects of city-level auditor industry specialization and scale economies on audit pricing in the United States. Using a sample of Big N clients for the 2000-2007 period, and a scale measure based on percentile rankings of the number of audit clients at the city-industry level, we document significant specialization premiums and scale discounts in both the pre- and post-Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) periods. However, the effects of industry specialization and scale economies on audit pricing are highly interactive. The negative effect of city-industry scale on audit fees obtains only for clients of specialist auditors. By contrast, clients of non-specialist auditors obtain scale discounts only when they enjoy strong bargaining power, suggesting that auditors are "forced" to pass on scale economies to clients with greater bargaining power.

Literacy, technology and the economics of attention

This article is based on a project aimed at generating practical suggestions based on research findings about how new technologies might be used to enhance L1 literacy attainment in disadvantagedsettings. The project involved designing,implementing and researching an innovative approach to curriculum and pedagogy using new digital technologies in language and literacy education within classroom settings involving small groups of "disadvantaged'' learners. The paper reports activity and findings from one of four study sites. It focuses on four Grade 9 boys seen by their teachers as troublemakers and at risk of failing in English. The researchers draw on current conceptual and theoretical work associated with the emergence of an Attention Economy theory to design a collaborative activity around constructing a website, and to identify and analyse positive literacy learning outcomes associated with the pedagogical approach taken. The authors show how this new perspective on attention informs a critique of conventional approaches to school organization and classroom learning, and how it can be used to envisage alternative approaches to understanding and teaching students who display literacy learning difficulties at school.

Local perceptions of sustainability indicators: issues of scale and implications for management

A key factor impacting upon sustainable development are the perceptions people hold of their local social, economic and ecological environment. These perceptions influence how communities fashion the local landscape and in turn help to condition the ways people adapt themselves to their local spatial realities. Implicit in these perceptions are indicators of sustainability that may or may not be integrated across the social, economic and ecological realms. Further, these local indicators may not accord with those adopted at the national or global scale. Accordingly, spatial scale presents a particular set of challenges in identifying appropriate indicators of sustainability. In the same way that aggregated changes at a local scale influence sustainability on a broad scale, national and global externalities profoundly affect perceptions relating to sustainable development at the finest of spatial scales.

This paper focuses on one aspect of the issue of scale in sustainable indicator selection: local perceptions of sustainability. In this paper we report on a survey of perceptions of sustainability conducted across thirty-two sub-catchments in three major catchments in south west Victoria. We sought to uncover what people within each sub-catchment perceived as socially, economically and ecologically sustainable. Responses were compared across sub-catchments to determine whether perceptions at the sub-catchment scale were shared across the region. The results indicate that perceptions of sustainability varied between sub-catchments, which means that perceptions relating to sustainability at the regional scale may mask local trends.

An investigation of scale economies and quality issues in the teaching and management of large subjects

Many in the tertiary education system have had concerns with the issues surrounding the teaching of large classes, including teaching quality and whether there are effective learning outcomes for students. An issue closely related to quality is the cost of providing an efficacious education system. It is a common perception that large classes are economical to run and small subjects are not. As with any complex issue there are several perspectives that could be utilised, the needs of the institution, the teaching staff, the community or the students, and whether or not these needs are being met.

This study aims to assess whether universities are meeting the needs of students in large marketing classes. For this purpose the study investigates the application of selfdetermination theory and psychological needs satisfaction. The basic needs scale, comprising of three constructs; Control, Competence and Caring was adapted and used to evaluate students' perception of an introductory marketing subject.

The study used a multi-method approach consisting of a literature review, a qualitative phase involving in-depth interviews and focus groups. A survey of 366 students who had undertaken an introductory level marketing subject in a large class format was also conducted. The results show that the psychological needs satisfaction of many students are not being fully realised. It was also found that marketing degree students enjoyed the challenges and were more stimulated by the subject (than students in other degree streams). The higher achieving students enjoyed the challenge of the subject more than the lower achieving students. The implications of these findings and suggestions for
further investigation are discussed.

The welfare economics of measuring sustainability: a new approach based on social choice theory and systems analysis

This paper presents a new measure of sustainability within a welfare economics framework. Gross domestic product (GDP) can be used as an indicator of sustainability if the GDP estimates are undertaken within a cost-benefit analysis framework based on social choice perspectives. Sustainability is dependent on a healthy and functioning socio-economic and environmental (SEE) system. Economic development can damage the SEE system through resource degradation, over-harvesting and pollution. This paper addresses the tensions between economic development and sustainability by undertaking a number of SEE-based adjustments to GDP based on social choice perspectives in order to measure sustainability. These adjustments include the environmental and social costs caused by economic development such as water pollution, the depletion of non-renewable resources, and deforestation. Thailand is used as a case study for a 25 year period (1975-1999). The results show a divergence in terms of GDP per capita and the SEE-adjusted GDP per capita figure. The paper concludes that, with increasing environmental and social costs of economic development, pursuing such extreme high growth objectives without due environmental and social considerations can threaten present social welfare and future sustainability. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Meta-regression analysis as the socio-economics of economics research

Meta-regression analysis (MRA) provides an empirical framework through which to integrate disparate economics research results, filter out likely publication selection bias, and explain their wide variation using socio-economic and econometric explanatory variables. In dozens of applications, MRA has found excess variation among reported research findings, some of which is explained by socio-economic variables (e.g., researchers’ gender). MRA can empirically model and test socio-economic theories about economics research. Here, we make two strong claims: socio-economic MRAs, broadly conceived, explain much of the excess variation routinely found in empirical economics research; whereas, any other type of literature review (or summary) is biased.

Advanced technology and economies of scale in the cement industry

The thesis examines sources of economies of scale for the manufacture and distribution of Portland cement. Using cost models, it is shown that recent advances in technology have increased the economies of scale for efficient clinker production significantly, and to a lesser degree for finish grinding operations and bulk distribution.