IE University

About: IE University is a education organization based out in Segovia, Castilla y León, Spain. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Corporate governance & Context (language use). The organization has 527 authors who have published 1709 publications receiving 64682 citations.

Response of the EAA Financial Reporting Standards Committee to the IASB Discussion Paper A Review of the Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting

Abstract: The European Accounting Association (EAA) Financial Reporting Standards Committee (FRSC) provided a response to the International Accounting Standards Board's (IASB's) 2013 Discussion Paper (DP) on completing and revising its Conceptual Framework. The response consisted of a literature-based discussion of the issues raised in the IASB paper and responses to the questions asked. The following paper has omitted the responses to specific questions but otherwise sets out the arguments made to the IASB, together with introductory material to indicate the context. The FRSC paper follows the order of the IASB DP.

Corporate Governance Ratings and Corporate Performance: An Analysis of Governance Metrics International (GMI) ratings of US Firms, 2003 to 2008

Abstract: Since 2003, Governance Metrics International (GMI), the corporate governance research and ratings firm, has produced both home market and global ratings for an increasing number of companies worldwide. GMI’s premise, as stated on its website, is that “companies that emphasize corporate governance and transparency will, over time, generate superior returns and economic performance and lower their cost of capital.” This paper is one of the first attempts to empirically evaluate whether GMI’s governance ratings have any economically significant relationship to future corporate performance. The analysis of GMI's US rated companies evaluates whether this additional source of information relating to the governance of corporations has any relevance for investor decision making and, as claimed by GMI, has the potential to increase shareholder welfare? Our results show that the GMI ratings are statistically significantly related to corporate characteristics, prior performance and to future returns. The results of a portfolio simulation analysis from 2003 to 2008 also shows that the lowly rated GMI portfolios achieved much lower realized returns (and sector-relative returns) than higher rated portfolios. These results strongly suggest that the GMI ratings may be of significant relevance/value for investor decision making.

Immunolocalization of a Cell Wall ß-Galactosidase Reveals its Developmentally Regulated Expression in Cicer arietinum and its Relationship to Vascular Tissue

Abstract: We report the generation of antibodies against a s-galactosidase from Cicer arietinum, sIV-Gal, and the subsequent immunolocalization of the protein in different parts and developmental stages of the plant. The sIV-Gal protein is encoded by the CanBGal-4 gene, which belongs to a family of at least four s-galactosidase genes, transcripts of which were previously reported to be mainly present in seedling epicotyls and plant stem, its transcription pattern being inversely related to elongation rate of these organs. sIV-Gal protein was detected in the cell walls of seedling epicotyls and plant stems. The immunodetection of sIV-Gal protein in the cell wall protein extracts from aged epicotyls and basal stem internodes, both undergoing low rates of elongation, is in agreement with the trend of the CanBGal-4 transcript and indicates a relationship of this cell wall protein with the end of cell elongation. The specific main location of the sIV-Gal protein in vascular tissue of epicotyls and stems and in a layer of sclerenchymatic cells surrounding the vascular cylinder (perivascular fibers) allows us to postulate a function for this s-galactosidase in the modification of cell wall polymers during the development of cells of the vascular system. The localization of the sIV-Gal protein also in the cell walls of collenchyma cells in internodes is consistent with the involvement of sIV-Gal in cell wall modifications that lead to thick cell walls, such as in vascular cells.

Offshoring in a Knowledge Economy

Abstract: How does the formation of cross-country teams affect the organization of work an the structure of wages? To study this question we propose a theory of the assignmenof heterogeneous agents into hierarchical teams, where less skilled agents specialize in production and more skilled agents specialize in problem solving. We first analyze the properties of the competitive equilibrium of the model in a closed economy, and show that the model has a unique and efficient solution. We then study the equilibrium of a two-country model (North and South), where countries differ in their distributions of ability, and in which agents in different countries can join together in teams. We refer to this type of integration as globalization. Globalization leads to better matches for all southern workers but only for the best northern workers. As a result, we show that globalization increases wage inequality in the South but not necessarily in the North. We also study how globalization affects the size distribution of firms and the patterns of consumption and trade in the global economy.