Centralised versus decentralised subnational debt and soft budget constraint: evidence from China

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiyong An ◽  
Yilin Hou
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Group ◽  
Causal Effect ◽  
Budget Constraint ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Soft Budget Constraint ◽  
Difference In Differences ◽  
Provincial Level ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Budgetary Expenditure ◽  
Subnational Governments

This article examines the causal effect of debt decentralisation on the budget constraint of subnational governments. China’s debt decentralisation reform of 2011 authorised four provincial-level units to issue debt on their own, but not the remaining ones. Using data on the budgetary expenditure and revenue of Chinese subnational governments from 2009 to 2014, we estimate the effect of the reform with a difference-in-differences approach, with those four provincial units as the treatment group and the others as the control group. Our findings suggest that debt decentralisation can help harden the budget constraint of subnational governments.

Did the PCAOB's Restrictions on Auditors' Tax Services Improve Audit Quality?

2015 ◽  
Vol 91 (5) ◽  
pp. 1493-1512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clive S. Lennox
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Group ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Auditor Independence ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Difference In Differences ◽  
Significant Drop ◽  
Going Concern ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT In 2005–2006, the PCAOB imposed restrictions on auditors' tax services in order to strengthen auditor independence and improve audit quality. The restrictions resulted in a significant drop in auditor-provided tax services (APTS). To test the impact on audit quality, I partition the sample into a treatment group (companies whose APTS purchases dropped significantly when the restrictions were introduced) and a control group (companies whose APTS purchases were relatively unaffected) and I measure audit quality using the incidence of accounting misstatements, tax-related misstatements, and auditors' going-concern opinions. Using a difference-in-differences design, I find no change in audit quality for the treatment group relative to the control group after the restrictions are imposed.

scholarly journals Assessment Of Efficacy of Lab-Based Learning In Enhancing Critical Thinking And Creative Thinking Among Learners

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-29
Author(s):  
Dipesh Karki ◽  
Roshee Lamichhane
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Treatment Group ◽  
Creative Thinking ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Difference In Differences ◽  
Standard Difference ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
Critical And Creative Thinking

Abstract With technological innovations happening at workplaces, 21st century organizations demand competencies in thinking creatively and critically. These two skills will potentially help prospective employees become confident individuals, concerned citizens, self-directed learners, and active professionals. In this context, it becomes imperative to overhaul the lecture-based and banking model of the traditional pedagogical approach in order to impart such skills among undergraduate and graduate students. To address this issue, a lab-based teaching-learning method focused on problem-solving and design thinking was introduced at OAMK Labs in Finland. This study assesses the efficacy of lab-based learning in enhancing creativity and critical thinking among students from engineering, management, and science backgrounds of Kathmandu University, Nepal. The study was conducted in a workshop setting using a randomized control trial (RCT) where participants were divided into control and treatment groups. Participants in treatment group took part in a design thinking workshop that applied lab-based learning pedagogy, while those in the control group were given some reading material on improving creativity and critical thinking. Standard tests on both critical and creative thinking in a pre- and post-stages were administered to both groups. Data was analyzed using standard Difference-in-Differences technique. The results showed that while the level of critical thinking improved significantly, among the learners in treatment group alone, the creativity level in the post-stage increased significantly among learners in both groups. Results validated the efficacy of lab-based teaching-learning in addressing the need for critical and creative thinking skills among learners. Keywords: critical thinking, creativity, lab based learning, innovation, higher education, Difference-in-Differences

Industry-Specific Knowledge Transfer in Audit Firms: Evidence from Audit Firm Mergers in China

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xianjie He ◽  
S.P. Kothari ◽  
Tusheng Xiao ◽  
Luo Zuo
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Group ◽  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Specific Knowledge ◽  
Difference In Differences ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
Financial Misstatements ◽  
Different Levels

Using a difference-in-differences approach, we examine the effect of industry-specific knowledge transfer on audit performance after a merger of two Chinese audit firms with different levels of expertise in an industry. For clients in an industry audited by both merging audit firms, those audited by the audit firm less specialized in that industry belong to the treatment group, while all other clients belong to the control group. We find an economically-significant improvement in audit quality (as reflected in a reduction in financial misstatements) for the treatment group relative to the control group in the same merged audit firm. We show that the treatment effect is not driven by changes in auditor incentives or personnel movement and is more pronounced when we expect stronger communication between the less and more specialized auditors after the merger. We caution that our findings are specific to China and may not generalize to other countries.

Sales Representative Departures and Customer Reassignment Strategies in Business-to-Business Markets

2017 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huanhuan Shi ◽  
Shrihari Sridhar ◽  
Rajdeep Grewal ◽  
Gary Lilien
Keyword(s):  
Causal Effect ◽  
Fortune 500 ◽  
Economic Consequences ◽  
Sales Representative ◽  
Past Performance ◽  
Difference In Differences ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Business To Business ◽  
Industry Experience ◽  
New Hires

When a sales representative (rep) leaves a business-to-business firm, a crucial link with the rep's customers becomes severed. The firm reassigns those customers to different sales reps (either existing reps or new hires) in a manner that mitigates potential sales losses. What causal effect do sales rep departures have on customer-level revenue, and which sales rep replacement strategies are more effective? Using data from a Fortune 500 firm and a difference-in-differences analysis with correction for selection bias, the authors show that sales rep transitions lead to 13.2%–17.6% losses in annual sales. New hires are less effective than existing sales reps in mitigating sales losses. Existing sales reps who are similar (vs. dissimilar) to the departing reps (in terms of past industry experience) are more effective in mitigating sales losses; however, reps with high past performance do not exhibit greater efficacy for mitigating sales losses than reps with average or low past performance. The analysis presents means to quantify the economic consequences of losing a sales rep and to determine how to reassign customers to sales reps according to the resulting economic impact.

Available study time and undergraduate student exam performance

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-35
Author(s):  
Shahar Sansani ◽  
Afik Rahamim
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Group ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Point Estimate ◽  
Exam Performance ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Difference In Differences ◽  
Final Exam ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Final Exams

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to determine whether the number of lecture-free and exam-free days before a final exam affects students’ scores overall and by gender.Design/methodology/approachThe paper exploits scheduling differences in final exams between two groups of students who take identical final exams. The treatment group and the control group have similar exam spacing for one “early exam,” but the treatment group has four additional days between exams for another “later exam,” allowing for a difference-in-differences analysis. A survey of contemporary students is conducted to complement the empirical results.FindingsOverall, there are no statistically significant differences in the grades on the exams between the control group and the group that had four more study days. When examined by gender, the point estimate on females is large in magnitude but statistically insignificant at conventional levels (p-value=0.087).Research limitations/implicationsThe study uses data on undergraduate students studying economics in Israel. More research in other contexts is needed to determine the robustness of the findings.Originality/valueThis is the first paper to study the effect of the number of days students have between final exams on student final exam scores. The results can aid in determining optimal final exam schedules.

scholarly journals Matching With Multiple Control Groups With Adjustment for Group Differences

2008 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 279-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Stuart ◽  
Donald B. Rubin
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Group ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Causal Effects ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Group Effect ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Multiple Control ◽  
School Drop Out ◽  
Using Data

When estimating causal effects from observational data, it is desirable to approximate a randomized experiment as closely as possible. This goal can often be achieved by choosing a subsample from the original control group that matches the treatment group on the distribution of the observed covariates. However, sometimes the original control group cannot provide adequate matches for the treatment group. This article presents a method to obtain matches from multiple control groups. In addition to adjusting for differences in observed covariates between the groups, the method adjusts for a group effect that distinguishes between the control groups. This group effect captures the additional otherwise unobserved differences between the control groups, beyond that accounted for by the observed covariates. The method is illustrated and evaluated using data from an evaluation of a school drop-out prevention program that uses matches from both local and nonlocal control groups.

scholarly journals Metro station inauguration, housing prices, and transportation accessibility: Tehran case study

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 537-561
Author(s):  
Yekta Yazdanifard ◽  
Hosein Joshaghani ◽  
Masoud Talebian
Keyword(s):  
Public Transportation ◽  
Causal Effect ◽  
Housing Prices ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Metro Station ◽  
Ex Ante ◽  
Residential Properties ◽  
Transportation Accessibility ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Positive Effect

The opening of a new metro station, as a mode of the transportation corridor, potentially could have different effects on housing prices. We have investigated its effect on the value of residential properties around those stations, using data from large expansions of the metro network in Tehran, Iran. In the period of our study (April 2010 to December 2018), forty-five metro stations were inaugurated in Tehran. We use a difference-in-difference regression method to identify the causal effect of interest, where adjacent properties are used as the treatment group and similar but distant properties as the control group. The results indicate that, on average, the adjacent properties are affected by a 3.7 percent increase in price relative to distant properties. We also extend our study by categorizing new metro stations according to the extent of ex-ante access to other modes of public transportation such as bus rapid transit (BRT). We find 2 to 11 percent positive effect of new metro stations in regions with lower public transport, while in regions with ex-ante extensive public transportation system, we find less than 2 percent positive effect.

scholarly journals Did the Introduction of Securities Margin Trading Decrease China’s A-Share Market Volatility?

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maoguo Wu ◽  
Hanyang Zhang ◽  
Kwok-Leung Tam
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Group ◽  
Natural Experiment ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Market Volatility ◽  
Securities Market ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Securities Markets ◽  
Difference In Differences ◽  
Underlying Stocks ◽  
A Share

Securities margin trading is a form of credit trading that is used extensively in mature securities markets. With the rapid development of its securities market, China introduced securities margin trading to its A-share market on 31st March 2010 for the purpose of reducing A-share market volatility. Owing to the fact that the introduction of securities margin trading in 2010 only applied to part of the A-share transaction targets, it can be treated as a natural experiment. This paper uses difference-in-differences analysis to investigate whether the introduction of securities margin trading in 2010 decreased China’s A-share market volatility. By selecting 50 underlying stocks of securities margin trading as a ‘treatment group’ and 50 non-underlying stocks as a ‘control group’, this paper utilizes a panel dataset comprising 100 stocks for the period 31st March 2009 – 31st March 2011. Results indicate that the introduction of securities margin trading in 2010 significantly decreased China’s A-share market volatility. In conclusion, this paper recommends that China reduces the barriers and transaction costs of securities margin trading, extends the supply of underlying stocks for securities lending, and enhances the capital supply of margin trading.

A Newspaper’s Effect on the Strength of Automatic Associations in Memory

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian Arendt
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Group ◽  
Term Effect ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Implicit Measure ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Short Term Treatment ◽  
Short Term Effect ◽  
Automatic Associations ◽  
Foreign Nationality ◽  
The Impact

A test was done to see if reading a newspaper which consistently overrepresents foreigners as criminals strengthens the automatic association between foreign country and criminal in memory (i.e., implicit cultivation). Further, an investigation was done to find out if reading articles from the same newspaper produces a short-term effect on the same measure and if (1) emotionalization of the newspaper texts, (2) emotional reactions of the reader (indicated by arousal), and (3) attributed text credibility moderate the short-term treatment effect. Eighty-five participants were assigned to one of three experimental conditions. Participants in the control group received short factual crime texts, where the nationality of the offender was not mentioned. Participants in the factual treatment group received the same texts, but the foreign nationality was mentioned. Participants in the emotionalized treatment group received emotionalized articles (i.e., texts which are high in vividness and frequency) covering the same crimes, with the foreign nationality mentioned. Supporting empirical evidence for implicit cultivation and a short-term effect was found. However, only emotionalized articles produced a short-term effect on the strength of the automatic association, indicating that newspaper texts must have a minimum of stimulus intensity to overcome an effect threshold. There were no moderating effects of arousal or credibility pertaining to the impact on the implicit measure. However, credibility moderated the short-term effect on a first-order judgment (i.e., estimated frequency of foreigners of all criminals). This indicates that a newspaper’s effect on the strength of automatic associations is relatively independent from processes of propositional reasoning.

Perbandingan Efek Suplementasi Tablet Tambah Darah Dengan Dan Tanpa Vitamin C Terhadap Kadar Hemoglobin Pada Ibu Hamil Dengan Usiakehamilan 16-32 Minggu Di Desa Keniten Kecamatan Mojo Kabupaten Kediri

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 76
Author(s):  
Siti Asiyah ◽  
Dwi Estuning Rahayu ◽  
Wiranti Dwi Novita Isnaeni
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Group ◽  
Vitamin C ◽  
Gestational Age ◽  
Group Treatment ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Hemoglobin Level ◽  
The Body ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Fetal Organ ◽  
And Control

The needed of Iron Tablet in pregnancy was increase than mother who not pregnant.  That  cause of  high metabolism at the pregnancy for formed of  fetal organ and energy. One of effort for prevent anemia in mother pregnant with giving the Iron tablet and vitamin c. The reason of  this research in 4 June – 11 July 2014 is for compare the effect of  iron tablet suplementation with and without vitamin C toward Hemoglobin level in mother pregnant With Gestational Age Of 16-32 Weeks In Desa Keniten Kecamatan Mojo Kabupaten Kediri. This research method using comparative analytical.  Research design type of Quasy Eksperiment that have treatment group and control group. Treatment group will giving by Iron tablet and 100 mg vitamin C, and control group just giving by iron tablet during 21 days. Population in this research are all of mother pregnant with Gestational Age Of 16-32 Weeks with Sampling technique is  cluster random sampling is 29 mother pregnant. Comparison analysis of  iron tablet suplementation effect with and without vitamin C toward Hemoglobin level in mother pregnant With Gestational Age Of 16-32 Weeks, data analysis using Mann Whitney U-test and the calculated U value (44,5) less than U-table (51). So there was difference of iron tablet suplementation effect with and without vitamin C toward Hemoglobin level in mother pregnant With Gestational Age Of 16-32 Weeks Therefore, the addition of vitamin C on iron intake is needed to increase the uptake of iron tablets. When the amount of iron uptake increases, the reserves of iron in the body will also increase, so as to prevent anemia in pregnant women; Keywords : Iron Tablet (Fe), Vitamin C, Hemoglobin level, Mother Pregnant

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