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Farm equipment is becoming an increasingly important financial asset for many farmers. Tractors probably represent the single largest component of equipment asset value. As such, changes in tractor values can have a dramatic effect on a farmer's financial situation. Changes in equipment value can be attributed to depreciation and the value of output produced. The general objective of this study was to identify a specific set of variables explaining changes in equipment value and to determine the relative importance of these variables. The Box-Cox power transformation technique was employed in estimating the depreciation patterns. The method was applied to two different sources of used tractor prices--auction and advertised. Remaining value (RV), defined as the real market price in time t divided by real purchase price, was regressed against several independent variables. These independent variables were age, usage per year, condition, horsepower, manufacturer, regions of the U.S., auction types, and net farm income. A number of these variables were found to have some important impact on RV. Depreciation patterns were found to differ between manufacturers. Significant differences in remaining values (RV) were found to exist for different regions of the U.S. and different auction types. For both auction and advertised data, an increase in usage produces a noticeable decrease in RV. For auction data, however, the level of usage tends to have greater influence on RV when the tractor is newer. The results did not closely approximate any clear depreciation pattern. The depreciation patterns are accelerated relative to straight-line method and are a combination of the geometric and sum-of-the-year's digits functions. The RV model was used to examine optimal replacement ages for farm tractors. Annual usage levels had the most influence on the age at which tractors were replaced. Expensing and some tax law changes had a less significant impact. / Graduation date: 1989

A Research Report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts, Applied Ethics for Professionals Johannesburg, 2016 / In this research report I will be investigating whether companies have an obligation to shareholders or a wider group of stakeholders. If they have an obligation to a wider group of stakeholders, then the question is whether planned obsolescence is an ethical practice that should inform their business and what the role is of ethical leaders in addressing problems such as job losses, environmental damage and conspicuous consumption that result from planned obsolescence. As part of my attempt to answer the research question I will discuss the evolution of views regarding business and the profit motive in relation to shareholders, the multi-fiduciary model, the enlightened shareholder approach and the inclusive stakeholder approach. I will then focus on planned obsolescence as a pervasive business practice and what circumstances morally justify negative consequences which are weighed against the positive effects. Finally, I will propose ethical solutions to the issues raised around planned obsolescence, aimed at achieving specific benefits whilst also limiting the negativity introduced by planned obsolescence. / GR2017

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 187-200).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1966. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 187-200) Also available in print.

Economic regulation of business activities appears to be contrary to the philosophy of free enterprise. It can be justified only if it is imposed as a means to serve the public interest - to enhance the economic welfare of society - when the self interest of the producer is likely to prove harmful to the general interest of society. Public utilities are enterprises which have to be regulated in the interest of society and particularly the rates they may charge. In the regulation of utility rates, cost is often accepted as the proper basis for fixing the rates. Among the costs of rendering a utility service is the cost associated with the use of a capital asset, that is, depreciation expense. There are various bases on which depreciation expense is computed. Thus, there arises the problem of selecting a proper basis for determining the depreciation expense that is consistent with the purpose of rate regulation. An examination of current literature suggested that there is a case, on theoretical grounds, for adopting the current replacement cost approach to depreciation accounting when the purpose of fixing a utility rate is to serve the interest of society. The case appears strong when a marginal-cost standard is accepted for rate regulation since, under the assumption of continuity of operations, the cost of replacing the services of a capital asset is the long-run marginal (opportunity) cost of employing the asset in the enterprise; thus, a rate that is fixed on the basis of current replacement cost will promote optimum allocation of resources in the economy. Even if a "full-cost" standard is employed in the regulation of utility rates, there is still a case for determining depreciation expense on the basis of current replacement cost. A utility rate that is fixed on this basis is more comparable to the price charged in the non-utility sector of the economy and, thus, promotes better allocation of resources between the utility sector and the rest of the economy. It also provides the enterprise an opportunity to maintain intact its productive capacity if this is in the interest of society; for the ability of the enterprise to continue production in the future will not be impaired. It is recognized that there are practical problems associated with the application of the proposal to a real life situation. However, they are not insurmountable. They appear no greater than the problems associated with the use of reproduction cost new - a concept which has been applied in practice in the history of rate regulation. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate

M.S.

This paper will analyze the usefulness of depreciation expense to investors. Depreciation expense is a broad allocation accounting practice that treats different types of assets the same. I argue that there are two types of industries: those with wasting assets, and those with real property. The first type experiences true deprecation and deterioration while the second type of asset does not. A simplified model using the earnings response coefficient will measure the relationship between earnings and returns for these different industries; this measurement is a way to quantify usefulness of accounting information. I hypothesize that investors of companies with high wasting assets will find depreciation more useful than those invested in companies with more real property. However, the results were not consistent with my hypothesis – depreciation did not matter more to investors of the industry with high wasting assets. The data set only included two distinct industries, which limited the sample size considerably, and might explain the results. Alternatively, the two groups of assets could be defined more broadly to include more industries for future research.