Over the last two decades, share repurchases have emerged as the dominant payout channel, offering a more flexible means of returning excess cash to investors. However, little is known about the costs associated with payout-related financial flexibility. Using a unique identification strategy, we document a significant cost. We find that actual repurchase investments underperform hypothetical investments that mechanically smooth repurchase dollars through time by approximately two percentage points per year on average. This cost of financial flexibility is correlated with earnings management, managerial entrenchment, and less institutional monitoring. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

This study investigates the determinants and effects of voluntary book-tax difference (BTD) disclosures in earnings releases. Unlike prior studies, I find no evidence that managers are more likely to voluntarily disclose BTD information when firms have low earnings quality. I also find that managers are more likely to disclose BTD information when firms have large negative but not large positive BTDs. Because BTDs are particularly informative when earnings quality is low and when book income significantly exceeds taxable income (i.e., large positive BTDs), these results suggest that managers selectively disclose BTD information in earnings releases. Interestingly, I also find that managers are more willing to disclose BTD information when tax avoidance activities are high. This result suggests that managers are willing to bear some taxrelated disclosure costs to reassure investors that BTDs are not due to aggressive financial reporting. Prior research provides evidence of a systematic association between BTDs computed using required 10-K tax disclosures and future forecast errors and stock returns. I provide evidence that voluntary BTD disclosures attenuate the association between BTDs and future forecast errors. I also provide limited evidence that voluntary BTD disclosures attenuate the association between BTDs and future stock returns. These results suggest that voluntary BTD disclosures help analysts and investors impound BTD information into earnings forecasts and stock prices. / text

The benefits of a good education are numerous; it not only offers knowledge and power to individuals, but also enables them to lead the life they wish to; and to benefit both their own family and country. Education has a positive impact on the development of a country. An educated society can eradicate poverty, illiteracy and unemployment, and help in the improvement of the health care standards, the political structures, and the national productivity. The contribution of education in this development process is evident and easily recognized. Many studies show that investments in education generate benefits for people (private benefits) and society (social benefits), similar to those of the physical capital investments. Due to the important role that education plays in the development of human capital, in order to conduct the process of development in developing countries, to achieve their growth aims, significant attention should be placed on studying human capital investment accumulation through the means of the rate of return on education (RORE). So far, numerous economists and researchers have attempted to estimate the RORE for the purpose of observing the efficiency of educational spending and resource allocation (see Psacharopoulos, 1973, 1980, 1985, 1994, 2002, and 2004), in order to be able to analyse the output of the educational process on the economy. The estimation of the rate of return on education (RORE) can help in describing different phenomena, such as the following: employees of the public sector benefiting greatly from higher earnings as compared to the employees of the private sector working in the same capacity; the observed difference in the attendance between males and females to complete their education; the large demand for 'easy-discipline', 'aversion‘ (sub) specialties and the high rate of dropouts from school by males. The research problem of this thesis is that there has been a lack of information regarding estimating the RORE in high income petroleum-based developing countries, such as Kuwait, as most of the existing research has not accurately differentiated between low and high income developing nations. The aim of this research is to clarify the influencing variables and factors affecting the investment on education and their relationships by identifying these factors. This study endeavours to develop a framework based on the RORE model and to verify it by estimating the rate of return in high-income petroleum based economies in developing countries, and in this context, data is acquired from Kuwait to verify it, as a case study. The results of the employed regression model show positive and economically significant parameters for return on education and a negative return for extra years of experience. The estimated rate of return for females is relatively higher than males. The average estimated rate of return to education is 5.2%; with the estimated return for females being 6.7%; and for males 5.5%. On the other hand, by expanding the model to include the 'level of education‘ terms, the results show the highest return for primary education and lowest for intermediate and diploma education. Results indicate also that the highest rates of return on education for females occur in high school, whereas for males in bachelor-level higher education.

This thesis addresses to what extent childhood family composition – the number of siblings and whether the parents live together, or whether there are non-parental adults and/or half-siblings in the household or not – contributes to variations in adult earnings. The theoretical perspective suggests that resources mediate the effect. While research has shown that siblings, as well as divorce and remarriage, are negatively linked to child outcomes, there are inconsistencies in previous literature. There has been debate over the unconfoundedness of previous studies, something that is handled here by analyzing large sets of representative data using a robust parameter. The longitudinal dataset used is based on Swedish administrative data and the cohorts analyzed are born in the beginning of the 1970s. The data structure is well suited for the assumptions underlying the semi-parametric method propensity score matching. The findings show that family size impacts on adult earnings. However, this is not always of concern. For example, no effect of siblings is found in affluent families, and if siblings are closely spaced this results in better outcomes for children. Divorce and remarriage do not seem to lower the future earnings of children. Thus, this thesis shows that some of the most well-established patterns in the sociology of the family, namely the link between number of siblings and adult earnings, and between divorce/family re-formation and adult earnings, can be broken by resources.

This research examines whether firms managed earnings in the year they adopted SFAS 109, Accounting for Income Taxes (or its predecessor SFAS 96), by combining the choice to adopt SFAS 109 with other accounting choices in an interdependent rather than independent manner. Prior literature generally analyzes only one specific accounting choice, assuming that the decision is independent of other accounting procedure choices. However, it is unlikely that managers act in this manner. When attempting to achieve certain income goals, managers have numerous accounting tools available to them including the choice of accounting procedures and the exercise of judgment as to accrual amounts. This study investigates five choices consisting of: (1) the adoption of SFAS 109/96; (2) the adoption of SFAS 106; (3) the reporting of a restructuring of operations and/or a write-down of assets; (4) the reporting of asset sales; and (5) the choice of discretionary accruals. The study adopts both a portfolio and joint decision approach. The portfolio approach combines the earnings effects of the five choices into a single dependent variable and tests income smoothing, big bath, and debt hypotheses. The joint decision approach utilizes simultaneous equation methodology to investigate the interdependence of the five choices and the independent variables. The portfolio approach findings provide evidence that firms used the combined effect of the five accounting choices to smooth income in the year they adopted FAS 109/96. The results also provide support for the debt hypothesis but do not support the big bath hypothesis. The joint decision approach findings provide evidence that firms jointly determined at least two of the five accounting choices. The strong support for the income smoothing hypothesis under the portfolio approach combined with the joint significance of the individual accounting choices in the simultaneous equations suggests that firms use a multitude of accounting choices to manage earnings and that some of those decisions are made jointly, not independently.

We examine the phenomenon of firms that distribute dividends in excess of reported earnings, that is, 'unsustainable dividend-payers' in the Swedish market. Our hypothesis is that these firms will experience lower abnormal returns compared to their counterparts in both short and long term. With a dataset of 2061 observations from Nasdaq Stockholm and Nordic Growth Market during the period 1999-2017, we find that the abnormal returns are higher for unsustainable dividend-payers in the short term, while in the long run the result is on the opposite. Moreover, we find that the larger the difference between dividends paid and reported earnings, the higher the short-run abnormal returns but the lower the long-run abnormal returns to shareholders. Our results are robust to controlling for influences of other events on announcement dates and alternative measurement for model parameter, though not unambiguous. This study contributes to broadening the area of unsustainable dividends, which is perceived as a hot topic. It may be of interest to both individuals and institutions, who often have a longer-term perspective on their investments.

This study examines gender differences in the choice to become self-employed in Chile,focusing especially on the influence of the predicted earnings differential between selfemploymentand wage-employment. By estimating selectivity adjusted incomeequations, earnings in both sectors are predicted for each individual and the difference isused as an explanatory variable in a probit model where the dependent variable measuresself-employment status. The results show that men respond positively to the earningsdifferential whereas women respond negatively, indicating that the female choice ismostly influenced by push factors. It is also found that having small children has animportant effect on women in particular. Lastly, a comparison between employers andown-account workers shows that employers are more uniform across genders than ownaccountworkers. Due to a possibly inadequate identification strategy, these results shouldhowever be viewed with caution.

This essay studies the earnings, human and ethnic capital of immigrants in Sweden and how its transmitted across generations. it focuses on the first-, second-, and third-generation immigrants, were the results indicates that there are differences regarding earnings relative to natives between the generations and how the ethnic-, and human-capital is transmitted across generations. First-generation immigrants had an earning advantage relative to natives, meanwhile the second-, and third-generation faced a disadvantage. One conclusion is that the ethnic capital from the first-generation has a negative impact on the earnings of second-, and third-generation immigrants in Sweden. When measuring the ethnic capital from the second-generation immigrants, the results shows a positive influence on the earnings of the third-generation.

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo analisar os diferenciais de salários das pessoas empregadas em atividades classificadas como agrícola pelo IBGE, com base nos dados individuais da PNAD de 2005. Busca-se verificar as diferenças de salários para uma mesma atividade agrícola, e entre as diversas atividades agrícolas, de forma a identificar quais são as variáveis que determinam o comportamento dos salários nessas atividades, tais como cor, sexo, educação, idade, região geográfica, entre outros. Além disso, estima-se o efeito de interações entre as regiões e as atividades agrícolas, bem como o efeito de interações entre o nível de escolaridade e a região de referência. As equações de salários ajustadas para os quatro primeiros modelos, os quais permitem mostrar os diferenciais de salários entre as diversas atividades agrícolas, mostram que os efeitos das interações entre escolaridade e região e das interações entre as regiões e atividades agrícolas pouco afetam as estimativas dos coeficientes das variáveis idade, número de horas trabalhadas na semana, sexo, posição na ocupação, categoria do emprego e cor. A variável cor, por sua vez, não tem um efeito relevante na explicação dos diferenciais de salários nas atividades agrícolas, como ocorre em outros setores da economia. Observa-se também que o principal condicionante do salário é o número de horas trabalhadas por semana, superando até mesmo a contribuição da região, atividade, ocupação, escolaridade, sexo e cor. Os retornos específicos a cada nível educacional no quarto modelo mostram que o efeito da educação sobre os salários se torna muito mais intenso a partir de 11 anos de escolaridade, onde ocorre um salto brusco na declividade da função. A análise dos diferenciais salariais para uma mesma atividade agrícola, ou seja, para as atividades cultivo de milho, cultivo de cana-de-açúcar, cultivo de soja e criação de bovinos, mostra novamente a importância da variável número de horas trabalhadas por semana, principalmente para as atividades cultivo de milho e criação de bovinos. Os resultados obtidos para a atividade cultivo de soja mostram que a variável escolaridade é tão importante quanto a variável região para explicar as diferenças de salários nessa atividade. Por outro lado, no cultivo de cana-de-açúcar, a variável categoria do emprego é a que apresenta a maior contribuição marginal na parcela explicada pelos salários. / The aim of this research is to analyze wages differentials of persons employed in activities classified as agricultural by the IBGE, based on the individual data of the PNAD 2005. Search to verify wages differentials for the same agricultural activity, and among different agricultural activities, in order to identify what are the variables that determine the behavior of wages in these activities, such as color (race), gender, schooling, age, geographic region, among others. Moreover, it is estimated the effect of interactions between regions and agricultural activities, as well as the effect of interactions between the level of schooling and the region of reference. The earnings equations adjusted for the first four models, which allow to show wages differentials of among different agricultural activities, show that the effects of interactions between schooling and region and the interactions between regions and agricultural activities don\'t have strong effects on the estimates of the coefficients of the variables age, weekly working time, sex, position in the occupation, category of employment and color (race). The variable color, in turn, doesn\'t have a relevant effect on the explanation of the wages differentials in agricultural activities, as occurs in others sectors of the economy. It is also observed that the main conditioner of the salary is weekly working time, dominating the contribution of the region, activity, occupation, schooling, sex and color. The specific returns to each educational level in the fourth model shows that the effect of education on wages becomes more intense from 11 years of schooling, when a sudden jump in the slope of the function occurs. The analysis of wages differentials by agricultural activity, in other words, for the production activities of maize, sugar cane, soybeans and livestock shows again the importance of the variable weekly working time, mainly for the activities production of maize and livestock. The results for soybean production show that the variable education is as important as the variable region to explain wages differentials in this activity. Furthermore, in sugar cane production the variable category of employment is the one that presents the largest marginal contribution in the share explained by wages.

É marcante a relevância que assumiu a indústria de Private Equity ao longo da última década no Brasil. Este trabalho estuda a indústria brasileira de Private Equity por meio da analise da qualidade de lucros medida pelo reconhecimento oportuno de perdas (conservadorismo) e o endividamento das empresas investidas que fizeram uma IPO (Initial Public Offering) na bolsa brasileira no ano de 2007. A primeira hipótese conjectura que as empresas investidas por fundos de Private Equity no Brasil possuem mais qualidade de lucros em relação às não investidas, enquanto que a hipótese secundária estabelece que as empresas que obtiveram aporte de capital proveniente de fundos de Private Equity, no Brasil, são menos endividadas do que as que não obtiveram este tipo de aporte. Com base no trabalho de Ball e Shivakumar (2005) e utilizando-se das adaptações de Beuselinck et al. (2009) e Katz (2009), são utilizados modelos para testar o reconhecimento oportuno de perdas. Os resultados sugerem que, conforme os achados internacionais, as empresas investidas por fundos de Private Equity têm comportamento mais conservador, mas que se endividam menos do que as não investidas. O argumento da maior eficiência contratual dos credores com sua demanda por conservadorismo parece não ter relação com as sugestões de reconhecimento oportuno de perdas por parte das empresas financiadas por fundos de Private Equity, o que, por conseguinte, poderia sugerir que os Limited Partners (investidores desses fundos) e as preocupações reputacionais pelas quais as gestoras passam, direcionariam, realmente, uma demanda por uma qualidade de lucros maior indicando que esses seriam motivadores do reconhecimento oportuno de perdas, conservadorismo condicional buscando reduzir a probabilidade de comportamentos oportunistas de gestores e gestoras e de expropriação de credores, investidores. / The relevance that the Private Equity industry assumed in Brazil in the last decade is remarkable. The present work studies the Brazilian Private Equity industry by analyzing earnings quality by the timely loss recognition, conservatism, and the leverage of the companies that make an IPO (Initial Public Offering) at the Brazilian stock exchange, Bovespa, in 2007. The first hypothesis conjectures that companies backed by Private Equity in Brazil have more earnings quality than the non-Private Equity backed companies. The second hypothesis conjectures that the Private Equity backed companies, in Brazil, are less leveraged than non-Private Equity backed. Based on Ball and Shivakumar (2005) models, the adaptations on Beuselinck et al. (2009) and Katz (2009) are used to measure timely loss recognition. The results suggest that in Brazil, as in international studies, Private Equity backed companies are more conservative but less leveraged. The argument that the bigger contractual efficiency of the creditors with their demand for conservatism seems to not have relation with the suggestions of timely loss recognition by the invested companies could suggest that Limited Partners (Private Equity investors) and the reputational concerns that the investment houses are exposed, could really create an demand for more earnings quality, showing that this could be a driver to timely loss recognition, conditional conservatism, to reduce the probability of creditors and investors expropriation and investment houses managers and fund managers opportunistic behaviors.