BA532: PhD Seminar in Accounting Theory

Fall 2009, Fuqua

 

Instructor

Qi Chen

Office

A438

email

qc2@duke.edu

Phone

919-660-7753

 

Schedule: (location: Fuqua DeSanctis Seminar Room)

 

Class #

Date

Day

Time

1

8-25-2009

Tuesday

6:00-9:00pm

2

8-28-2009

Friday

1:30-4:30pm

3

9-1-2009

Tuesday

6:00-9:00pm

4

10-6-2009

Tuesday

6:00-9:00pm

5

10-9-2009

Friday

1:30-4:30pm

6

10-13-2009

Tuesday

6:00-9:00pm

7

10-20-2009

Tuesday

6:00-9:00pm

8

10-23-2009

Friday

1:30-4:30pm

9

10-27-2009

Tuesday

6:00-9:00pm

10

10-30-2009

Friday

1:30-4:30pm

11

11-3-2009

Tuesday

6:00-9:00pm

12

12-4-2009

Friday

1:30-4:30pm

 

 

Reading List and Class Outline for Fall 2009

Stole’s Note on Contract Theory

 

 Class 1-3: Mechanism Design

 

*Chapters 2-3 of Laffont and Martimort (intuitive, 2 type cases; read before Stole).

*Chapter 2.1, 2.2.1-2.2.5 of Stole’s Note

 

Application:

 

Chen, Q. 2003. “Cooperation in the Budgeting Process.” Journal of Accounting Research 41(5).

 

Kanodia, C. and D. Lee. 1998. “Investment and Disclosure: The Disciplinary Role of Periodic Performance Reports.” Journal of Accounting Research 36(1): 33-55.

 

Riley, J. 2001. “Silver Signals: twenty-five years of screening and signaling” Journal of Economic Literature, June 2001, 432-478.

 

Chen, Q., T. Lewis and Y. Zhang. 2009. “Selective Disclosure of Public Information: Who Needs to Know?” Duke University working paper

 

 

Class 4-11: Moral Hazard

 

*Chapter 1.1.1, Stole’s Note

 

*Holmstrom, B.R. 1979. “Moral Hazard and ObservabilityBell Journal of Economics, Spring.

 

*Milgrom, Paul. 1981, “Good News and Bad News: Representation Theorems and Applications,” The Bell Journal of Economics 12, Autumn, 380-391.

 

Rogerson, W. 1985. “The First-Order Approach to Principal-Agent Problems,” Econometrica.

 

Jewitt, I. 1988. “Justifying the First-Order Approach to Principal-Agent Problems.” Econometrica.


Kim, S. 1995. “Efficiency of an Information System in an Agency Model.” Econometrica 63: 89-102.

 

Moral Hazard in Teams:

 

*Holmstrom, B. 1982. “Moral Hazard in Teams”, The Bell Journal of Economics, Autumn.

 

Hermalin, B. 1998. “Toward an Economic Theory of Leadership: Leading by Example.” American Economic Review 88: 1188-1206.

 

Li, H. 2001, “A Theory of Conservatism,” Journal of Political Economy 109: 617-636.

 

Moral Hazard Extension I: the LEN model and its application

 

*Holmstrom, B. and P. Milgrom. 1991. “Multi-Task Principal-Agent Analyses: Incentive Contracts, Asset Ownership and Job Design,” Journal of Law, Economics & Organization 7.

 

Holmstrom, B. and P. Milgrom. 1987. “Aggregation and Linearity in the Provision of Intertemporal Incentives,” Econometrica: 303-328.

 

Moral Hazard Extension II: performance measurement

 

*Baker, George P. 1992, “Incentive Contracts and Performance Measurement,” Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 100, 598-614.

 

*Banker, R. and S. Datar. 1989. “Sensitivity, Precision, and Linear Aggregation of Signals for Performance Evaluation,” Journal of Accounting Research 27 (1): 21-39.

 

Feltham, G. and Xie, J. 1994. “Performance Measure Congruity and Diversity in Multi-Task Principal/Agent Relations,” The Accounting Review: 429-453.

 

 S. Datar, Kulp, S., and R. Lambert. 2001. “Balancing Performance Measures,” Journal of Accounting Research, Vol. 39, 75-92.

 

Career concerns model

 

 

*Holmstrom, B. 1999. “Managerial Incentives Problems – A Dynamic Perspective,” Review of Economic Studies 66: 169-182.

 

Holmstrom, B. and J. Ricart i Costa. 1986. “Managerial Incentives and Capital Management.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 55: 303-328.

 

Gibbons, R. and K. Murphy. 1992. “Optimal incentive contracts in the presence of career concerns.” Journal of Political Economy 100: 468-505.

 

Meyer, M. and J. Vickers (1997), “Performance Comparisons and Dynamic Incentives,” Journal of Political Economy 105: 547-581.

 

Indjejikian, R., and D. J. Nanda (1999). “Dynamic Incentives and Responsibility Accounting,” Journal of Accounting and Economics 27: 177-201.

 

Other signal jamming type of model

 

Chen, Q., T. Hemmer and Y. Zhang. 2006. “On the Relation Between Conservatism in Accounting Standards and Incentives for Earnings Management.”  Journal of Accounting Research.

 

Stein, J. 1989. “Efficient Capital Markets, Inefficient Firms: A model of myopic corporate behavior,” Quarterly Journal of Economics 104(4): 655-669.

 

Ron, Dye. 2002. “Classifications Manipulation and Nash Accounting Standards.” Journal of Accounting Research 40: 1125-62.

 

 

Information gathering effort

 

*Prendergast, C. 1993. “A Theory of the ‘Yes Men’”, American Economic Review, September, 757-770

 

*Lambert, R. 1986. “Executive Effort and Selection of Risky Projects,” Rand Journal of Economics 17: 77-88.

 

Li, H. 2001, “A Theory of Conservatism,” Journal of Political Economy 109: 617-636.

 

Renegotiation, Mechanism Design Application

 

*Fudenberg, D. and J. Tirole. 1990. “Moral Hazard Renegotiation in Agency Contracts,” Econometrica 58: 1279-1319.

 

Gigler, F. and T. Hemmer. 2001. “Conservatism, Optimal Disclosure Policy, and the Timeliness of Financial Reports.” The Accounting Review 76(4): 471-93

 

Chen, Q., T. Hemmer and Y. Zhang. 2009. “On the Use of Loose Monitoring and Lavish Pay in Agency.” Duke University Working paper

 

Other papers of interest:

 

*Prendergast, C. and L. Stole. 1996. “Impetuous Youngsters and Jaded Old-Timers.” Journal of Political Economy 104: 1105-1134.

 

*Aghion, P. and J. Tirole, 1997, “Formal and Real Authority in Organizations,” Journal of Political Economy 105: 1-29.

 

Prendergast, C. 2002. “The Tenuous Tradeoff Between Risk and Incentives,” Journal of Political Economy 110: 1071-1102.

 

 

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 Reading List and Class Outline for Fall 2008

 

Class 1: Information in financial market (Sept. 5)

 

J. Hirshleifer, 1971, “The Private and Social Value of Information and the Reward to Inventive Activity,” American Economic Review 61: 561-574.

 

Verrecchia, R. 1982. “Mathematical model in accounting,” Journal of Accounting Research 20(Supplement): 1-42.

 

Class 2: Rational expectation equilibrium models: (Sept. 14)

 

Verrecchia, R. 1982. “Information Acquisition in a Noisy Rational Expectations Economy,” Econometrica 50, No. 6, 1415-1430.

 

Diamond, D. 1985. “Optimal release of information by firms,” Journal of Finance, Vol. XL, No. 4, September.

 

Holthausen, R. and R. Verrecchia, 1990. "The Effect of Informedness and Consensus on Price and Volume Behavior," Accounting Review 65: 191-208.

 

Kim, O. and R. Verrecchia, 1991. "Trading Volume and Price Reactions to Public Announcements," Journal of Accounting Research 29: 302-321.

 

Class 3: Rational expectation equilibrium models: (Sept. 19)

 

Lambert, R. C. Leuz, and R. Verrecchia, 2006. “Information Asymmetry, Information Precision and the Cost of Capital.” Working paper, Wharton School.

 

Easley and O’hara, 2004. “Information and the cost of capital,” Journal of Finance, August, 1553-1583.

 

Gao, Pingyang, 2008. "Disclosure Quality, Cost of Capital, and Investors’ Welfare" Working paper, University of Chicago

 

Class 4: Strategic trading models: (Sept. 26)

 

Kyle, P. 1985. “Continuous Auctions and Insider Trade,” Econometrica 53: 1315-1335.

 

Maug, E. 1998. “Large Shareholders as Monitors: Is There a Trade-Off between Liquidity and Control?” Journal of Finance, Vol. LIII, No. 1.

 

Kahn, C. and A. Winton 1998. “Ownership Structure, Speculation and Shareholder Intervention,” Journal of Finance, Vol. LIII, No. 1.

 

Admati, A and P. Pfleiderer, 2008. “The ‘Wall Street Walk’ and Shareholder Activism: Exit as a form of voice,” Review of Financial Studies forthcoming
 

Bolton, P. and von Thadden, E., 1998. "Blocks, Liquidity and Corporate Control." Journal of Finance, Vol. 53: 1-25.

 

Edmans, A. 2008. "Blockholder Trading, Market Efficiency, and Managerial Myopia." Journal of Finance forthcoming

 

Bhattacharya, U and M. Spiegel, 1991. “Insiders, outsiders and market breakdowns,” Review of Financial Studies 4: 255-282.

 

Class 5: Strategic trading models: (Oct 10)

 

Holmstrom, B. and J. Tirole, 1993. “Market Liquidity and Performance Monitoring,” Journal of Political Economy 101, 678-709.

 

Diamond, D. and R. Verrecchia. 1991. “Disclosure, Liquidity, and the Cost of Capital,” Journal of Finance 46: 1325-1359.

 

No class on Oct. 17.

 

Class 6: Higher order expectation (Oct. 24)

 

Morris, S. and H.S. Shin. 2002. “Social Value of Public Information”, American Economic Review 92: 1521-1534.

 

Angeletos, G. and A. Pavan. 2004. “Transparency of Information and Coordination in Economies with Investment Complementarities”. American Economic Review 94 May: 91-98

 

Allen, F., S. Morris, and H.S. Shin, 2006. “Beauty Contests, Bubbles and Iterated Expectations in Asset Markets,” Review of Financial Studies 19: 719-752.

 

Gao, P.Y. 2008, “Keynesian Beauty Contest, Accounting Disclosure, and Market Efficiency,” Journal of Accounting Research 46: 785-807.

 

 

Class 7: Global games (Oct 31)

 

Morris, S. and H. Shin, 2003, “Global games: theory and applications,” in S.J. Turnovsky, M. Dewatripont, L.P. Hansen, ed: Advances in Economics and Econometrics (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge).

 

Plantin, Sapra and Shin, 2008, “Marking to Market: Panacea or Pandora's Box?” Journal of Accounting Research 46: 435-460.

 

Chen, Q., I. Goldstein and W. Jiang, 2008, "Payoff Complementarities and Financial Fragility: Evidence from Mutual Fund Outflows," Working paper, Duke/Wharton/Columbia.

 

Class 8: Feedback effect (Nov. 7)

 

Dow, Goldstein and Guembel, 2007, “Incentives for Information production in markets where prices affect real investment”, Wharton School, working paper.

 

Bond, Goldstein and Prescott, 2008, Market-based corrective actions, Wharton School, working paper,

 

Edmans, Goldstein and Jiang, 2008, Takeover Activity and Target Valuations: Feedback Loops in Financial Markets, Wharton School, working paper

 

Bleck, A. and Liu. X. 2007, “Market Transparency and the Accounting Regime,” Journal of Accounting Research 45: 229-256

  

 

Class 9: Voluntary disclosure (Nov. 14)

 

Grossman, S., 1981, “The Role of Warranties and Private Disclosures About Product Quality,” Journal of Law and Economics 24.

 

Jovanovic, B., 1982, “Truthful Disclosure of Information,” The Bell Journal of Economics 13 (Spring). (student presentation)

 

Jung, W. and Y. Kwon. 1988. “Disclosure When the Market is Unsure of Information Endowment of Managers,” Journal of Accounting Research 26 (1): 146-153. (student presentation)

    

Class 10: Voluntary disclosure and the stock prices (Nov. 21)

 

Shin, H.S. 1994. “News management and the value of the firm,” Rand Journal of Economics, 25(1): 58-71.

 

Shin, H.S. 2002. “Disclosure and Return,” Econometrica 71: 105-133.

 

Shin, H.S. 2006. "Disclosure Risk and Price Drift," Journal of Accounting Research 44: 351-379.

 

Class 11: Disclosure and real activity (Dec. 5)

 

Kanodia, C. 2006 “Accounting Disclosure and Real Effects" Foundations and Trends in Accounting. Vol. 1, No. 3.

 

Kanodia, C. and D. Lee. 1998. “Investment and Disclosure: The Disciplinary Role of Periodic Performance Reports.” Journal of Accounting Research 36: 33-55.

 

Kanodia, C., A. Spero and R. Singh. 2005. “Imprecision in Accounting Measurement: Can It Be Value Enhancing?” Journal of Accounting Research 43: 487-519.

 

Kanodia, C., H. Sapra and R. Venugopolan, 2004.  “Should Intangibles be Measured: What are the Economic Trade-Offs?” Journal of Accounting Research 42: 89-120.

 

Kanodia, C., A. Mukherji, H. Sapra and R. Venugopalan, 2000, "Hedge Disclosures, Future Prices, and Production Distortions," Journal of Accounting Research 38: Supplement, 53-82.