The Role of the IASB and Auditing Standards in the Aftermath of the 2008/20091 Financial Crisis

The primary argument of this article is, namely, that the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is in need of an enforcement mechanism. In drawing attention to this argument, the article not only proposes considerations which are to be taken into account if such a mechanism is to be implemented, but also considers areas in which the regulation of accounting standards, and auditing standards in particular, have contributed to the recent global financial crisis. The impact of such standards on pro‐cyclicality, the level of success achieved by the IASB and other international standard setters, such as the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, relates to how effectively the accounting and audit standard setting is implemented. As well as identifying the importance of convergence in contributing towards high quality audits and the consistent application of auditing and accounting standards, this article also acknowledges the difficulties and challenges encountered in attempting to achieve a convergent framework. Furthermore, through a discussion of recommendations aimed at consolidating transparency and accounting, as proposed by the G20, ways in which accounting standards, and, consequently, the IASB, could contribute further to the improvement of transparency and accountability of the framework for fair value measurements and evaluation, are considered. The absence of enforcement mechanisms, the fact that enforcement actions are carried out at national level in various EU Member States, present sources of obstacles to attempts to realise the proposals put forward by the G20. This article not only attempts to address such factors, but also to suggest ways in which the IASB, to an extent, could realise its goals. Through a consideration of two enforcement regimes in Europe, namely Germany and the UK, two related standards which govern enforcement in Europe, principles on which harmonisation of the institutional oversight systems in Europe may be achieved , and the vital contribution made by the Committee of European Securities Regulators and the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group, this article will consider how enforcement could be implemented by the IASB at a European level.     

Trace DNA collection—Performance of minitape and three different swabs

In this study two types of synthetic swabs and one commercially available minitape were tested and compared with the currently used cotton swab. The results indicate that there is no major difference in performance between the swabs for recovery of trace samples, and that the minitape is better suitable for recovering from absorbent materials than swabs are. However, no statistical calculations were carried out due to the low number of samples in each category.     

Crossing borders in North America after 9/11: ‘regular’ travellers’ narratives of securitisations and contestations

This article is part of a larger project on ordinary border crossings and state practices in North America. The changing border governmentalities in the region focusing on securitising their borders against potential terrorist threats and the increased emphasis on the managing of population flows have led to a reduced mobility for certain travellers as opposed to others. The construction of potentially safe and ‘un-safe’ subjects through profiling on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, religion and socioeconomic background and the increasing use of biometrics have impacted upon travellers’ mobilities. In the North American context, the Mexican state has undergone significant modernisation in terms of its border control capacities, thus enhancing not only its capacity as a buffer state, but also its performative sovereignty, and is therefore an interesting case to study. This article aims to analyse how these transformations in border governmentalities have affected the mobility of ‘ordinary’ travellers, and how they have developed coping strategies and resistances towards the potential curbing of their respective mobilities.     

Unfolding the coverage of illicit drugs in Estonian print press

The aim of this article is to analyze the changes in the coverage of illicit drugs by the Estonian press in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the restitution of Estonia’s independence. The article adapts Anthony Downs’ ‘issue-attention cycle,’ in which he proposes that public concern about certain issues follows a particular five-phase model. The author of this paper conducted a content analysis of 1523 press articles from 1993 to 2009. The analysis indicates that coverage of drug issues follows four of the five phases of Downs’ model, the exception being the fifth ‘post-problem’ phase.     

INTENDED AND UNINTENDED EFFECTS OF THE WAR ON POVERTY: WHAT RESEARCH TELLS US AND IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY

During the mid‐1960s, the United States adopted a series of cash and in‐kind transfer programs, as well as human capital investment strategies, as part of the War on Poverty. A number of other programs were first proposed as part of this “war” but were not implemented until the mid‐1970s. These programs had noble goals: to increase incomes at the bottom of the income distribution, reduce poverty, and improve nutrition, heath, and human capital. However, various features of the programs also had the potential to produce unintended consequences: for example, means‐tested programs can discourage work. In this paper, we comprehensively evaluate the main War on Poverty programs that were aimed at the low‐income nonelderly population along with several follow‐on programs. We focus on both intended and unintended consequences, drawing on the most compelling causal evidence. We conclude with a series of lessons learned and questions that are outstanding.     

Routine Activities and Deviant Behaviors: American, Dutch, Hungarian, and Swiss Youth

The current investigation examined cross-national similarities and differences in routine activities, measures of deviance, and their relationship in representative samples of 7,000 adolescents aged 1519 years (mean age: 17.5 years) from Hungary, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United States. For the majority of youth, most of their time was spent in solitary activities, followed by peer activities, community/sports activities, and family activities; Hungarian youth reported spending a much greater amount of time with the family than adolescents from other countries, while Dutch youth spent far more time in solitary activities than their peers. Rates of total deviance were remarkably similar for American, Dutch, and Swiss youth; Hungarian youth reported substantially lower rates than all other adolescents. Finally, findings indicated that routine activities accounted for 18% for males and 16% for females of the variance explained in total deviance. Furthermore, with the exceptions of alcohol and drug use, country had very little or no explanatory power in deviance. The current study suggests that the utility and the explanatory power of the routine activities framework replicates across national boundaries.     

Mineral wealth and limited redistribution: social transfers and taxation in Botswana

ABSTRACT

There are palpable cracks in the Botswana economic growth success story, most apparent in the evidence of persistent and extreme inequality. This article offers new insights into the Botswana puzzle by focusing on redistributive policies – taxation and transfers – as potential mechanisms to tackle poverty and inequality. The historical analysis explores how the minimal redistributive policies reflect the interests of the elites and how these actors justify their policy decisions with reference to the needs of the poor – an important electoral constituency; and it links policy developments to social and economic outcomes where no comprehensive social security system and negligible taxations means that only the well-to-do are in positions of income security and only the most vulnerable receive some relief. Diamond-rich Botswana avoids taxing its citizens. In terms of citizen engagement and ability to pursue social justice this may be a mistake.