Essays on the effects of home legal institutions and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on foreign IPOs in the US

The objective of this thesis is to investigate the role of home country legal institutions and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) on the reporting quality, pricing and performance of foreign initial public offerings (IPOs) in US capital markets. The specific characteristics of foreign IPOs as have been recognized within the recently expanding literature on cross-listed firms make the focus of this research highly interesting and relevant given the growing number of firm that chose to make their initial public offering in foreign markets, typically the US markets. Using a unique dataset of foreign issuers in the US, this thesis addresses some of the unresolved issues of the impact of institutional differences on information asymmetry in foreign IPOs. To do this, I look at different agency problems over the life cycle of new issuers. Specifically, the first empirical study of this thesis explores the earnings quality in foreign IPOs in the US and the relation to home country institutions. The second empirical study of this thesis investigates the effects of the home country institutions on the level of underpricing of foreign IPOs in the US, and whether underpricing is significantly different after the enactment of SOX. The third empirical study investigates the effects of the home country institutions on the long-run stock performance of foreign IPOs in the US, and whether performance is significantly different post the enactment of SOX. The main findings of this thesis suggest that home country legal institutions matter to the reporting characteristics, to the costs of capital at the initial listing date and to the aftermarket stock performance of foreign IPOs in the US. Furthermore, there is mixed evidence regarding the effects of SOX on the reporting characteristics, to the cost of capital at the initial listing date and to the aftermarket stock performance. In contrast with some previous research on cross-listed firms, the results of this study suggest that although foreign IPOs may abandon their home capital markets by listing in the US, their reporting characteristics and costs of capital are nonetheless influenced by home country institutions

The value of data in digital-based business models: Measurement and economic policy implications

A defining aspect of the digital age is data and its business use. Data have become an important input for firms (e.g., to train artificial intelligence algorithms) but data use is neither accounted for in macroeconomic statistics nor part of business contracts for goods and services provided to customers. This paper puts data and data investments in a framework amenable to measurement and policy analysis aimed at sharpening our understanding of the modern economies. Data is conceptualized as an intangible asset: a storable, nonrival (yet excludable) factor input that is only partially captured in existing macroeconomic and financial statistics. We provide experimental estimates of data investment designed to encompass data and data intelligence for six major European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom) and we found an average value of 5 to 6.5 percent of market sector gross value added in 2010-2018 (Corrado et al, 2022). We also develop a simulation exercise to test the potential growth contribution of data capital, and we find that even limited diffusion of data capital could raise labor productivity growth as much as 1⁄2 percentage point per year, but outcomes are highly dependent on factors influenced by policy settings

Intangible Capital, TFP Growth and Green Shoots in New Productivity Data

This article undertakes a comparative analysis of recent productivity growth in European economies, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States using the EU KLEMS & INTANProd database. The influence of intangible capital on productivity growth and insights from combining long historical time series for TFP with the current estimates in EU KLEMS & INTANProd are central features of our analysis. Our compara- tive analysis of growth decompositions before and after the productivity slowdown suggests that productivity growth in the 2014-2019 period in advanced economies has been relatively strong, consistent with a slew of the newer digital technologies (cloud, big data, AI) gaining wider use. Recent research finds that mechanisms governing knowledge diffusion are weaker recently than in the past—implying that advanced economies are not experiencing their full potential for productivity growth. Unless policies or voluntary industry actions create new platforms for technology extension and data sharing (e.g., open banking policies), the potential for spillovers to amplify intangible-investment induced innovations will be less strong than they have been in the past

Intangible investment in the EU and US before and since the Great Recession and its contribution to productivity growth

This paper uses a new cross-country cross-industry dataset on investment in tangible and intangible assets for 18 European countries and the US. We set out a framework for measuring intangible investment and capital stocks and their effect on output, inputs and total factor productivity. The analysis provides evidence on the diffusion of intangible investment across Europe and the US over the years 2000-2013 and offers growth accounting evidence before and after the Great Recession in 2008-2009. Our major findings are the following. First, tangible investment fell massively during the Great Recession and has hardly recovered, whereas intangible investment has been relatively resilient and recovered fast in the US but lagged behind in the EU. Second, the sources of growth analysis including only national account intangibles (software, R&D, mineral exploration and artistic originals), suggest that capital deepening is the main driver of growth, with tangibles and intangibles accounting for 80% and 20% in the EU while both account for 50% in the US, over 2000-2013. Extending the asset boundary to the intangible assets not included in the national accounts (Corrado, Hulten and Sichel (2005)) makes capital deepening increases. The contribution of tangibles is reduced both in the EU and the US (60% and 40% respectively) while intangibles account for a larger share (40% in EU and 60% in the US). Then, our analysis shows that since the Great Recession, the slowdown in labour productivity growth has been driven by a decline in TFP growth with relatively a minor role for tangible and intangible capital. Finally, we document a significant correlation between stricter employment protection rules and less government investment in R&D, and a lower ratio of intangible to tangible investment

Claims data analysis on the dispensing of tricyclic antidepressants among patients with dementia in Germany

Objective: A restrictive use of tricyclic antidepressants (TCA) in patients with dementia (PwD) is recommended due to the hazard of anticholinergic side effects. We evaluated the frequency of TCA dispensing in PwD over a period of 1 year and the use of TCA before and after the incident diagnosis of dementia. Methods: This analysis was based on administrative data from a German statutory health insurance for a period of 2 years. Totally, 20,357 patients with an incident diagnosis of dementia in 2014 were included. We evaluated the dispensing of TCA in 2015. Subgroup analyses were conducted to evaluate associations between the incident diagnosis of dementia and modifications in TCA dispensing. Results: In 2015, 1,125 dementia patients (5.5%) were treated with TCA and 31% were medicated with TCA in all four quarters of 2015. Most dispensings were conducted by general practitioners (67.9%). On average, patients received 3.7 ± 2.6 dispensings per year. Amitriptyline (56.3%), doxepin (26.8%), and trimipramine (16.8%) were dispensed most often. Subgroup analyses revealed that the dispensing of TCA remained mainly unchanged following the incident diagnosis. Conclusion: A relevant number of PwD were treated with TCA. To maintain the patients' safety, an improved implementation of guidelines for the pharmaceutical treatment of PwD in healthcare institutions might be required. Since 68% of the patients suffered from depression, future studies should further evaluate the indications for TCA. Copyright © 2019 Hessmann, Zeidler, Stahmeyer, Eberhard, Vogelgsang, Abdel-Hamid, Wolff-Menzler, Wiltfang and Kis. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms

Novel cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers of glucose transporter type 1 deficiency syndrome: Implications beyond the brain's energy deficit

We used next-generation metabolic screening to identify new biomarkers for improved diagnosis and pathophysiological understanding of glucose transporter type 1 deficiency syndrome (GLUT1DS), comparing metabolic cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) profiles from 12 patients to those of 116 controls. This confirmed decreased CSF glucose and lactate levels in patients with GLUT1DS and increased glutamine at group level. We identified three novel biomarkers significantly decreased in patients, namely gluconic + galactonic acid, xylose-α1-3-glucose, and xylose-α1-3-xylose-α1-3-glucose, of which the latter two have not previously been identified in body fluids. CSF concentrations of gluconic + galactonic acid may be reduced as these metabolites could serve as alternative substrates for the pentose phosphate pathway. Xylose-α1-3-glucose and xylose-α1-3-xylose-α1-3-glucose may originate from glycosylated proteins; their decreased levels are hypothetically the consequence of insufficient glucose, one of two substrates for O-glucosylation. Since many proteins are O-glucosylated, this deficiency may affect cellular processes and thus contribute to GLUT1DS pathophysiology. The novel CSF biomarkers have the potential to improve the biochemical diagnosis of GLUT1DS. Our findings imply that brain glucose deficiency in GLUT1DS may cause disruptions at the cellular level that go beyond energy metabolism, underlining the importance of developing treatment strategies that directly target cerebral glucose uptake

Project #37: Management Guidelines for Patients with COVID-19: Rapid Cycle Improvement

Project’s purpose is to rapidly devise, continually improve, educate, and implement a live and changing COVID-19 management guideline based upon emerging best available evidence. This project also aims to optimize the care of patients with COVID-19 and improve patient outcomes.https://scholarlycommons.henryford.com/qualityexpo2022/1004/thumbnail.jp