This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Footnotes aren't enough: the impact of pension accounting on stock values

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
CORONADO, JULIA
MITCHELL, OLIVIA S.
SHARPE, STEVEN A.
BLAKE NESBITT, S.

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

Recent research has suggested that companies with defined benefit (DB) pensions are sometimes significantly misvalued by the market. This is because the measures of pension cost and pension net liabilities embedded in financial statements can provide a very misleading picture of pension finances, if taken at face value. The more pertinent information on pension finances is relegated to footnotes, which may not receive much attention from portfolio managers. Dramatic swings in the financial conditions of large DB plans around the turn of the decade focused attention on pension accounting practices, and growing dissatisfaction with current accounting standards has prompted the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to launch a project revamping DB pension accounting. Arguably, the increased attention should have made investors wise to the informational problems, thereby eliminating systematic mispricing in recent years. We test this proposition and conclude that investors continued to misvalue DB pensions, inducing sizable valuation errors in the stock of many companies. Our findings suggest that FASB's current reform efforts could substantially aid the market's ability to value firms with DB pensions.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S147474720800379X
File Format: text/html
File Function: link to article abstract page
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Article provided by Cambridge University Press in its journal Journal of Pension Economics and Finance.

Volume (Year): 7 (2008)
Issue (Month): 03 (November)
Pages: 257-276
Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Handle: RePEc:cup:jpenef:v:7:y:2008:i:03:p:257-276_00

Contact details of provider:
Postal: The Edinburgh Building, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 2RU UK
Fax: +44 (0)1223 325150
Email:
Web page: http://journals.cambridge.org/jid_PEF

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Mike Eden).

Related research
Keywords:

Other versions of this item:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Irwin Tepper, 1981. "Taxation and Corporate Pension Policy," NBER Working Papers 0661, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Sharpe, William F., 1976. "Corporate pension funding policy," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(3), pages 183-193, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Tepper, Irwin, 1981. "Taxation and Corporate Pension Policy," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 36(1), pages 1-13, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Julia Lynn Coronado & Steven A. Sharpe, 2003. "Did Pension Plan Accounting Contribute to a Stock Market Bubble?," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 34(2003-1), pages 323-371. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Martin Feldstein & Stephanie Seligman, 1981. "Pension Funding, Share Prices, and National Saving," NBER Working Papers 0509, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  6. Martin Feldstein & Randall Morck, 1983. "Pension Funding Decisions, Interest Rate Assumptions, and Share Prices," NBER Chapters, in: Financial Aspects of the United States Pension System, pages 177-210 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  7. Jeremy I. Bulow & Lawrence H. Summers & Lawrence H. Summers, 1987. "How Does the Market Value Unfunded Pension Liabilities?," NBER Chapters, in: Issues in Pension Economics, pages 81-110 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. David A. Love & Paul A. Smith & David Wilcox, 2009. "Should risky firms offer risk-free DB pensions?," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2009-20, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.). [Downloadable!]
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? IDEAS also computes impact factors for journals and working paper series.

This page was last updated on 2009-11-26.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.