IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/cfswop/611.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Evidence-based policymaking: Promise, challenges and opportunities for accounting and financial markets research

Author

Listed:
  • Leuz, Christian

Abstract

The use of evidence and economic analysis in policymaking is on the rise, and accounting standard setting and financial regulation are no exception. This article discusses the promise of evidence-based policymaking in accounting and financial markets as well as the challenges and opportunities for research supporting this endeavor. In principle, using sound theory and robust empirical evidence should lead to better policies and regulations. But despite its obvious appeal and substantial promise, evidence-based policymaking is easier demanded than done. It faces many challenges related to the difficulty of providing relevant causal evidence, lack of data, the reliability of published research, and the transmission of research findings. Overcoming these challenges requires substantial infrastructure investments for generating and disseminating relevant research. To illustrate this point, I draw parallels to the rise of evidence-based medicine. The article provides several concrete suggestions for the research process and the aggregation of research findings if scientific evidence is to inform policymaking. I discuss how policymakers can foster and support policy-relevant research, chiefly by providing and generating data. The article also points to potential pitfalls when research becomes increasingly policy-oriented.

Suggested Citation

  • Leuz, Christian, 2018. "Evidence-based policymaking: Promise, challenges and opportunities for accounting and financial markets research," CFS Working Paper Series 611, Center for Financial Studies (CFS).
  • Handle: RePEc:zbw:cfswop:611
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    To our knowledge, this item is not available for download. To find whether it is available, there are three options:
    1. Check below whether another version of this item is available online.
    2. Check on the provider's web page whether it is in fact available.
    3. Perform a search for a similarly titled item that would be available.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alberto Abadie, 2020. "Statistical Nonsignificance in Empirical Economics," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 2(2), pages 193-208, June.
    2. Jan H. Höffler, 2017. "Replication and Economics Journal Policies," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(5), pages 52-55, May.
    3. John D.Singleton, 2014. "Slaves or Mercenaries: Milton Friedman and the Institution of the All-Volunteer Military," Center for the History of Political Economy Working Paper Series 2014-7, Center for the History of Political Economy.
    4. Katherine Schipper, 2010. "How can we measure the costs and benefits of changes in financial reporting standards?," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(3), pages 309-327.
    5. Esther Duflo & Michael Greenstone & Nicholas Ryan, 2013. "Truth-telling by Third-party Auditors and the Response of Polluting Firms: Experimental Evidence from India," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 128(4), pages 1499-1545.
    6. Joshua D. Angrist & Jörn-Steffen Pischke, 2010. "The Credibility Revolution in Empirical Economics: How Better Research Design Is Taking the Con out of Econometrics," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 24(2), pages 3-30, Spring.
    7. D. Acemoglu & J. Robinson, 2013. "Economics versus politics: pitfalls of policy advice," Voprosy Ekonomiki, NP Voprosy Ekonomiki, issue 12.
    8. Ralf Ewert & Alfred Wagenhofer, 2012. "Using Academic Research for the Post-Implementation Review of Accounting Standards: A Note," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 48(2), pages 278-291, June.
    9. Ian D. Gow & David F. Larcker & Peter C. Reiss, 2016. "Causal Inference in Accounting Research," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(2), pages 477-523, May.
    10. Daniel S. Hamermesh, 2017. "Replication in Labor Economics: Evidence from Data, and What It Suggests," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(5), pages 37-40, May.
    11. Abel Brodeur & Mathias Lé & Marc Sangnier & Yanos Zylberberg, 2016. "Star Wars: The Empirics Strike Back," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 8(1), pages 1-32, January.
    12. Badertscher, Brad & Shroff, Nemit & White, Hal D., 2013. "Externalities of public firm presence: Evidence from private firms' investment decisions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(3), pages 682-706.
    13. João Granja, 2018. "Disclosure Regulation in the Commercial Banking Industry: Lessons from the National Banking Era," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(1), pages 173-216, March.
    14. Dechow, Patricia & Ge, Weili & Schrand, Catherine, 2010. "Understanding earnings quality: A review of the proxies, their determinants and their consequences," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 344-401, December.
    15. Joshua D. Angrist & Jörn-Steffen Pischke, 2009. "Mostly Harmless Econometrics: An Empiricist's Companion," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 8769.
    16. Charles S. Taber & Milton Lodge, 2006. "Motivated Skepticism in the Evaluation of Political Beliefs," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 50(3), pages 755-769, July.
    17. Glaeser, Stephen & Guay, Wayne R., 2017. "Identification and generalizability in accounting research: A discussion of Christensen, Floyd, Liu, and Maffett (2017)," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 305-312.
    18. Verrecchia, Robert E., 2001. "Essays on disclosure," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1-3), pages 97-180, December.
    19. Willem Buijink, 2006. "Evidence‐based financial reporting regulation," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 42(3‐4), pages 296-301, September.
    20. Luigi Zingales, 2015. "Does Finance Benefit Society?," NBER Working Papers 20894, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    21. Alan Teixeira, 2014. "The International Accounting Standards Board and Evidence-Informed Standard-Setting," Accounting in Europe, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(1), pages 5-12, June.
    22. James J. Heckman, 2001. "Micro Data, Heterogeneity, and the Evaluation of Public Policy: Nobel Lecture," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 109(4), pages 673-748, August.
    23. David Dranove & Ginger Zhe Jin, 2010. "Quality Disclosure and Certification: Theory and Practice," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 48(4), pages 935-963, December.
    24. Gow, Ian D. & Larcker, David F. & Reiss, Peter C., 2016. "Causal Inference in Accounting Research," Research Papers 3393, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    25. Cascino, Stefano & Gassen, Joachim, 2015. "What drives the comparability effect of mandatory IFRS adoption?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 57682, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    26. Orley Ashenfelter & Daniel Hosken, 2010. "The Effect of Mergers on Consumer Prices: Evidence from Five Mergers on the Enforcement Margin," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 53(3), pages 417-466.
    27. Yinghua Li & Liandong Zhang, 2015. "Short Selling Pressure, Stock Price Behavior, and Management Forecast Precision: Evidence from a Natural Experiment," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(1), pages 79-117, March.
    28. Matthias Breuer & Katharina Hombach & Maximilian A Müller, 2018. "How Does Financial Reporting Regulation Affect Firms’ Banking?," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 31(4), pages 1265-1297.
    29. Ball, R, 1980. "Discussion Of Accounting For Research And Development Costs - The Impact On Research And Development Expenditures," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18, pages 27-37.
    30. Christensen, Hans B. & Hail, Luzi & Leuz, Christian, 2013. "Mandatory IFRS reporting and changes in enforcement," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(2), pages 147-177.
    31. Eric Floyd & John A. List, 2016. "Using Field Experiments in Accounting and Finance," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(2), pages 437-475, May.
    32. Jung Ho Choi, 2021. "Accrual Accounting and Resource Allocation: A General Equilibrium Analysis," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(4), pages 1179-1219, September.
    33. McCullough, B. D. & McGeary, Kerry Anne & Harrison, Teresa D., 2006. "Lessons from the JMCB Archive," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 38(4), pages 1093-1107, June.
    34. David Dranove & Daniel Kessler & Mark McClellan & Mark Satterthwaite, 2003. "Is More Information Better? The Effects of "Report Cards" on Health Care Providers," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 111(3), pages 555-588, June.
    35. Laux, Christian & Leuz, Christian, 2009. "The crisis of fair-value accounting: Making sense of the recent debate," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(6-7), pages 826-834, August.
    36. Robert M. Bushman & Christopher D. Williams, 2015. "Delayed Expected Loss Recognition and the Risk Profile of Banks," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(3), pages 511-553, June.
    37. Christian Leuz & Peter D. Wysocki, 2016. "The Economics of Disclosure and Financial Reporting Regulation: Evidence and Suggestions for Future Research," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(2), pages 525-622, May.
    38. James Heckman, 1997. "Instrumental Variables: A Study of Implicit Behavioral Assumptions Used in Making Program Evaluations," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 32(3), pages 441-462.
    39. Bushee, Brian J. & Leuz, Christian, 2005. "Economic consequences of SEC disclosure regulation: evidence from the OTC bulletin board," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 233-264, June.
    40. Eric A. Posner & E. Glen Weyl, 2014. "Benefit-Cost Paradigms in Financial Regulation," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 43(S2), pages 1-34.
    41. Roger Gordon & Gordon B. Dahl, 2013. "Views among Economists: Professional Consensus or Point-Counterpoint?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(3), pages 629-635, May.
    42. Peter Iliev, 2010. "The Effect of SOX Section 404: Costs, Earnings Quality, and Stock Prices," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(3), pages 1163-1196, June.
    43. T. D. Stanley & Stephen B. Jarrell, 2005. "Meta‐Regression Analysis: A Quantitative Method of Literature Surveys," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(3), pages 299-308, July.
    44. Monogan, James E., 2013. "A Case for Registering Studies of Political Outcomes: An Application in the 2010 House Elections," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 21(1), pages 21-37, January.
    45. Robert Bloomfield & Kristina Rennekamp & Blake Steenhoven, 2018. "No System Is Perfect: Understanding How Registration‐Based Editorial Processes Affect Reproducibility and Investment in Research Quality," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(2), pages 313-362, May.
    46. Dechow, Patricia M., 1994. "Accounting earnings and cash flows as measures of firm performance : The role of accounting accruals," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 3-42, July.
    47. John H. Cochrane, 2014. "Challenges for Cost-Benefit Analysis of Financial Regulation," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 43(S2), pages 63-105.
    48. Leuz, Christian & Nanda, Dhananjay & Wysocki, Peter D., 2003. "Earnings management and investor protection: an international comparison," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 505-527, September.
    49. Christian Laux & Christian Leuz, 2010. "Did Fair-Value Accounting Contribute to the Financial Crisis?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 24(1), pages 93-118, Winter.
    50. Holger Daske & Luzi Hail & Christian Leuz & Rodrigo Verdi, 2008. "Mandatory IFRS Reporting around the World: Early Evidence on the Economic Consequences," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(5), pages 1085-1142, December.
    51. Joshua D. Angrist & Jörn-Steffen Pischke, 2014. "Mastering ’Metrics: The Path from Cause to Effect," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 10363.
    52. Aviv Nevo & Michael D. Whinston, 2010. "Taking the Dogma out of Econometrics: Structural Modeling and Credible Inference," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 24(2), pages 69-82, Spring.
    53. Camerer, Colin & Dreber, Anna & Forsell, Eskil & Ho, Teck-Hua & Huber, Jurgen & Johannesson, Magnus & Kirchler, Michael & Almenberg, Johan & Altmejd, Adam & Chan, Taizan & Heikensten, Emma & Holzmeist, 2016. "Evaluating replicability of laboratory experiments in Economics," MPRA Paper 75461, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    54. Robert Bloomfield & Mark W. Nelson & Eugene Soltes, 2016. "Gathering Data for Archival, Field, Survey, and Experimental Accounting Research," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(2), pages 341-395, May.
    55. Dan Fuller & Doris Geide-Stevenson, 2014. "Consensus Among Economists-An Update," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(2), pages 131-146, June.
    56. Alston, Richard M & Kearl, J R & Vaughan, Michael B, 1992. "Is There a Consensus among Economists in the 1990's?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(2), pages 203-209, May.
    57. Viral V. Acharya & Stephen G. Ryan, 2016. "Banks’ Financial Reporting and Financial System Stability," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(2), pages 277-340, May.
    58. Ball, Ray & Robin, Ashok & Wu, Joanna Shuang, 2003. "Incentives versus standards: properties of accounting income in four East Asian countries," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(1-3), pages 235-270, December.
    59. Chandra Kanodia & Haresh Sapra & Raghu Venugopalan, 2004. "Should Intangibles Be Measured: What Are the Economic Trade‐Offs?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(1), pages 89-120, March.
    60. C. Glenn Begley, 2013. "Six red flags for suspect work," Nature, Nature, vol. 497(7450), pages 433-434, May.
    61. Robert W. Hahn & Paul C. Tetlock, 2008. "Has Economic Analysis Improved Regulatory Decisions?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 22(1), pages 67-84, Winter.
    62. Sarah A. Avellar & Jaime Thomas & Rebecca Kleinman & Emily Sama-Miller & Sara E. Woodruff & Rebecca Coughlin & T’Pring R. Westbrook, 2017. "External Validity: The Next Step for Systematic Reviews?," Evaluation Review, , vol. 41(4), pages 283-325, August.
    63. Luigi Zingales, 2015. "Presidential Address: Does Finance Benefit Society?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 70(4), pages 1327-1363, August.
    64. Stefano Cascino & Joachim Gassen, 2012. "Comparability Effects of Mandatory IFRS Adoption," SFB 649 Discussion Papers SFB649DP2012-009, Sonderforschungsbereich 649, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Christian Leuz & Peter D. Wysocki, 2016. "The Economics of Disclosure and Financial Reporting Regulation: Evidence and Suggestions for Future Research," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(2), pages 525-622, May.
    2. Hans B. Christensen & Luzi Hail & Christian Leuz, 2021. "Mandatory CSR and sustainability reporting: economic analysis and literature review," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 1176-1248, September.
    3. Byard, Donal & Darrough, Masako & Suh, Jangwon, 2019. "There is No Evidence that Mandatory IFRS Adoption Significantly Decreased IPO Underpricing," SocArXiv b56u2, Center for Open Science.
    4. Donal Byard & Masako Darrough & Jangwon Suh, 2021. "Re-examining the impact of mandatory IFRS adoption on IPO underpricing," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 26(4), pages 1344-1389, December.
    5. De George, Emmanuel T. & Li, Xi & Shivakumar, Lakshmanan, 2016. "A review of the IFRS adoption literature," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 67599, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Armstrong, Christopher & Kepler, John D. & Samuels, Delphine & Taylor, Daniel, 2022. "Causality redux: The evolution of empirical methods in accounting research and the growth of quasi-experiments," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(2).
    7. Emmanuel T. De George & Xi Li & Lakshmanan Shivakumar, 2016. "A review of the IFRS adoption literature," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 898-1004, September.
    8. Jung Ho Choi, 2021. "Accrual Accounting and Resource Allocation: A General Equilibrium Analysis," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(4), pages 1179-1219, September.
    9. Laux, Christian, 2016. "The economic consequences of extending the use of fair value accounting in regulatory capital calculations: A discussion," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(2), pages 204-208.
    10. Chandra Kanodia & Haresh Sapra, 2016. "A Real Effects Perspective to Accounting Measurement and Disclosure: Implications and Insights for Future Research," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(2), pages 623-676, May.
    11. Jannis Bischof & Holger Daske, 2016. "Interpreting the European Union’s IFRS Endorsement Criteria: The Case of IFRS 9," Accounting in Europe, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(2), pages 129-168, May.
    12. Katharina Hombach & Thorsten Sellhorn, 2019. "Shaping Corporate Actions Through Targeted Transparency Regulation: A Framework and Review of Extant Evidence," Schmalenbach Business Review, Springer;Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft, vol. 71(2), pages 137-168, May.
    13. Katrin Hummel & Peter Rötzel, 2019. "Mandating the Sustainability Disclosure in Annual Reports—Evidence from the United Kingdom," Schmalenbach Business Review, Springer;Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft, vol. 71(2), pages 205-247, May.
    14. Eszter Czibor & David Jimenez‐Gomez & John A. List, 2019. "The Dozen Things Experimental Economists Should Do (More of)," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 86(2), pages 371-432, October.
    15. Marc Badia & Miguel Duro & Bjorn N. Jorgensen & Gaizka Ormazabal & Hans B. Christensen, 2020. "The Informational Effects of Tightening Oil and Gas Disclosure Rules," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 37(3), pages 1720-1755, September.
    16. Liangliang Jiang & Ross Levine & Chen Lin & Wensi Xie, 2022. "Deposit Supply and Bank Transparency," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(5), pages 3834-3855, May.
    17. Francesco Mazzi & Paul André & Dionysia Dionysiou & Ioannis Tsalavoutas, 2017. "Compliance with goodwill-related mandatory disclosure requirements and the cost of equity capital," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(3), pages 268-312, April.
    18. Ian D. Gow & David F. Larcker & Peter C. Reiss, 2016. "Causal Inference in Accounting Research," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(2), pages 477-523, May.
    19. Robert Bloomfield & Mark W. Nelson & Eugene Soltes, 2016. "Gathering Data for Archival, Field, Survey, and Experimental Accounting Research," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(2), pages 341-395, May.
    20. Cascino, Stefano, 2018. "Bridging financial reporting research and policy: a discussion of “the impact of accounting standards on pension investment decisions”," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 90194, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    evidence-based policymaking; cost-benefit analysis; regulation; standard setting; accounting; finance; capital markets; causal inferences; political economy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A11 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Role of Economics; Role of Economists
    • D61 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Allocative Efficiency; Cost-Benefit Analysis
    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • G18 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • K22 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Business and Securities Law
    • L51 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Economics of Regulation
    • M48 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Government Policy and Regulation

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:zbw:cfswop:611. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ifkcfde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.