Income Smoothing as Rational Equilibrium Behavior? A Second Look

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Hemmer, Thomas
• 署名单位: Rice University
• 刊物名称: ACCOUNTING REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0001-4826
• DOI: 10.2308/TAR-2017-0132
• 发表日期: 2020
• 页码: 211-226
• 关键词: 1st-order approach

摘要

In this paper I revisit the issue of real income smoothing in the setting used by Lambert (1984). I demonstrate that the particular effect identified in his paper is actually an error: under his assumptions, there is no input-driven equilibrium income smoothing of the type he suggests. There are, however, several other drivers of equilibrium behavior ignored in that paper. In this paper, I identify those and, for the particular model structure, show that when all effects are considered together, there is little support for the suggestion that second-best earnings generally are being smoothed through the equilibrium behavior.