
Accounting Papers
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of this Version
6-2016
Publication Source
Journal of Accounting Research
Volume
54
Issue
3
Start Page
863
Last Page
893
DOI
10.1111/1475-679X.12118
Abstract
This study examines the costs and benefits of uniform accounting regulation in the presence of heterogeneous firms that can lobby the regulator. A commitment to uniform regulation reduces economic distortions caused by lobbying by creating a free-rider problem between lobbying firms at the cost of forcing the same treatment on heterogeneous firms. Resolving this tradeoff, an institutional commitment to uniformity is socially desirable when firms are sufficiently homogeneous or the costs of lobbying to society are large. We show that the regulatory intensity for a given firm can be increasing or decreasing in the degree of uniformity, even though uniformity always reduces lobbying. Our analysis sheds light on the determinants of standard-setting institutions and their effects on corporate governance and lobbying efforts.
Copyright/Permission Statement
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: FRIEDMAN, H. L. and HEINLE, M. S. (2016), Lobbying and Uniform Disclosure Regulation. Journal of Accounting Research, 54: 863–893. doi:10.1111/1475-679X.12118, which has been published in final form at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1475-679X.12118/abstract. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving http://olabout.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-820227.html#terms.
Keywords
disclosure, regulation, lobbying
Recommended Citation
Friedman, H. L., & Heinle, M. S. (2016). Lobbying and Uniform Disclosure Regulation. Journal of Accounting Research, 54 (3), 863-893. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1475-679X.12118
Date Posted: 27 November 2017
This document has been peer reviewed.