The paper tests the assumptions underlying the inference-in-residuals method as an estimation framework for detecting and classifying suspects of earnings management. We derive several systematic biases that are shown to confound inference-in-residuals and, depending on the data, could render the method a futile exercise. This is not a matter of model specification, but a limitation of the statistical method. Also, it is shown that the method of using estimated residuals in a second stage regression on economic determinants of earnings management suffers considerably, especially when residuals are estimated by industry classification in the first stage.

Prior research supports the proposition that house price diffusion shows a ripple effect along the spatial dimension. That is, house price changes in one region would reflect in subsequent house price changes in other regions, showing certain linkages among regions. Using the vector autoregression model and the impulse response function, this study investigates house price diffusion among Australia's state capital cities, examining the response of one market to the innovation of other markets and determining the lagged terms for the maximum absolute value of the other markets’ responses. The results show that the most important sub‐national markets in Australia do not point to Sydney, rather towards Canberra and Hobart, while the Darwin market plays a role of buffer. The safest markets are Sydney and Melbourne. This study helps to predict house price movement trends in eight capital cities. Santrauka Ankstesnių tyrimų duomenimis, nekilnojamojo turto kainų kitimas sukelia bangų efektą atsižvelgiant į erdvinį matmenį. Tai yra nekilnojamojo turto kainų kitimus viename regione rodytų paskesnis nekilnojamojo turto kainų kitimas kituose regionuose. Taip ryškėja tam tikri glaudūs ryšiai tarp regionų. Taikant vektorinį autoregresinį modelį ir impulso perdavimo funkciją, šioje studijoje tiriama nekilnojamojo turto kainų kitimas tarp pagrindinių Australijos miestų, nagrinėjant vienos rinkos reakciją į kitų rinkų naujoves bei nustatant uždelstus terminus kitų rinkų reakcijų maksimaliai absoliutinei vertei. Rezultatai rodo, kad svarbiausios Australijos vidaus rinkos nėra orientuotos į Sidnėjų, bet labiau į Kanberą ir Hobartą. Darvino rinka atlieka buferio vaidmenį. Saugiausios rinkos yra Sidnėjus ir Melburnas. Ši studija padeda numatyti nekilnojamojo turto kainų judėjimo tendencijas aštuoniuose pagrindiniuose Australijos miestuose.

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Purpose -Understanding and simulating construction activities is a vital issue from a macro-perspective, since construction is an important contributor in economic development. Although the construction labor productivity frontier has attracted much research effort, the temporal and regional characteristics have not yet been explored. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the long-run equilibrium and dynamics within construction development under a conditional frontier context. Design/methodology/approach -Analogous to the simplified production function, this research adopts the conditional frontier theory to investigate the convergence of construction labor productivity across regions and over time. Error correction models are implemented to identify the long-run equilibrium and dynamics of construction labor productivity against three types of convergence hypotheses, while a panel regression method is used to capture the regional heterogeneity. The developed models are applied to investigate and simulate the construction labor productivity in the Australian states and territories. Findings -The results suggest that construction labor productivity in Australia should converge to stable frontiers in a long-run perspective. The dynamics of the productivity are mainly caused by the technology utilization efficiency levels of the local construction industry, while the influences of changes in technology level and capital depending appear limited. Five regional clusters of the Australian construction labor productivity are suggested by the simulation results, including New South Wales; Australian Capital Territory; Northern Territory, Queensland, and Western Australia; South Australia; and Tasmania and Victoria. Originality/value -Three types of frontier of construction labor productivity is proposed. An econometric approach is developed to identify the convergence frontier of construction labor productivity across regions over time. The specified model can provides accurate predictions of the construction labor productivity.

Purpose-A panel error correction model has been developed to investigate the spatial correlation patterns among house prices. This paper aims to identify a dominant housing market in the ripple down process. Design/methodology/approach-Seemingly unrelated regression estimators are adapted to deal with the contemporary correlations and heterogeneity across cities. Impulse response functions are subsequently implemented to simulate the spatial correlation patterns. The newly developed approach is then applied to the Australian capital city house price indices. Findings-The results suggest that Melbourne should be recognised as the dominant housing market. Four levels were classified within the Australian house price interconnections, namely: Melbourne; Adelaide, Canberra, Perth and Sydney; Brisbane and Hobart; and Darwin. Originality/value-This research develops a panel regression framework in addressing the spatial correlation patterns of house prices across cities. The ripple-down process of house price dynamics across cities was explored by capturing both the contemporary correlations and heterogeneity, and by identifying the dominant housing market.