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Permanent and Transitory Earnings, Accounting Recording Lag, and the Earnings Coefficient

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Abstract

In this paper, (1) wedefine precisely the terms permanent and transitory earnings;(2) we delineate the effects of the degree of permanence andof accounting recording lag on estimates of the slope coefficientfrom a returns-earnings regression and (3) we examine the relationbetween the estimates of the earnings coefficient and observablevariables that may indicate (i) the extent to which earningsare more or less permanent, and (ii) the extent to which valuerelevant events are recorded in accounting earnings in a timelyfashion. Our main point is that attributing differences in thereturns-earnings relation to one of these effects without controllingfor the other may lead to erroneous conclusions.

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Easton, P., Shroff, P. & Taylor, G. Permanent and Transitory Earnings, Accounting Recording Lag, and the Earnings Coefficient. Review of Accounting Studies 5, 281–300 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026589405910

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026589405910

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