Loss aversion and financial reporting: A possible explanation for the prevalence of discontinuities in reported earnings
本文通过扩展信号模型纳入损失厌恶投资者，解释了为何报告盈余分布会在零盈余、上年盈余等基准点附近出现不连续现象，为盈余基准附近的盈余不连续提供了理论依据。
We formalize the notion, first suggested by Burgstahler and Dichev (1997), that earnings discontinuities can be caused by reference dependence. We extend the signaling model by Guttman et al. (2006) to include loss-averse investors. The presence of loss aversion causes the separating equilibrium (without discontinuities in the distribution of reported earnings) to disappear, while the partially-pooling equilibrium (exhibiting discontinuities) may prevail. This implies that the presence of loss-averse investors will cause earnings discontinuities around reference points. The prime candidates for investors’ reference points are earnings benchmarks such as zero earnings, last year’s earnings and analyst forecasts. Our model provides an explanation for why earnings discontinuities appear around earnings benchmarks.