1 There is an important general point there. Differing accounting treatments have the potential to affect the behaviour of decision-makers in different ways, the more so when combined with regulatory requirements.
A number of commentators have suggested, for example, that one factor behind the extraordinary demand for long-dated government securities we currently observe in several European countries reflects, at least in part, the attempt by trustees and managers of defined-benefit pension plans to restructure their portfolios in response to changes in accounting conventions and regulatory requirements.