ABSTRACT
However, the purpose of this chapter is not to analyze various measures of cash flow, but rather to use the best available measure of cash flow to overcome some of the problems found with accounting earnings. The measures of cash flow have been chosen as the best available given the constraints of using COMPUSTAT files. COMPUSTAT files, while the best database for inter-industry information, are less complete for financial and real estate information than for that of industrial firms.9 In order to be consistent, variables have to be chosen that were available to all the industries in the study. Inter-industry availability is necessary since the heart of the study is the evaluation of relative benefits for bank power expansion.
