Leuz et al. (2003), exploring cross-country differences in earnings
management, also emphasize the strength of a given country's equity
market and propose a grouping of countries based on investor protection,
stock-market development, and ownership concentration. Using
k-means cluster analysiswith three predetermined clusters, they classify
countries into insider and outsider economies with strong and weak
legal enforcement. Panel C of Table 3 shows this classification as modified
in Leuz (2010). In the context of IFRS, the Leuz et al. (2003) and
Leuz (2010) classifications have been used, for instance, by Schleicher,
Tahoun, andWalker (2010), who rely on the distinction between insider
and outsider economies to explain differences in investment cash
flow sensitivity across member states of the EU in the post-IFRS adoption
period