Faculty Viewpoints
Columbia Ideas at Work showcases recent business research with an online magazine, provides research briefs which highlight main findings of research papers, and has a searchable archive of faculty publications and viewpoints. Papers featuring social enterprise topics and faculty include:
Insuring against global warming
Professor Geoffrey Heal, explores how much countries should spend to avoid the uncertain risk of climate change, and how this uncertainty should factor into government decisions on prevention measures.
Greener Products through Rivalry
Professors Terry Taylor at Columbia and Erica Plambeck at Stanford, examine a new approach and explore when testing competitors’ products results in greener products — and a better bottom line.
A global look at environmental disclosures
Do laws or the marketplace motivate firms to release information about their behavior? Professor Bjorn Jorgensen at Columbia, working with Naomi Soderstrom at Colorado, determine what kinds of firms disclose information about their environmental performance.
Making globalization fair
In discussing the politics of globalization, Professor Joseph Stiglitz, a prominent critic of globalization's shortcomings and author of Making Globalization Work, offers practical ideas for extending its benefits.
Gauging corruption's impact
Corruption — a major barrier to growth and development in poor countries — is difficult to define and even more difficult to measure. Professor Ray Fisman examines creative research methods are shedding new light on its effects.
Small loans on a large scale
Is microfinance the key to ending poverty in the developing world? Professor Suresh Sundaresan and PhD student Sam Cheung examine the issues facing both lenders and borrowers in the microfinance market.
Lending to the poor
How can credit markets in developed countries help low-income families break the cycle of poverty? Professor Patrick Bolton discusses a book edited with Howard Rosenthal that came out of a conference on credit markets for the poor in developed countries.
Behind the small-package success story
Their popularity with low-income buyers at the "bottom of the pyramid" may not be the only reason single-serve packages sell so well. Professors Rajeev Kohli and Oded Koenigsberg and PhD student Ricardo Montoya examine consumer income levels and motivations for single-serve purchases.
Fixing public schools
Does teacher certification affect student performance? Professor Jonah Rockoff looks at the performance of public school teachers in New York City.
When giving is cheap
A game reveals what lies beneath our most charitable impulse. Professor Ray Fisman studied individuals’ giving preferences with Shachar Kariv of UC Berkeley and Daniel Markovits of Yale.
Reassessing Robert Moses and his vision for New York
Professor Ray Horton, who was for 15 years president of the Citizens Budget Commission, a nonprofit organization that promotes good government in New York City and New York State, discusses the recent nostalgia for the master builder.
Ownership Versus Environment: Why Are Public Sector Firms Inefficient?
Privatization is not the only way to improve the performance of public-sector enterprises. A study of Indonesian firms, by Professors Ann Bartel of Columbia and Ann Harrison of UC Berkeley, shows that less drastic changes can lead to similar gains in productivity.
Rewarding efficient commuters, easing traffic congestion
How municipal governments can use incentive programs to create a shorter commute and improve welfare for all. Professor Nicolás Stier, whose research focuses on network design, looks at incentives, such as subsidies or discounts for public transportation.
