When market shocks occur, firms that have the financial resources to repurchase their own shares experience less volatility.
New computer and information technologies not only increase productivity, they can transform entire organizations and industries.
The core leaders that I have at many levels in the system are not people who came from the education schools — they’re people who came from the business schools, and from the business sector. That causes me a lot of political heat, but that’s just fine.
In doing background research on my most recent Slate article, I tried to find political reasons why California set up its three-strikes law in a way that seems crazy to economists.
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 Robert Moses, the master builder.
Dean Glenn Hubbard talks about why progressive tax rates tend to deter new entrepreneurs and how far governments should go to create a favorable environment for entrepreneurship.
Standard models for tracking bond yields have limited predictive power, but a new model based on macroeconomic variables forecasts yields with a high degree of accuracy.
Analyzing the river as an inventory control system yields a solution to an ecological problem.
Should the U.S. join the Kyoto Protocol, or at least play a positive role in the search for a successor? Or is this too costly, or otherwise “fatally flawed,” as our president has suggested?
Charles Jones offers some simple advice for appraising the state of the ongoing credit crisis.
How municipal governments can use incentive programs to create a shorter commute and improve welfare for all.
Do laws or the marketplace motivate firms to release information about their behavior?
My trip began with a good omen — cherry blossoms in full bloom — and continued with frank discussions on the current state of the world’s financial markets.
Using smoking as a proxy for time preference may help explain why some workers invest more in career development than others.
In the face of strenuous physical demands, many dancers smoke cigarettes — to the detriment of their health. Why do they do it? The answer may surprise you.
Dean Glenn Hubbard explains five reforms to the U.S. health care system that may save as much as $60 billion a year while extending coverage and increasing consumer choice.
In March, Lukas Bauer ’09 and I worked with the First MicroFinanceBank of Tajikistan to assess the viability of providing commercial loans to small and medium enterprises.
Corruption — a major barrier to growth and development in poor countries — is difficult to define and even more difficult to measure. Creative research methods are shedding new light on its effects.
One of the reasons that Modern Political Economy is such an enjoyable course to teach is that every term a real-life issue emerges that underscores the course’s contemporary relevance. What to do about the credit crisis that cascaded from the home mortgage debacle is the latest case in point.
“Adam Smith wrote that there are three things that could derail capitalism,” said Professor Horton one recent Friday morning.
Geoffrey Heal, coauthor of a National Academy of Sciences report that is helping government agencies assess the costs and benefits of ecosystem services, talks about environmental conservation.
To keep self-interested politicians from squandering public funds, governments should consider carrying more debt, more often.
Frederic Mishkin explains that while emerging market countries face special macroeconomic challenges, inflation targeting can work well in those countries if it's done right.
Joseph Stiglitz, a prominent critic of globalization's shortcomings, offers practical ideas for extending its benefits.
The idea that an ethical business must simply follow the law and provide the highest returns to their shareholders while doing so is dying a long-overdue death.
Yesterday I asked Public Offering visitors the same question I asked my Modern Political Economy students: should the federal government intervene in the current crisis or simply let the market work its painful way out? Here are a couple student responses.
New research using Megan’s Laws data confirms that property values decline when sex offenders move into a neighborhood — and points to how much it's worth spending on policies that prevent violent crime.
Privatization is not the only way to improve the performance of public-sector enterprises. A study of Indonesian firms shows that less drastic changes can lead to similar gains in productivity.
A game theory model offers antitrust regulators a new screening method for collusive behavior.
Cliff Cramer, who directs the School’s new Program in Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Management, explains how a multidisciplinary business education can help mend an increasingly convoluted and flawed industry.
Will oil prices stay at current levels, and how will they affect consumer confidence and the economy as a whole?
Over the past 14 years, Larry Perelman ’08 played piano for his friend Bill Buckley many times. He also dined at his house on Tuesday, February 26 — the night before he died.
Professor Linda Green clarifies a common misconception about emergency room delays.
A game reveals what lies beneath our most charitable impulse.
Is microfinance the key to ending poverty in the developing world? New research findings could help microfinance institutions lower their interest rates and reach more borrowers.
Congestion pricing aims to cut urban traffic congestion and pollution by charging drivers entering downtown cores an access fee. Nicolas Stier, Nachum Sicherman and Eric Johnson weigh in on the process.
When testing competitors' products results in greener products -- and a better bottom line.
From the moment we exited the airport, we knew we’d have to throw all preconceived notions about Lagos out the window.
During a classroom simulation, students were able to witness the failure of a market due to asymmetric information between sellers and buyers.
Drawing lessons from recent and historical financial crises, Charles Calomiris offers policy recommendations for managing risk in global financial markets.
Geoffrey Heal is a cofounder of the Coalition for Rainforest Nations, which is seeking financial incentives for forest conservation.
David Beim discusses why America has little to fear from opening its markets and much to gain from moderating its appetite for deficits.
For better or worse, to grab people’s attention, you need more than interesting economics — it helps to have some drug smugglers, mafia characters, warlords or Sex and the City thrown in.
Professor Frank Lichtenberg was quoted in an Associated Press article on whether or not the recent economic downturn warrants using the word recession.
Nachum Sicherman, who has researched cost-benefit analysis in medical decision making, delves into the economic angles of the city’s controversial public health regulation.
This was my eighth consecutive year attending the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting at Davos. My first year there, I found myself guiding the late Yasser Arafat to the men’s room and having a tête-à-tête with Oprah Winfrey.
Does teacher certification affect student performance?
Firms in developed countries can compete with those in emerging economies by specializing at the high end of the quality scale.
Progressive Personal Accounts — a new plan for reforming the U.S. public pension system — could satisfy Democrats and Republicans.
How can credit markets in developed countries help low-income families break the cycle of poverty?
During spring break we traveled to Ghana with the mission of developing a marketing strategy that would increase tourism and investment in Kumasi, Ghana’s second largest city.
Why has Africa been left out of the business revolution? William Duggan discusses an alternative to aid for the world's poorest countries.
A mathematical model helps doctors offer every patient a same-day appointment.
Many foreclosures are not preventable. However, if a foreclosure is preventable, and the borrower wants to stay in the home, the economic case for trying to avoid foreclosure is strong.
Dean Glenn Hubbard and Professor William Duggan propose a business-sector support project for Africa. Read more...
Current MBA students donated close to $60,000 to the Columbia Outreach Programs (CORPS) Fellowships, helping to sponsor 14 of their peers in summer internships at nonprofit and public-sector organizations around the world. Read more...
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