Business, Economics & Finance
Christopher Gilbert | A Thorough Inquiry into Copper Super-Cycles
Understanding super-cycles is crucial for stakeholders such as investors, policymakers, and industry leaders as it offers insights into long-term trends and dynamics in commodity prices. Christopher Gilbert plays a pivotal role in providing stakeholders with the foresight needed to navigate fluctuations in metal prices and volatile markets confidently.
Dr Britta Holzberg | Stitching Together a Fairer Future: Insights from the Global Garment Industry
The global garment industry spans continents, cultures, and livelihoods. Ensuring decent work for the millions employed in its factories is an urgent concern. Dr Britta Holzberg has worked to unravel this intricate web through in-depth case studies in Egypt and Jordan. Her unique approach sheds new light on the factors shaping labour conditions. By considering the often-overlooked perspectives of supplier factories, Dr Holzberg offers a valuable new way of thinking about working conditions. Her work provides vital insights for academics, policymakers, and industries working to improve labour standards worldwide.
Stephen O’Byrne | Why Academic Research Has Done Little to Solve the Problems of Executive Pay
Competitive target pay is a basic principle of modern executive pay, embraced by corporate directors, compensation consultants and proxy advisors. Providing a high percent of pay in stock (or other incentive pay) is a second basic principle of modern executive pay. But when companies follow both of these principles, the result is a low correlation of cumulative pay and cumulative performance; in other words, little pay for performance. The fundamental problem is that translating target dollar pay into shares without adjusting for performance creates a systematic ‘performance penalty’. Poor performance – a declining stock price – is rewarded with more shares to provide target dollar pay, while good performance – a rising stock price – is penalised with a reduction in shares to keep from exceeding target dollar pay.
Dr Michal Franta – Dr Jan Libich | Distribution Tails, Recession Risks and Macroeconomic Policies
The Global Financial Crisis of 2007–2009 ignited significant reconsideration of financial and economic policies, spurring extensive research efforts to prevent future crises and cultivate a more stable and inclusive economic framework. Our research proposes a macro-financial empirical modelling framework that can assess various short-term and long-term macroeconomic risks through the examination of the tails of distributions of macroeconomic variables. The analysis reveals many novel facts regarding higher moments of the US output growth distribution. It also implies new findings and policy recommendations related to the impact of financial (risk premia) as well as monetary policy shocks on downside macroeconomic risk.
Professor Karen Hogan | Uncovering the Financial Fallout of Cyber-Attacks
In our increasingly digital world, cyber-attacks pose a significant threat to corporations with their potential to disrupt operations, damage reputations, and ultimately impact shareholder value. Because these attacks are getting more sophisticated, companies need to protect both their own systems and be aware of what potential threats might exist as a result of doing business with their suppliers and partners. Professor Karen Hogan from Saint Joseph’s University in the USA is an expert on the complex relationship between cyber-attacks and shareholder wealth. Her comprehensive research provides valuable insights into how companies and investors can navigate this treacherous landscape.
Dr Simone Farinelli – Dr Hideyuki Takada | Geometric Arbitrage Theory: A New Conceptual Structure in Financial Mathematics
Stochastic finance modelling allows researchers to describe, analyse, and predict the highly variable behaviour of markets. Dr Simone Farinelli (Core Dynamics GmbH, Switzerland) and Dr Hideyuki Takada (Toho University, Japan) are experts in mathematical finance and economics. They have developed a new conceptual structure known as the Geometric Arbitrage Theory that rephrases our understanding of classical stochastic finance modelling and allows the better characterisation of arbitrage in generic markets.
Professor Anup Basu | Hidden Costs of Gender Inequality in Aging Couples’ Financial Management
Gender inequality takes different forms across economic, social, political, and cultural situations. One important example from everyday life relates to how households make financial decisions. Professor Anup Basu from Queensland University of Technology researches the intersection of age, financial decision-making and gender. His recent research sheds light on the influences that shape the distribution of financial management and responsibilities in ageing couples.
Professor Usha Haley | A Word of Caution: State-Capitalist Investment in US Shale Gas
Understanding how neurons come together and form circuits in the brain is crucial to understanding how the brain works. Dr Kara Pratt and her team at the University of Wyoming are uncovering the mysteries behind the formation of neural circuitry and the ability of neurons to self-organise into highly refined networks. An incredibly elegant series of experiments using the larva stage of frogs has progressed insight into this fundamental phenomenon of neuroscience, specifically in the visual system.
Jacob Hariri – Asger Wingender | Democratisation Becomes Less Likely When Arms Technology Surpasses Economic Development
Professor Jacob Hariri and Professor Asger Wingender, both at the University of Copenhagen, recently noticed that in most countries outside Europe and North America, economic development lags far behind government access to highly sophisticated weapons. The professors draw lessons from history and their extensive statistical analyses to warn that such an imbalance makes repression cheaper and easier, and democracy less likely to emerge.
Dr Kimberly Kay Hoang | Spiderweb Capitalism: The Secret Financial Webs Built by the Ultra-Wealthy
The anonymous leak of the Panama Papers in 2016 revealed how the exceptionally wealthy (such as politicians, celebrities and business leaders) hide their money and exploit secretive offshore tax regimes. Dr Kimberly Kay Hoang is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Chicago, and after six years of research, hundreds of interviews and travelling 350,000 miles, she published Spiderweb Capitalism: How Global Elites Exploit Frontier Markets. She uncovered the mechanisms behind the movement of money into and out of Southeast Asia, and how that money travels all over the world.
Dr Ian Maxwell | Patents, Politics and Products: Considering Chinese-Owned Australian Patents
Patents, or holding the intellectual property rights to an invention, can be of great importance to a company, as they allow them to sell their product in a specific market with reduced competition. Dr Ian Maxwell has recently considered the patents filed by Chinese entities in Australia, looking in particular at the recent growth in the number of these patents being filed. He considers the interplay between patents and political rulings and provides several insightful statistics about these Chinese-owned Australian patents.
Dr Reuven Bar-On – Dr Carina Fiedeldey-Van Dijk | Optimising Employee Talent with a Multifactor Measure of Performance
Dr Reuven Bar-On and Dr Carina Fiedeldey-Van Dijk, the co-directors of Into Performance ULC, are established experts in the psychology of human performance. For over 35 years, Dr Bar-On has examined human performance within the workplace and elsewhere. He originally developed the Bar-On Multifactor Measure of Performance (MMP), a psychometric instrument designed to study, evaluate and enhance performance and accessible via the MMP2Perform.com website. Together, Dr Fiedeldey-Van Dijk and Dr Bar-On are continuing to develop this model and evidence-based approaches to maximise employee potential in the workplace with MMP-driven business solutions.
Dr Jon Neill | The Impact of Trade Deficits in America
Former President Donald Trump promised to bring jobs back to the U.S., arguing that the trade deficit was responsible for slow economic growth and costing the economy jobs. While the Trump administration popularised the issue, historically, the broad impact of trade deficits has been contentious. Dr Jon Neill is a Professor of Economics at Western Michigan University. His computational modelling has shown that U.S. residents would experience a slight loss if consumer goods currently being imported from countries like China, were produced domestically instead. His calculations question whether the net benefit from trade with low-wage countries is warranted, given the distributional impact of that trade.
Dr Michael Beer | Transforming Organisations with Honest Conversations
To face new challenges and societal changes, organisations must be able to adapt their practices swiftly and effectively. But all too often, efforts to change organisations fail to achieve the desired results. Dr Michael Beer, Professor Emeritus at Harvard Business School, devised a new approach to organisational change informed by his extensive experience as a researcher and management consultant. His approach centres on the development of honest, collective, and open conversations between senior management teams and key people below the top.
Dr Iveta Malasevska | Ski Economics: Using Dynamic Ticket Pricing to Increase Ski Slope Revenues
The ski industry currently faces a number of challenges, including climate change, falling demand and lift ticket prices. Dr Iveta Malasevska, a senior researcher at Eastern Norway Research Institute based at Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, is collaborating with colleagues on a project called ‘Innovative Pricing Approaches in the Alpine Skiing Industry’. The team is examining pricing analytics at ski resorts in Norway intending to develop optimal pricing schemes to address the challenges faced by alpine ski resorts and improve their long-term financial performance.
Dr Jan Libich | Dr Liam Lenten – The Problems with Financializing the Economy
While a well-developed financial system can contribute to economic prosperity, if it grows too large or is inadequately regulated it may actually cause more harm than good – adversely affecting socio-economic outcomes and people’s wellbeing. This is one of the key conclusions of a recent survey of the literature in which we document the role of the financial system in society’s development. We find that the trend towards financialization, observed over the past four decades, has gradually transformed modern finance from ‘hero’ to ‘villain’.
Dr Jennifer E. Jennings | Exploring the Link Between Gender and Entrepreneurship
Although there have been many recent studies investigating gender differences in business settings, the complex factors behind these differences remain poorly understood. Dr Jennifer E. Jennings, a Professor at the University of Alberta, has been conducting extensive research focusing on gender and entrepreneurship, to better understand the impact that an entrepreneur’s gender can have on their confidence, opportunities, leadership styles, organisational practices, and innovativeness. Her work sheds a new and informative light on the gendering of entrepreneurial activity.
Professor Xiangming Chen – China’s Belt and Road Initiative: An Epochal Initiative Connecting the World
In 2013, the Chinese Government launched the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a massive global infrastructure-building initiative, to increase trade by connecting cities within and across continents. The initiative is redefining globalisation, urbanisation, regionalism, and development. Professor Xiangming Chen has released a policy expo-book (sponsored by the Regional Studies Association) that traces out the changing economic, social, and spatial fortunes of the regions connected to the initiative. In this timely book, the author outlines a modern, fresh and factual account of an outward-looking China ushering in a new era of globalisation through a variety of widespread and far-reaching trans-boundary economic and infrastructure connectivities.
Dr Hui Xiong – Matching People with their Ideal Job Using Artificial Intelligence
The main responsibility of recruitment consultants is to match individuals to jobs that best suit their professional experience, skills, capabilities, dispositions, and academic background. Dr Hui Xiong at Rutgers University has been leading efforts to develop tools based on artificial neural networks that can automatically identify the right individuals for specific roles. Over the past few years, he has led efforts to design a comprehensive intelligent HR management system that could bring significant intelligence in human resource management.
Professor John Padgett – A Dynamic Framework for Studying the Emergence of New Organisational Forms
Like living organisms, human organisations have evolved throughout history, with new forms emerging and transforming in various settings. Examples include the coevolution of capitalism and state formation, and modern capitalism’s relationship with science. Professor John Padgett at the University of Chicago and Professor Walter Powell at Stanford University set out to discover how new firms, organisations, and institutions come to be. In a landmark book, a decade in the making, they appropriate ideas and concepts used to explain the origin of life, to help explain the emergence of new organisations and markets.
Dr Thomas Gray – Cooperative Structures: Finding a Way Forward for Mid-size Farms
More than 80% of agricultural land in the US is managed by farmers whose operations fall between small-scale farms with direct access to local markets, and larger industrialised farms. These farmers in the ‘middle’ increasingly struggle to find a place within the larger food production system. Through his work as part of the ‘Agriculture of the Middle’ Initiative, Dr Thomas Gray of the Rural Business-Cooperative Service at the US Department of Agriculture has been studying different types of cooperative structures for best adaptability to socio-economic and food consumption patterns for mid-size farm survival.
Dr Kai Sebastian Gehring – Politics at the Intersection of Identity and Economics
The UK’s recent decision to exit the European Union has shone a spotlight on the role of identities in shaping people’s economic and political decisions. Dr Kai Sebastian Gehring is a senior researcher in Economics at the University of Zurich, who investigates group identities and the distribution of resources, and how they affect political stability and conflict.
Dr Daniel Gallardo Albarrán | Professor Herman de Jong – Health and Wealth in the 20th Century: Implications for Today
The 20th century brought significant improvements in income and health of citizens across many countries worldwide. Dr Daniel Gallardo Albarrán (University of Wageningen) and Professor Herman de Jong (University of Groningen) have used a comprehensive framework addressing many dimensions of human development, to take a new and closer look at changes in economy and health during the first half of the 20th century.
Professor Francesco Audrino – Using Big Data to Improve Financial Forecasting
Hookah smoking is the least regulated tobacco form. It is rapidly gaining in popularity to the extent that we are now facing a contemporary epidemic of tobacco abuse. Of particular concern is the level of usage among youth and young adults. Professor Mary Rezk-Hanna from the University of California, Los Angeles works with a group of scientists who aim to drive policy regulation of tobacco and alternative tobacco products, including hookah smoking, by investigating their health effects on the cardiovascular system.
Professor Ingrid Miethe – The Workers’ Faculty: The Globalisation of Soviet Education
The borrowing and lending of educational models between nations has a long and interesting history. However, much of modern literature focuses on transfers between capitalist societies. Professor Ingrid Miethe of the University of Gießen studies the global transfer of...
Dr Henning Kroll – Sustainable Innovation for an Equitable World
Frugal innovation is the art of using limited resources and ingenuity to sell products that are affordable for more people. Alongside his collaborators, Dr Henning Kroll of the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research explores the many benefits of this...
Professor Katja Langenbucher – Making the Law Measurable: ‘Economic Transplants’ in the Legal World
How can jurists hold people legally accountable for their actions if there is no one, certain and ‘objective’ way of reading the law’s rules? How can we award monetary damages or send people to prison if legal rules have multiple meanings and numerous ways of...
Dr Tarun Sabarwal – The Shape of Rational Choices in Game Theory
The choices we make in various situations have collective effects on the patterns of overall movement in conflict and cooperation. Dr Tarun Sabarwal at the University of Kansas is investigating the ways in which the overall pictures produced by these behaviours can be...
AFCERC: The Agribusiness, Food & Consumer Economics Research Center
Research investigating the economic, social, psychological and physiological factors that influence consumers’ food choices can help in gaining a better understanding of how individuals select particular foods. The Agribusiness, Food, and Consumer Economics...
Dr Rens van de Schoot – Statistical Methods for Small Data
Researchers are heavily reliant on statistical techniques that are based on large sample sizes. Therefore, attempts to gain useful information from small samples can often lead to biased, or incorrect conclusions. Dr Rens van de Schoot at Utrecht University has shown...
Dr Robert Lempert – Solving Long-Term Wicked Problems
Climate change is one of the most pressing long-term challenges facing humanity and planet Earth. However, scientific uncertainty still leaves the scope of the threat unclear, and the path forward even more so. Now Dr Robert Lempert and his colleagues at RAND...
Professor Bo Rothstein – The Core of Corruption
Corruption in governments affects all aspects of daily life. A society’s health, prosperity and even trust in others are all impacted by the integrity of administrations. Professor Bo Rothstein, co-founder of the Quality of Government Institute at the University of...