Publications

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12 Mar 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Inflation Bets or Deflation Hedges? The Changing Risks of Nominal Bonds

Keywords: by John Y. Campbell, Adi Sunderam & Luis M. Viceira

23 Apr 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Corporate Financial Policies in Misvalued Credit Markets

Keywords: by Jarrad Harford, Marc Martos-Vila & Matthew Rhodes-Kropf; Financial Services; Banking

2009
Article

Empirical Capital Structure: A Review

By: Christopher Parsons and Sheridan Titman

This survey provides a synthesis of the empirical capital structure literature. Our synthesis is divided into three parts. The first part examines the evidence that relates to the cross-sectional determinants of capital structure. This literature identifies and... View Details

Keywords: Capital Structure; Corporate Finance

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September 1984 (Revised July 2005)
Case

Higgins v. Commissioner

By: Henry B. Reiling

Discusses the issue of whether an activity is a trade or business. The Court held that the taxpayer's very substantial stock and bond portfolio management activities were not a trade or business, whereas the taxpayer's real estate activities did constitute a trade or... View Details

Keywords: Taxation; Courts and Trials; Investment Portfolio; Property; United States

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17 Apr 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Technology Choice and Capacity Portfolios Under Emissions Regulation

Keywords: by David Drake, Paul R. Kleindorfer & Luk N. Van Wassenhove

November 2007 (Revised June 2016)
Case

British Land

By: Lucy White

British Land's shares traded below NAV. Laxey investments tried to force British Land into share buybacks and criticized its corporate governance. Laxey voted borrowed shares at the AGM. View Details

Keywords: Stock Shares; Valuation; Property; Investment; Corporate Governance; Real Estate Industry; London

October 2007
Article

The Power of Stars: Do Star Actors Drive the Success of Movies?

By: Anita Elberse

Is the involvement of star actors critical to the success of motion pictures? Film studios, which they regularly pay multimillion-dollar fees to star actors, seem driven by that belief. I shed light on the returns on this investment using an event study that considers... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Film Entertainment; Investment Return; Revenue; Compensation and Benefits; Resource Allocation; Success; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

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January 2022
Background Note

The Florange Law: Encouraging Long-Termism in Equity Markets?

By: Charles C.Y. Wang and Tonia Labruyere

This note provides background information on a French law (“the Florange law”) passed in 2014 that the French government said would encourage long-term shareholdings. The note describes the law, what led to it, the reactions it evoked, and similar initiatives in other... View Details

Keywords: Equity; Financial Markets; Investment Activism; Institutional Investing; Corporate Governance; Policy; Rights; Laws and Statutes; Business and Government Relations; Accounting Industry; France

November 2010 (Revised October 2012)
Background Note

Farmland Investing: A Technical Note

By: Ray Goldberg, Arthur I Segel, Gustavo Herrero and Andrew Terris

This note seeks to provide an overview of farmland investing, the investment thesis behind investing in agriculture, how and why investors would choose farmland, and the general risks and return characteristics of this asset class. In recent years, a growing number of... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Investment; Investment Return; Risk Management; Property; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; Asia; United States; South America

February 2013 (Revised February 2013)
Case

King Abdullah Economic City in 2009: Population Drivers and Cash Flow

By: John D. Macomber

CEO of high profile new economic city in Saudi Arabia must decide how to allocate limited investment funds across projects under duress. Issues include understanding core economic drivers, planning infrastructure investment and return, attracting multinationals, energy... View Details

Keywords: Urban Development; Infrastructure; Real Estate Industry; Saudi Arabia

Research Summary

Research Focus of Chris Gordon

Chris Gordon's main area of interest and expertise is the delivery of complex capital projects. These projects can take the form of government sponsored infrastructure projects such as highways and utilities, private real estate development such as commercial and... View Details

March 2012
Article

The Incentive Bubble

By: Mihir Desai

The past three decades have seen American capitalism quietly transformed by a single, powerful idea—that financial markets are a suitable tool for measuring performance and structuring compensation. Stock instruments for managers, high-powered incentive contracts for... View Details

Keywords: Economic Systems; Financial Markets; Executive Compensation; Motivation and Incentives; Corporate Governance; Equality and Inequality; Human Capital; United States

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14 Apr 2021
Research & Ideas

The High Cost of the Slow COVID Vaccine Rollout

government to invest more, the social returns could be enormous." For now, Kominers hopes the research team’s analysis sends a clear message: When it comes to vaccinating the public during a pandemic, we shouldn’t cut corners. “I would... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Health

January 2019
Case

King Abdullah Economic City: Population Drivers and Cash Flow

By: John D. Macomber

CEO of high profile new economic city in Saudi Arabia must decide how to allocate limited investment funds across projects under duress. Issues include understanding core economic drivers; planning infrastructure investment and return; attracting multinationals; and... View Details

Keywords: Urban Development; Infrastructure; Project Finance; Resource Allocation; Decision Making; City; Real Estate Industry; Saudi Arabia

29 Apr 2015
Lessons from the Classroom

Use Personal Experience to Pick Winning Stocks

Let's face it: in most cases, the stock market knows what it's doing. With millions of people performing their homework and investing money in stocks they hope will pay off, it's hard for any one person to beat the market in a big way.... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

December 1999 (Revised October 2006)
Case

Praedium Corporation

By: Henry B. Reiling and Catherine M. Conneely

George Hicks and Patricia Ferrey, primary shareholders of the Praedium Corp., faced a dilemma that could dissolve their real estate management company. Praedium received an attractive offer to lease one of its properties, however, Hicks did not want to terminate the... View Details

Keywords: Leasing; Property; Taxation; Investment Return; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry

June 2018
Background Note

Introduction to Life Settlements

By: Alexander Braun, Lauren H. Cohen, Christopher J. Malloy and Jiahua Xu

Life insurance is an asset owned by the majority of American adults (61%). Note that this 61% penetration rate is essentially at parity with home ownership (64%) and higher than that of 401(k) retirement account ownership (53%). Life settlements, or life insurance... View Details

Keywords: Insurance; Assets; Value; Markets; Investment Return