Publications

2010
Working Paper

Agglomerative Forces and Cluster Shapes

By: William R. Kerr and Scott Duke Kominers

We model spatial clusters of similar firms. Our model highlights how agglomerative forces lead to localized, individual connections among firms, while interaction costs generate a defined distance over which attraction forces operate. Overlapping firm interactions... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Geographic Location; Patents; Labor; Industry Clusters; Industry Structures; Relationships; Competitive Advantage; Technology Industry; California

March 2009
Article

Loyalty-Based Portfolio Choice

By: Lauren Cohen

I evaluate the effect of loyalty on individuals' portfolio choice using a unique dataset of retirement contributions. I exploit the statutory difference that in 401(k) plans stand alone employees can invest directly in their division, while conglomerate employees must... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Retirement; Decisions; Employees; Performance Evaluation; Business Conglomerates; Compensation and Benefits

2023
Working Paper

Dynamic Pricing, Intertemporal Spillovers, and Efficiency

By: Alexander J. MacKay, Dennis Svartbäck and Anders G. Ekholm

Pricing technology that allows firms to rapidly adjust prices has two potential benefits. Time-varying prices can respond to high-frequency demand shocks to generate greater revenues, and they can also be used to smooth out demand to reduce costs. Using data... View Details

Keywords: Price; Consumer Behavior; Applications and Software; Volatility

March 1986 (Revised July 1986)
Case

Applications for Financial Futures

Consists of a series of four brief descriptions of the use of financial futures as hedging vehicles: a savings and loan hedging the rollover of three-month money market certificates with T-bill futures, a corporate debt issuer hedging the cost of a future debt issue... View Details

Keywords: Financial Instruments

Educators

Purchase

Summer 2014
Article

Delegation in Multi-Establishment Firms: Evidence from I.T. Purchasing

By: Kristina Steffenson McElheran

Recent contributions to a growing theory literature have focused on the tradeoff between adaptation and coordination in determining delegation within firms. Empirical evidence, however, is limited. Using establishment-level data on decision rights over information... View Details

Keywords: Management Practices and Processes; Adaptation; Cooperation

Purchase

2010
Other Unpublished Work

Why Takeover Vulnerability Matters to Debtholders

By: Joan Farre-Mensa

Recent work documents that firms that are more vulnerable to takeover have higher borrowing costs. This paper investigates the reasons behind this stylized fact. My results show that firms with few antitakeover defenses face a higher cost of debt because lenders are... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Borrowing and Debt; Cost; Equity; Banks and Banking; Investment Portfolio; Risk Management; Agreements and Arrangements; Business and Shareholder Relations; Conflict and Resolution

2011
Working Paper

Do Not Trash the Incentive! Monetary Incentives and Waste Sorting

By: Alessandro Bucciol, Natalia Montinari and Marco Piovesan

This paper examines whether monetary incentives are an effective tool for increasing domestic waste sorting. We exploit the exogenous variation in the pricing systems experienced during the 1999-2008 decade by the 95 municipalities in the district of Treviso (Italy).... View Details

Keywords: Household; Cost Management; Consumer Behavior; Wastes and Waste Processing; Motivation and Incentives; Public Administration Industry; Italy

2009
Working Paper

Why Do Countries Adopt International Financial Reporting Standards?

By: Karthik Ramanna and Ewa Sletten

In a sample of 102 non-European Union countries, we study variations in the decision to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). There is evidence that more powerful countries are less likely to adopt IFRS, consistent with more powerful countries being... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; International Accounting; Globalized Economies and Regions; Network Effects; Standards; Adoption

March 2019
Article

Evidence of Upcoding in Pay-for-Performance Programs

By: Hamsa Bastani, Joel Goh and Mohsen Bayati

Recent Medicare legislation seeks to improve patient care quality by financially penalizing providers for hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). However, Medicare cannot directly monitor HAI rates and instead relies on providers accurately self-reporting HAIs in claims... View Details

Keywords: Medical Coding; Health Policy; Healthcare-acquired Conditions; Medicare; Health Care and Treatment; Policy; Performance Improvement; Quality; Measurement and Metrics; Government Legislation

07 Sep 2021
Research & Ideas

Who Pays For Wildfire and Hurricane Damage? Everyone.

New Mexico homeowners might think their inland location buffers them from the financial toll of climate change, but they’re still paying for climate-related property damage occurring in coastal states. New research finds that homeowners in New Mexico and other states... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Insurance

2008
Working Paper

The Internalization of Advertising Services: An Inter-Industry Analysis

By: Sharon Horsky, Steven C. Michael and Alvin J. Silk

The common perception appears to be that vertical integration of advertising services is more the exception than the rule in the U.S. advertising industry. This study investigates the extent of such outsourcing and examines inter-industry variation in the use of... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Cost; Analytics and Data Science; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Service Operations; Creativity; Perception; Vertical Integration; Information Technology; Advertising Industry; United States

30 Aug 2017
News

The Surprising Power of Online Experiments

25 Jun 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Why Do Countries Adopt International Financial Reporting Standards?

Keywords: by Karthik Ramanna & Ewa Sletten; Accounting

Research Summary

When Distance Shrinks: The Effects of Competitor Proximity on Firm Survival

What are the performance implications of locating close to firms in one's industry? The existing empirical evidence is mixed. In this paper I argue that proximity between firms affects their performance differently... View Details

2020
Working Paper

Aggregate and Firm-Level Stock Returns During Pandemics, in Real Time

By: Laura Alfaro, Anusha Chari, Andrew Greenland and Peter K. Schott

We show that unexpected changes in the trajectory of COVID-19 infections predict U.S. stock returns, in real time. Parameter estimates indicate that an unanticipated doubling (halving) of projected infections forecasts next-day decreases (increases) in aggregate U.S.... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Stock Returns; Health Pandemics; Stocks; Investment Return; Forecasting and Prediction

02 Dec 2014
Working Paper Summaries

International Trade, Multinational Activity, and Corporate Finance

Keywords: by C. Fritz Foley & Kalina Manova

01 Apr 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Opting Out of Good Governance

Keywords: by C. Fritz Foley, Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham, Jonathan Greenstein & Eric Zwick

02 Jan 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Managing the Family Firm: Evidence from CEOs at Work

Keywords: by Oriana Bandiera, Andrea Prat & Raffaella Sadun

September 2017 (Revised February 2023)
Case

Intermountain Healthcare: Pursuing Precision Medicine

By: Richard G. Hamermesh, Kathy E. Giusti, Robert S. Huckman and Julia Kelley

Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Intermountain Healthcare operates 23 hospitals and hundreds of clinics in Utah and Idaho and provides insurance to approximately 850,000 patients through its insurance arm, SelectHealth. In 2013, Intermountain, known for its commitment... View Details

Keywords: Precision Medicine; Healthcare; Innovation; Cancer; Cancer Research; Health Care; Technology; Health Care and Treatment; Innovation Leadership; Disruptive Innovation; Entrepreneurship; Decision Choices and Conditions; Health Industry; Insurance Industry; Utah; United States; North America