Financial Incentives - Publications - Faculty & Research

August 2006
Article

Investor Sentiment and the Cross Section of Stock Returns

By: Malcolm Baker and Jeffrey Wurgler

We examine how investor sentiment affects the cross-section of stock returns. Theory predicts that a broad wave of sentiment will disproportionately affect stocks whose valuations are highly subjective and are difficult to arbitrage. We test this prediction by... View Details

Keywords: Behavioral Finance; Stocks; Investment Return; Forecasting and Prediction; Motivation and Incentives; Risk and Uncertainty; Volatility

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29 Feb 2024
Blog Post

IFC India: JSW Steel and Cement and the Quest to Capture Carbon in Hard to Abate Sectors

across the country. How to juggle the challenge of developing a country of 1.4 billion people while being pressured to achieve a net zero target? As we explored India during our ten days for our Immersive Field Course, from its Financial... View Details

09 Oct 2017
Research & Ideas

Fearing Fox News, Democratic-leaning Companies Delayed Negative Announcements

cable providers to be included in their lineups, which spurred the channel's rapid growth. "They reached out to all these local cable companies and gave them financial incentives to broadcast Fox News... View Details

Keywords: by Jen Deaderick; Media & Broadcasting

Profile

Deborah A. Farrington

When Deborah Farrington and her two sisters were growing up, their mother and father made it clear to all of them at an early age that they could do anything they set their minds to. Her father worked in financial services at Lehman... View Details

20 Dec 2011
First Look

First Look: December 20

limited managers' incentives to take actions favoring equity over debt for firms in the vicinity of financial distress. We show that this ruling increased the likelihood of equity issues, increased... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

06 Jan 2021
Research & Ideas

Unexpected Exercise Advice for the Super Busy: Ditch the Rigid Routine

paid $7 a session and the $3-earning “flexible” participants visited the gym at approximately the same frequency. Not surprisingly, “routine” gym-goers were more likely to exercise within their appointed time slot. After the initial four weeks, when the View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

01 Sep 2011
News

Water for Life

has invested over $1 billion in laying 2,000 miles of water lines and building 33 wastewater treatment plants while returning strong profits for shareholders. Equally important, the company has emerged as a model for integrating financial... View Details

Keywords: Waste Management and Remediation Services; Corporate Services; Water, Sewage and Supply Systems; Utilities

22 Jan 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, January 22, 2019

and Galanz, which has brought microwave ovens to millions of Chinese consumers previously considered too poor to buy such an appliance. What’s more, the essentials of development can be “pulled in” by market-creating innovators—and over time, governments and View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

17 Apr 2012
First Look

First Look: April 17

incentives to recall the rules accurately (Experiment 3). Finally, moral forgetting appears to result from decreased access to moral rules after cheating (Experiment 4). Designed for Workarounds: A Qualitative Study of Hospitals' Internal... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

11 Sep 2019
Research & Ideas

Germany May Have the Answer for Reducing Drug Prices

the Poronui Associate Professor of Business Administration. Pharmaceutical companies have long opposed efforts to regulate drug prices, arguing that prices reflect the companies’ massive research investments. But Germany’s approach shows how the right View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Health

01 Apr 1996
News

Stasis and Turmoil: HBS Research for the Real World

1991 to 1994, he served as the first senior associate dean, director of financial and information systems, at HBS. He has coauthored five books and written nearly two hundred cases and articles. The Managerial Implications of Deregulation... View Details

06 Apr 2023
Blog Post

Circularity in Denmark

in their sectors. The companies we visited have proven that we can make progress on climate goals without making financial sacrifices. Green investments can have short ROIs. However, in hard-to-abate sectors such as shipping, a carbon tax... View Details

25 Apr 2018
Blog Post

Policy, Practice, Leadership & Impact: Making a Difference with the HBS/HKS Joint Degree

passionate about the work and strongly believed in its impact, I also began to observe the risks, limitations, and skewed incentives foreign aid creates within local governments. I began taking a longer-term view of the countries I was in... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit / Government

19 Mar 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, March 19, 2019

Jorge Tamayo Abstract—Canonical models of criminal behavior highlight the importance of economic incentives and employment opportunities in determining participation in crime (Becker, 1968). Yet, deriving causal corroborating evidence... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

08 Dec 2015
First Look

December 8, 2015

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=39914 Incentives for Prosocial Behavior: The Role of Reputations By: Exley, Christine L. Abstract—Do monetary incentives encourage volunteering? Or, do they... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

26 Apr 2011
Op-Ed

HBS Faculty Comment on Environmental Issues for Earth Day

well and maintains a healthy relationship with the environment has a higher probability of being economically sustainable," a Santander executive observed. Can money be made while saving the earth? Can the private sector accomplish what politicians find difficult? Are... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Energy; Utilities

17 Apr 2007
First Look

First Look: April 17, 2007

that, although misaligned economic incentives can play a role in explaining misalignment of planning behaviors, there is another important issue to consider: in our setting, the key factor that determines whether two functions or firms... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

01 Sep 2004
News

A Market-Based Prescription

The Bulletin caught up with HBS professor Regina E. Herzlinger this summer as she was en route to Nashville to accept the 2004 Healthcare Financial Management Association Board of Directors’ Award. The prestigious honor recognizes thought... View Details

Keywords: Deborah E. Blagg; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Health, Social Assistance

04 Apr 2011
Research & Ideas

Attention Medical Shoppers: What Health Care Can Learn from Walmart and Amazon

that the system isn't set up to incentivize health care workers to do that. "The reason it's never done is that nobody gets paid to do it .there's no incentive to do anything," Cutler said. Services Not Emphasized In terms of... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Health

21 Apr 2009
First Look

First Look: April 21, 2009

crossed with small incentive (ranging from U.S. $3 to $14) to open a bank savings account. We find that the financial literacy program has no effect on the likelihood of opening a bank savings account in the... View Details