The 2020 Nobel Prize in Economics recognized Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson of Stanford University for their research on auctions. In this interview, Jean-Edouard Colliard, Associate Professor of Finance at HEC Paris and author of "Les Prix Nobel d’Economie", explains their research, and its role in the economy, society, and the perception of economists.
New research analyzes how activist short sellers’ “research reports” convince investors that the companies they target are overvalued. Professors Luc Paugam and Hervé Stolowy of HEC Paris and Yves Gendron of the Université Laval found that the share price of companies targeted by major activist short sellers drop by 11.2%, on average, over three days. Target firms are also more likely to be subsequently delisted, suspended from stock exchanges, or to go bankrupt. Who are activist short sellers and how do they police financial markets?
By Luc Paugam , Hervé Stolowy
The idea of issuing perpetual debt to combat the Covid crisis has recently been floated by prominent public figures such as hedge fund manager George Soros (The EU Should Issue Perpetual Bonds), economist Luis Garicano and former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt (Toward a European Reconstruction Fund). A perpetual bond is a bond that pays an annual coupon forever and whose principal is never repaid. Conceptually, a perpetual bond is a coupon-paying bond with an infinite maturity.
A major issue facing companies that use AI, algorithmic bias can perpetuate social inequalities — as well as pose legal and reputational risks to the companies in question. New research at HEC Paris offers a statistical method of tracking down and eliminating unfairness.
By Christophe Pérignon
At the senior level, men outnumber women by a 10 to 1 ratio in the private equity sector. Considerations about gender equality notwithstanding, such a testosterone-only environment is not good for... the bottom line. A large-scale study of investment deals by HEC Paris professor of strategy and business policy proves that teams with at least one female member dramatically outperform male-only teams. An interview with Oliver Gottschalg.
HEC Paris Ph.D. student Huan Tang was rewarded the 2020 AQR Top Finance Graduate Award. This prize rewards the six best finance Ph.D. graduates in the world. Huan works on the value that consumers place on the privacy of information in online bank lending platforms, under the supervision of Johan Hombert, HEC Paris professor of finance. In this interview, Huan explains what her latest research brings to the field of data privacy in online banking and FinTechs.
Research by Johan Hombert (HEC Paris) recently published in The Journal of Finance shows that well-designed unemployment insurance is key to foster business dynamism. As unemployment is surging in the wake of COVID-19, the post-crisis policy toolkit should take special care of the design of unemployment insurance.
By Johan Hombert
Is the COVID-19 pandemic an opportunity for us to rethink our current energy system? Jean-Michel Gauthier, professor and Executive Director of the Energy & Finance Chair at HEC Paris, explains the global consequences of the coronavirus and paints a picture of the future of the Energy Transition right here at the heart of the European Union.
What do companies gain when they make political contributions? HEC Paris professor of finance Alexei Ovtchinnikov and his co-authors sought to pinpoint one benefit for firms—increased innovation—and to understand the mechanisms behind it.
By Alexei Ovtchinnikov
This in-depth dossier features the latest and cutting-edge research findings on decision making from HEC Paris' professors. We hope that the tools presented will help you think your decision making from new angles and to elaborate appropriate strategies in various situations, especially during these times of uncertainty.
