Alumni Association

Economics Prize for John Van Reenen
John Van Reenen, director of the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics and a visiting professor at the Stanford GSB, is the 2009 recipient of the Yrjö Jahnsson Award in Economics. Economics Prize for John Van Reenen Details

Small Islands, Big Economic Lessons
Barbados and Jamaica are living proof that government protectionist policies hurt the economy in the long run. Once sporting nearly identical economies, today Barbados outstrips Jamaica's GDP by more than $5,000 per capita says GSB Professor Peter Henry. Details

Space Junk: What Goes Up Must Come Down
Enforcing existing rules requiring space programs to take out their own trash could stem the growing threat of millions of dollars worth of orbiting satellites colliding with space junk, say Stanford researchers. The rules are already on the books; they are merely being ignored, says GSB Professor Lawrence Wein. Space Junk Details

Pondering the Ethics of Global Business
Ethical dilemmas, such as selling other nations scanners that can tell the sex of an unborn child or kerosene heaters without safety features available in the United States, were debated during a discussion on "Academic vs. Real World Ethics" led by GSB Professor David Brady. Pondering Ethics of Global Business Details

Corruption Hurts Business as Well as a Nation's Reputation
Corruption, whether in government or in private industry, serves as a serious drag on a nation's wealth and creates a less favorable climate for business, says GSB Professor Ernesto Dal Bó. For one thing, corruption swells the number of employees needed, driving up costs and sidetracking workers from jobs that could help grow an economy. Too Much Popularity Details

Case Study of an African Bank Comes to Life at Stanford Business School
A student trip to Kenya introduced a Stanford GSB professor to a successful Nairobi bank and led to a case study that links MBA students to the African continent. Case Study of an African Bank Details

Dictatorships Often Survive with Local Support
While dictatorships are associated with armed force and even terror, many survive because of deep ethnic divisions in the general populace that act as insurance to keep dictators in power, says research by GSB Assistant Professor Gerard Padro i Miquel. Dictatorships Surviving with Local SupportDetails

Equity Market Liberalizations Benefit Developing Nations
Developing countries do indeed benefit from the liberalization of capital markets, says GSB Professor Peter Henry, but only if their domestic financial system is functioning efficiently and is properly regulated to allow firms to invest more easily in expansion. Equity Market LiberalizationsDetails

The G8 Debt Relief Plan May Not Help
"Debt forgiveness isn't free." GSB Professor Peter Henry and a colleague analyzed the trade-offs and demonstrated that debt relief may not be the most efficient way to help these very poor nations. G8 Debt Relief Plan May Not HelpDetails

Genetics, Politics, and Economics Join to Solve Global Poverty
GSB Professor Romain Wacziarg's most recent work relates genetic distance between populations to differences in economic outcomes, such as their income per capita, to better understand the process by which innovations diffuse from one culture to the next. Genetics, Politics, and Economics Joining to Solve Global PovertyDetails

Unlocking the Mystery of Poverty
One-fifth of the planet lives on less than $1 a day.
"If we can unlock the mystery of why that is, the consequences for the welfare of billions of people will be huge," says GSB Professor Romain Wacziarg. Unlocking the Mystery of PovertyDetails

Fewer Borders, Trade Liberalization Support Economic Growth
Moving national borders can have major economic effects. GSB Professor Romain Wacziarg and a colleague from Brown University say creating bigger countries and adopting open trade policies in most cases benefit national economies. Trade Liberalization Support Economic GrowthDetails

Accion International: Pioneering Microfinance in the Americas
GSB alum, Monica Brand '97 discusses Accion International's impact in reducing unemployment and poverty in Latin America.

Monica Brand Video Monica Brand Video (57:17 minutes)

Mexican Immigrants Don't Thrive Like Other Newcomers
Immigrants from Mexico fare far worse than other nationalities when they immigrate to the United States, but GSB Professor Edward Lazear says that's due more to U.S. immigration policy than the immigrants themselves. Mexican Immigrants Not Thriving Like Other NewcomersDetails

Microlending: An Anti-Poverty Success Story
According to Vinod Khosla, a partner at the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins, the power of microlending is helping to eradicate poverty in countries all over the world and is "one of the most important economic phenomena since the advent of capitalism and Adam Smith." Microlending: An Anti-Poverty Success StoryDetails

Oxfam Leader Calls for Global Effort to Alleviate Poverty,
Transfer Technology
Foreign investment policies of the World Trade Organization should focus on alleviating world poverty, not on creating a market for multinationals according to Raymond Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America. Global Effort to Alleviate PovertyDetails

Business School Hosts Global Business, Global Poverty Conference
Growth in emerging economies may drive improvements in the world's economy, said speakers at the Global Business and Global Poverty Conference, hosted by the GSB. Business, government, and nonprofit leaders from four continents attended the session, organized by the Center for Global Business and the Economy. (Videos are available) Global Poverty ConferenceDetails

How Democracy Was Subverted in Peru
GSB Professor John McMillan and doctoral student Pablo Zoido studied the collapse of the government of Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori focusing on a bribery scandal of breathtaking proportions. How Democracy Was Subverted in PeruDetails

The Changing Structure of the Global Economy
The world is currently entering a period where the information structure of markets is changing rapidly, says GSB Dean Emeritus A. Michael Spence whose work on signaling theory has been honored with the Nobel Prize. The Internet has led to the birth of information technology that has dramatically lowered the costs involved in markets, making assets such as knowledge and human resources far more valuable than they were in the past. A short discussion of Spence's work in signaling theory is included.

A. Michael Spence Video A. Michael Spence Video (29:30 minutes)

Related Link

CNN Video CNN A. Michael Spence Video (4:31 minutes) - Michael Spence: Analyzing the Economy

Researchers Complete Largest Academic Study of European Venture Capital
The European venture capital industry is much more integrated than previously believed, with significant links to the United States, and increasingly emulates U.S. investment practices, according to co-author Thomas Hellmann. Study of European Venture CapitalDetails

Big Banks Foster Industrial Development
Large universal banks with market power provided the muscle that helped many emerging European economies industrialize. Research co-authored by Thomas Hellmann argues that big banks, not government intervention, may be the best way to achieve large scale development. Big Banks Fostering Industrial DevelopmentDetails