Faculty Viewpoints

The idea of “green banks”—public lending institutions designed to help finance private clean energy projects—has been around for a while, but states have recently begun establishing their own versions. With the federal government slow to innovate in the sector, state officials are hoping to provide crucial support for clean energy and spur economic growth. But to work, green banks require a rethinking of the nature of the private-public relationship.

Rainfall insurance can help a farmer survive a drought year and ultimately increase prosperity in rural areas. So why aren’t more using it? Many people in developing countries rely on informal insurance, such as a family network, rather than formal insurance. Yale SOM professor Mushfiq Mobarak’s research has tested the effects of formal insurance for farmers in India and elucidated how the two systems interact.

In a New York Times op-ed, Professor Robert J. Shiller writes that Bitcoin is a speculative bubble with a doubtful future, but its legacy should be that we move toward a system of stable economic units of measurement backed by sophisticated forms of electronic payment.

In a New York Times op-ed, Professors Victoria Brescoll and Jeffrey Sonnenfeld write about the gender bias and discrimination that persist for powerful women in corporate America.

Each time it happens, it seems in retrospect like people have lost their minds, and that such widespread madness could never happen again. And then it happens again. Yale SOM professor William Goetzmann looks back at an investing mania from the 18th century to better understand the forces that can create such distortions.

What skills and knowledge do future leaders need to navigate an ever-shifting global economy? And how is the mission of business schools changing in response?

The financial crisis of 2008 is a looming figure in current economic thinking. The global economy is still slowly recovering from the shock, and policymakers and academics continue to discuss the structural changes needed to prevent a recurrence. The stress of the last half decade has made two things very clear: A productive and innovative financial system is essential to the broader economy, but financial innovations made irresponsibly—without consideration of systemic risk and other impacts on society—can wreak havoc.

Was the 2008 financial crisis a one-time event or the first example of a new pattern? Professor Gary Gorton argues that the history of banking shows that there’s a real risk of future upheaval in financial markets.

The scale of urbanization in China is without precedent in human history. The transformation is also complex and nuanced, says Yale’s Karen Seto, with cities taking different approaches to environmental issues, pace of development, and global connections.

Nobel laureate Robert Shiller discusses some of the trends he currently sees in finance and the housing market.