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Finance

Can AI Replace Human Debt Collectors?‌

New research co-authored by Yale SOM Professor James Choi finds that people are less likely to follow through on a commitment to repay a debt if it’s made to an AI agent. The finding hints at one area where humans may always retain an advantage over bots.

An robot talking to the debtor on the phone
  • For a Path to a Decarbonized Economy, Look to the States

    Robert Klee, a lecturer at Yale and the former commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, says that state-level approaches to the climate crisis provide a roadmap for a 10-year, trillion-dollar effort to put the U.S. on a path to decarbonization.

    A solar panel linked to a Tesla Powerwall in Monkton, Vermont. Photo: Ian Thomas Jansen-Lonnquist/Bloomberg via Getty Images.
  • Why We Need Finance to Fight Climate Change

    There won’t be a transition to clean energy without a way to finance what could be the largest infrastructure project ever undertaken. Yale Insights talked with Jeffrey Schub ’13 of the Coalition for Green Capital about what a National Climate Bank could achieve.

    A solar generation project outside Linyi, China. Photo: VCG/VCG via Getty Images.
  • For Top Venture Capital Firms, Success Breeds Success

    Most investing success is short lived, but venture capital is an exception, with top VCs beating the average year after year. A new study finds that consistent returns owe as much to a firm’s reputation and early luck as the smarts of its employees.

    Illustration of people climbing ladders starting at different levels in the sky
  • Companies Invest in Startups to Repair Weaknesses

    A study by Yale SOM’s Song Ma shows that companies tend to invest in startups when they are struggling, in order to gain access to innovation and shore up an area of weakness.

    An illustration showing executives in a tree watering a smaller plant.
  • Three Questions: Prof. Vineet Kumar on Facebook’s Move into Cryptocurrency

    On June 18, Facebook announced Libra, a new cryptocurrency intended to make it easy for individuals and companies to exchange payments anywhere in the world. We asked Prof. Vineet Kumar why a company that started by enabling people to share personal news is now building an alternative financial system.

    A scale with a bag of dollars on one side and a Facebook icon on the other
  • Don’t Be Surprised by Uber’s Low-Priced IPO—It’s a Sign of Challenges to Come

    According to Yale SOM’s Matthew Spiegel and Heather Tookes, an IPO is often followed by disappointing returns, not just for the newly public company but its entire industry.

    Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, center, at the New York Stock Exchange during the company’s IPO on Friday, May 10. Photo: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images.
  • A Life in Finance: A Conversation with Prof. Roger Ibbotson

    Professor Roger Ibbotson, an influential scholar and practitioner of finance for decades, sat down for a conversation with Professor William Goetzmann about his groundbreaking work on the historical returns of the stock market, his experiences as a teacher, and his current research.

    A chart showing the historical returns of various asset classes in the 2018 Stocks, Bonds, Bills, and Inflation Yearbook by Roger Ibbotson
  • Forgiving Debts May Boost Employment During Recessions

    In an analysis of the Great Recession, Yale SOM's Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham and his co-authors found that debt relief increased employment by up to 2% nationwide.

    A woman holding up a stack of credit cards
  • How Leverage Turns Market Corrections into Crashes

    Leverage-induced fire sales contributed to the worst stock market crashes in history. Prof. Kelly Shue studied account-level data from the Chinese market crash in 2015 to illuminate how much leverage matters.

    A stock exchange in Huaibei, China, in August 2015.
  • Three Questions: Prof. Andrew Metrick on What Makes a Good Pick for the Fed

    President Trump recently announced his intention to appoint two well-known conservative figures—Stephen Moore and Herman Cain—to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. We asked Prof. Andrew Metrick about the qualities of an effective Fed governor.

    A Federal Reserve Board meeting in Washington, D.C., in October 2018. Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images.