Finance
The Corporation Is Centuries Older than We Thought
The genesis of the joint-stock company is usually traced to the founding of the English East India Company and the Dutch East India Company around 1600. New research co-authored by Prof. William Goetzmann says this origin story may be off by centuries.

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.
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.
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.
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.
Activist Shareholders May Help Firms in the Long Term
Do activist shareholders choose quick profits over long-term health? Yale SOM’s Song Ma and his collaborators find evidence that their interventions boost innovation.
Is Cryptocurrency Really a New Idea?
Bitcoin meshes digital technology with an approach to money that predates the development of cash and coin, according to Yale SOM’s William Goetzmann.
Ranji Nagaswami ’86 on Telling Hard Truths
As chief investment adviser for New York City, Ranji Nagaswami ’86 delivered the unvarnished truth when she discovered unwelcome news about the city’s pension funds.
Three Questions: Prof. Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham on Payday Loans and Consumer Protection
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will stop requiring payday lenders to confirm borrowers' ability to repay. We asked Yale SOM's Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham what this change might mean to financially strapped Americans.
Study Explores What Investors Are Really Thinking
Academic theories explaining which factors affect individual investment decisions abound, but few studies have involved asking people about the issue directly.
Three Questions: Prof. William B. English on Markets and the Fed
We asked William B. English, a Yale faculty member and former Fed official, about how the Fed should respond to recent ups and downs in the stock market.