- 13 Jan 2023
- Research & Ideas
Are Companies Actually Greener—or Are They All Talk?
More companies than ever use ESG reports to showcase their social consciousness. But are these disclosures meaningful or just marketing? Research by Ethan Rouen delves into the murky world of voluntary reporting and offers advice for investors.
- 07 Mar 2022
- Research & Ideas
Effective Leaders Share the Spotlight with Their Teams
Many executives make decisions alone and take credit for every win. Research by Yuan Zou and Ethan Rouen shows how leaders—and their companies—directly benefit when they engage and elevate colleagues. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 02 Nov 2021
- Research & Ideas
Why COVID-19 Probably Killed More People Than We Realize
Millions of people around the world have died from COVID-19, according to government records, but research by Ethan Rouen, George Serafeim, and Botir Kobilov suggests that the actual number could be much higher. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 28 Jun 2021
- Research & Ideas
Keep or Cut Workers? How Companies Reacted to the COVID-19 Crisis
Analysis by Ethan Rouen and colleagues reveals the true factors behind leaders' choices during the pandemic's painful early months, when survival was at stake for many businesses. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 03 Nov 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
The Stock Market Value of Human Capital Creation
Measuring human capital creation is complex but increasingly important to managers for understanding the relationship between employee expenditures and firm performance. This paper develops a strategy to examine aspects of the intangible human capital investment embedded in a firm’s personnel expense. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 07 Jan 2020
- Cold Call Podcast
Can Capitalism Be Fixed by Making Companies More Just?
JUST Capital seeks to make public companies more "just" by measuring and ranking their overall impact on society, based on priorities most important to average Americans. Ethan Rouen and Charles Wang explore whether JUST Capital's performance evaluation methodology can improve corporate behavior. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 16 Oct 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
Core Earnings? New Data and Evidence
Using a novel dataset of earnings-related disclosures embedded in the 10-Ks, this paper shows how detailed financial statement analysis can produce a measure of core earnings that is more persistent than traditional earnings measures and forecasts future performance. Analysts and market participants are slow to appreciate the importance of transitory earnings.
- 02 Jul 2018
- Research & Ideas
Corporate Tax Cuts Don't Increase Middle Class Incomes
New research by Ethan Rouen and colleagues suggests that corporate tax cuts contribute to income inequality. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 13 May 2018
- Working Paper Summaries
Corporate Tax Cuts Increase Income Inequality
This paper examines corporate tax reform by estimating the causal effect of state corporate tax cuts on top income inequality. Results suggest that, while corporate tax cuts increase investment, the gains from this investment are concentrated on top earners, who may also exploit additional strategies to increase the share of total income that accrues to the top 1 percent.
- 22 Jan 2018
- Sharpening Your Skills
Why You Are Unhappy at Work
Sometimes the deck is stacked against you at work. Learn more about how you can overcome toxic co-workers, paycheck blues, and a job set up for failure. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 17 Jan 2018
- Research & Ideas
If the CEO’s High Salary Isn't Justified to Employees, Firm Performance May Suffer
Researcher Ethan Rouen discovers that rank-and-file employees understand the boss deserves a big salary, but only when the number is fully explained. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 11 Aug 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
Rethinking Measurement of Pay Disparity and Its Relation to Firm Performance
Among this paper’s contributions is evidence that different types of pay disparity matter in different ways to firm employees, and that disparity created by pay that is unrelated to the economics of the firm negatively impacts employee satisfaction, with consequences for firm performance. The paper also gives investors and proxy advisors a roadmap to interpret pay ratios and pay disparity. This roadmap may help regulators and firms to, respectively, mandate and prepare more informative disclosures.
- 08 Aug 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
The Role of Taxes in the Disconnect Between Corporate Performance and Economic Growth
This paper offers evidence of potential issues with the current United States system of taxation on foreign corporate profits. A reduction in the US tax rate and the move to a territorial tax system from a worldwide system could better align economic growth with growth in corporate profits by encouraging firms to invest domestically and repatriate foreign earnings.
- 07 Aug 2017
- Research & Ideas
'Be Yourself (Within Reason)' and Other Job Search Survival Tips
In some professions, successful job hunting depends as much on a healthy body and cleared mind as it does on a well-performed interview, says Ethan Rouen. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 03 Aug 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
The Accounting Rookie Job Market: A Practitioner’s Guide
Aimed at accounting PhD students but potentially useful to other new academics and job seekers, this first-person essay offers suggestions for the dissertation process and subsequent job search. The writer tries to relieve some of the stress and confusion that inevitably comes with completing a PhD and finding a first academic job.
How KKR Got More by Giving Ownership to the Factory Floor: ‘My Kids Are Going to College!’
KKR turned around a struggling door company and sold it for 10 times its investment—giving factory workers a life-changing cut of the returns. A case study by Ethan Rouen and Dennis Campbell offers lessons for companies trying to instill an owner's mindset in employees.