Naomi R. Lamoreaux and Kenneth L. Sokoloff, eds. Financing Innovation: In the United States, 1870 to the Present

This edited volume makes a large and welcome contribution toour understanding of the history of entrepreneurial financein the United States. The focus of the volume is on innovationby both corporations and entrepreneurs. It examines all theimportant forms of financing, including wealthy individuals(who we now call angels), venture capital, government financingand debt. Scholars of many disciplines, including economics,finance, entrepreneurship, business history, and organizationalnetworks will find this volume to be of interest and the essayscan be read either selectively or globally. Lamoreaux and Sokoloff's introduction is a significant chapterin itself, providing a rich historical analysis of the riseof the U.S. patenting system. The editors also provide a     

Two sided efficient frontiers at multiple time horizons

Annals of Finance - Two price economy principles motivate measuring risk by the cost of acquiring the opposite of the centered or pure risk position at its upper price. Asymmetry in returns leads...     

On seeking first to understand

There are fundamental differences between seeking-to-solve and seeking-to-understand. We are strongly biased toward seeking-to-solve on a number of dimensions. As a result, we are increasingly at risk in a world that is becoming increasingly complex and fast paced. We therefore need to understand these biases so that we can defend ourselves -- we need to develop (moral) concepts and methods of inquiry that transcend our dominant and pervasive analytical presuppositions.     

Central Mandates and Local Incentives: The Colombia Education Voucher Program

In decentralized education systems programs that promote centralmandates may have to be devolved to local governments, communities,and providers. When participation by local governments and providersis voluntary rather than compulsory, the determinants of programplacement are important in predicting potential benefits toindividuals. This article analyzes incentives for municipalitiesand private schools to participate in Colombia's voucher program.It finds that the demand for secondary education relative tothe capacity of public schools and the availability of spacesin private schools in the municipality were key predictors ofmunicipal participation, whereas the number of underserved studentshad a nonlinear effect on participation. Schools whose educationalquality was moderate and charged moderate tuition fees werethe most likely to participate; the program was less attractiveto schools whose quality and fees were high and to schools whosequality and fees were low.     

The Use of Census Data for Hedonic Price Estimates of Open-Space Amenities and Land Use

Hedonic price models for determining marginal implicit prices of open-space amenities and nonresidential land use were estimated using housing data from the census. Alternative model specifications were compared to evaluate the effects of aggregating land-use data by alternative levels of census geography as well as the use of different sample sizes of census blocks. It was determined that land use is best aggregated at the block group level and that entire populations or very large sample sizes of census blocks should be used with hedonic models.     

An Exercise in Moral Philosophy: Seeking to Understand “nobody”

The late Hannah Arendt proposed that many, perhaps most monstrous deeds are not committed by moral monsters but by individuals who do not think. However, understanding the significance of activity of thinking as such requires a moral philosophy that transcends rational actor assumptions and instrumental reason centering, instead, on the conditions of self-knowledge. The ubiquitous and often lethal phenomenon of information distortions provides a vehicle for expanding our understandings of individual moral response-abilities in our modern times.     

On Taking Stories Seriously: Emotional and Moral Intelligences

Ongoing efforts to build intelligent machines has required reexamining ourunderstandings of intelligence. A significant conclusion, shared by anumber of noteworthy thinkers, is that real intelligence depends very muchon story telling and story understanding. Several examples illustrate howthis conclusion flies in the face of dominant (reductionist) understandingsof intelligence. Several reasons are then presented for the greater use ofstories in business ethics classes, reasons that progress from enhancing"conceptual' intelligence, to emotional intelligences, and culminating inmoral intelligences.     

Timing and Duration of Exposure in Evaluations of Social Programs

Impact evaluations aim to measure the outcomes that can be attributedto a specific policy or intervention. While there have beenexcellent reviews of the different methods for estimating impact,insufficient attention has been paid to questions related totiming: How long after a program has begun should it be evaluated?For how long should treatment groups be exposed to a programbefore they benefit from it? Are there time patterns in a program'simpact? This paper examines the evaluation issues related totiming, and discusses the sources of variation in the durationof exposure within programs and their implications for impactestimates. It reviews the evidence from careful evaluationsof programs (with a focus on developing countries) on the waysthat duration affects impacts.