SCHOOL DISCIPLINE: A SOURCE OR SALVE FOR THE RACIAL ACHIEVEMENT GAP?*

Racial disparities in school discipline are believed to contribute to the persistent achievement gap between black and white students. In this article, I estimate the relationship between school discipline and achievement within a structural model, taking into account the spillover effects of disruptive behavior. I find that discipline has an overall positive influence on student performance and that the racial gap in discipline stemming from cross‐school variation in discipline policies is consistent with achievement maximization. Integrating schools can close both the discipline and achievement gaps; however, overall achievement is reduced since schools are less able to target their discipline policies.     

Austerity and Exports

Recent papers have focused attention on the potential for expansionary austerity (i.e. that cutting budget deficits may increase growth in the short run). In this paper we investigate the impact of fiscal consolidation on trade using bilateral trade data. The use of bilateral trade data allows us to demonstrate three novel empirical results. First, while fiscal consolidation is associated with an increase in own‐country exports, it is also correlated to an equal extent with a decrease in foreign‐country exports (i.e. imports); indeed, simultaneous austerity has no statistically significant impact on bilateral trade. Second, the positive effect of austerity on exports disappears when trading partners share a common currency. Third, the increase in exports as a result of austerity is associated entirely with an increase in the range of goods exported (the extensive margin), at the expense of trade volume among existing trade relationships (the intensive margin).     

To join or not to join: Examining patent pool participation and rent sharing rules

In recognition that participation in modern patent pools is voluntary, we present empirical evidence on participation rates and the factors that drive the decision to join a pool, including the profit sharing rules adopted by the pool's founders. In most participation contexts, the at-risk group is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to identify. For pools centered on technologies that result from a standard-setting process, in contrast, we are able to identify a relatively unambiguous population of patents eligible for inclusion but that have not been included in the pool. We find that vertically integrated firms, with patents and downstream operations, are more likely to join a patent pool and among those firms that do join, those with relatively symmetric patent contributions (in terms of value) to a standard appear more likely to accept numeric patent share rules for dividing royalty earnings.     

How to Create Value Without Earnings: The Case of Amazon

Investors and commentators often equate GAAP accounting metrics, especially earnings per share, with financial success. The reality, however, is that there is no simple, linear relationship between GAAP earnings and intrinsic value, which is defined as the present value of expected future cash flows. And adjustments of GAAP metrics, though admittedly subjective, are often required to understand the economic reality of a business. http://Amazon.com Inc. provides a case study that throws into sharp relief the need to look beyond GAAP in order to analyze underlying fundamentals and value. In this paper, the authors argue that Amazon has done a superb job of building shareholder wealth, all the while reporting low and declining operating and net income margins. The article provides a framework for thinking about Amazon's underlying profitability that is based on the concept of return on capital in relation to the cost of capital, and shows how that profitability has been masked by GAAP accounting. The authors demonstrate that the company is now investing very large amounts of capital with the expectation of earning rates of return well above its cost of capital. And their analysis suggests that if such investment can continue over the long term, Amazon's current market value of $140 billion can be readily justified.     

标准、消费者福利和竞争:中国食品标准的发展目标

对于开展产品出口的国家而言,遵照产品标准的重要性与日俱增。新兴经济体希望通过明确地展示产品质量符合要求,从而促进产品出口。然而,标准并不一定是外来的,或者从外部加于本     

Bridging the leadership divide

The study of generational leadership differences has now broadened and intensified to an impressive body of literature and discussion. The problem is that the conversation continues to be framed as a demographic challenge of difference, which only furthers the division, rather than a relationship challenge that calls for new ways to connect the generations. This article discusses the nature of the relationships needed to ensure vital connections between generations of leaders. It uses the authors' own cross‐generational leadership relationship as a case study in what we believe exemplifies the kind of relationship our research suggests is both needed, and desired, by leaders in both incumbent and emerging leadership generations.     

Where Does State Street Lead? A First Look at Finance Patents, 1971 to 2000

This paper empirically examines patents for financial formulas and methods, whose patentability was recently confirmed in the litigation between State Street Bank and Trust and Signature Financial Group. The number of such filings and awards has been accelerating. Patent filings by academics have been very infrequent, which appears to be a consequence of a lack of awareness or interest on the part of faculty members, rather than any fundamental unsuitability of their research for patenting. The failure to cite academic research in this area appears to be problematic and may reflect patent examiners' limited exposure to finance research and patents.     

Wages,Profits, and Rent‐Sharing in an Open Economy

This paper examines the link between international trade and labor market bargaining power. It reviews simple theories of rent‐sharing in closed and open economies. Earlier studies on the issue of rent‐sharing implicitly assume a closed economy. This assumption may provide some misleading results, especially for studying current developments in the US labor market. Empirical results suggest that the apparent decline in labor’s bargaining power in US manufacturing may be attributable to growing international integration.     

The Control of Technology Alliances: An Empirical Analysis of the Biotechnology Industry

We examine the determinants of control rights in biotechnology alliances through three case studies and a quantitative analysis. Aghion and Tirole [1994] argue that control rights will be assigned so as to maximize the value of the final output, as long as the R&D firm has sufficient financial resources. Consistent with this framework, the allocation of control rights to the R&D firm increases with the firm's financial resources. The empirical evidence regarding the relationship between control rights and the stage of the project at the time the alliance is signed is more ambiguous.