About
- David Rockefeller Distinguished Service Professor in Economics and Statistics
- Nobel Prize, Economics (2013)
- Co-Editor, Econometrica (2012–2015)
Voting History
Question A: Research on the nature and impact of bank runs has made it possible to limit substantially the wider economic damage from financial crises.
| Vote | Confidence | Median Survey Vote | Median Survey Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Comment: The term ``made is possible'' is actually too strong and ``substantially limit'' is too vague. The research was an important contributor to the constructive policies that were implemented in our most recent global financial crisis.
|
|||
Question B: Reforms of financial regulation since 2008 (and macroprudential policies in some countries) will not substantially reduce the probability of financial crises.
| Vote | Confidence | Median Survey Vote | Median Survey Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Comment: Reforms across countries are heterogeneous in form and magnitude, some of which seem ill conceived and counterproductive and others that look to be prudent.
|
|||
Question A: The costs and risks associated with a sharp fall in the value of sterling outweigh any macroeconomic benefits for the UK of export stimulus due to a weaker currency.
| Vote | Confidence | Median Survey Vote | Median Survey Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Comment: Exchange rate movements can signal both long term concerns about future government policy and the need for realignment between import and export prices. The former can be unnecessarily costly in contrast to the latter.
|
|||
Question B: Concerns about government finances and debt sustainability can undermine the reserve currency status of a major currency.
| Vote | Confidence | Median Survey Vote | Median Survey Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
Question A: The typical chief executive officer of a publicly traded corporation in the U.S. is paid more than his or her marginal contribution to the firm's value.
| Vote | Confidence | Median Survey Vote | Median Survey Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Comment: I find it hard to give a global answers even with the term typical in the question. The heterogeneity incompensation heterogeneity is substantial and are the job expectations.
|
|||
Question B: Mandating that U.S. publicly listed corporations must allow shareholders to cast a non-binding vote on executive compensation was a good idea.
| Vote | Confidence | Median Survey Vote | Median Survey Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Comment: This should be decided by corporations and their boards on a case by case basis.
|
|||
Question A: Having companies run to maximize shareholder value creates significant negative externalities for workers and communities.
| Vote | Confidence | Median Survey Vote | Median Survey Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Comment: Negative externalities inflicted by corporate activity are best handled with well designed legal structures and Piguovian taxation.
|
|||
Question B: Appropriately managed corporations could create significantly greater value than they currently do for a range of stakeholders – including workers, suppliers, customers and community members – with negligible impacts on shareholder value.
| Vote | Confidence | Median Survey Vote | Median Survey Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Comment: Some corporations are poorly managed. But I fail to see an alternative that dominates without confronting tradeoffs among stakeholders.
|
|||
Question C: Effective mechanisms for boards of directors to ensure that CEOs act in ways that balance the interests of all stakeholders would be straightforward to introduce.
| Vote | Confidence | Median Survey Vote | Median Survey Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Comment: The term ``balance’’ is not operational without resolving tradeoffs among stake holders in arbitrary and potentially harmful ways.
|
|||
Question A: A mandate for public companies to provide climate-related disclosures (such as their greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint) would provide financially material information that enables investors to make better decisions.
| Vote | Confidence | Median Survey Vote | Median Survey Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Comment: Mandates can be costly interventions over and above market discipline. Moreover, firms face many challenges in addition to exposure to climate change. Abstracting from a potential climate exchange, I fail to see the rationale for this mandate.
|
|||
Question B: A mandate for public companies to provide climate-related disclosures would provide material information that enables investors to make better decisions with regards to non-financial objectives (such as aiding portfolio choice based on ESG principles).
| Vote | Confidence | Median Survey Vote | Median Survey Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Comment: Investors will gain from such information only if the mandated information can be firmly established. This imposes nontrivial cost on the governmental mandator. Investor demand alone could induce firm to provide such information in a credible way.
|
|||
Question C: A mandate for public companies to provide climate-related disclosures would induce them to reduce their climate impact substantially.
| Vote | Confidence | Median Survey Vote | Median Survey Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Comment: It would depend on the specifics of the stated mandate and the policies that might be put in place related to the mandate. Mandates should be used to provide data needed for prudent policy implementation.
|
|||
