- Highlight research from the academic finance archives that may be useful to investors.
- Serve as a venue for the contributors to share our thoughts and insights with others who enjoy empirical finance research.
- Act as an outlet for authors or readers who would like to showcase their latest research.
Empirical Finance Research
When Financial Rounds first started out, a number of the bigger names in the finance/econ blogoshpere were nice enough to mention this site. So, whenever possible I try to pay the favor "forward" by doing the same for newer blogs. The latest new finance blog of note is titled Empirical Finance Research, which is intended to (in the authors' own words):
Part-Time Ph.D. Programs
I've had a number of emails asking if it's possible to go to a reputable finance Ph.D. program on a part time basis. Unfortunately, the writers probably won't like the answer. To the best of my knowledge, it's not possible -- and a program that offers a part time doctoral program probably isn't worth it.
Getting a doctorate in Finance isn't like getting a "Super MBA" - it's a totally different animal. First off, the level of material is both more difficult and much less structured. Second, it's geared towards producing future scholars. So, a big part of the doctoral process involves "acculturation" to the academic world. The (very) strange world of the finance academic scholar is generally best learned by a) seeing how academics arrange their day-to-day lives, and b) being able to ask frequent questions of faculty or peers on an irregular basis. These are best done by living with the natives. After all, An anthropologist usually ends up living with the people he's studying (at least for a while), and a doctoral student should too.
Finally, writing a dissertation is extremely difficult when working full time. At the front end of the process (determining the research question and working toward a proposal), it's important to have access to faculty (I shudder to think how many times I imposed on one committee member or another with "just one LITTLE question").
Then, when you're in the writing phase, you need regular blocks of uninterrupted time. It's hard writing while working. This is why so many students who take a visiting teaching position while writing their dissertation take so much longer to finish (if they finish at all).
I realize that taking a few (i.e. 4-5) years off to get a Ph.D. is a huge committment. In a perfect world, you could do it part time so people wouldn't have to pay such a price (3-4 years of lost income and a lot of studying). Unfortunately, doing it that way probably wouldn't do the job in the same way that the current system does.
As a result, a program that offers a "part time" doctoral program wouldn't be well respected, and it's graduates would have an impossible time getting jobs in academia. I could be mistaken, but it's true as far as I know.
Getting a doctorate in Finance isn't like getting a "Super MBA" - it's a totally different animal. First off, the level of material is both more difficult and much less structured. Second, it's geared towards producing future scholars. So, a big part of the doctoral process involves "acculturation" to the academic world. The (very) strange world of the finance academic scholar is generally best learned by a) seeing how academics arrange their day-to-day lives, and b) being able to ask frequent questions of faculty or peers on an irregular basis. These are best done by living with the natives. After all, An anthropologist usually ends up living with the people he's studying (at least for a while), and a doctoral student should too.
Finally, writing a dissertation is extremely difficult when working full time. At the front end of the process (determining the research question and working toward a proposal), it's important to have access to faculty (I shudder to think how many times I imposed on one committee member or another with "just one LITTLE question").
Then, when you're in the writing phase, you need regular blocks of uninterrupted time. It's hard writing while working. This is why so many students who take a visiting teaching position while writing their dissertation take so much longer to finish (if they finish at all).
I realize that taking a few (i.e. 4-5) years off to get a Ph.D. is a huge committment. In a perfect world, you could do it part time so people wouldn't have to pay such a price (3-4 years of lost income and a lot of studying). Unfortunately, doing it that way probably wouldn't do the job in the same way that the current system does.
As a result, a program that offers a "part time" doctoral program wouldn't be well respected, and it's graduates would have an impossible time getting jobs in academia. I could be mistaken, but it's true as far as I know.
A Crazy Week
The semester is winding down - only two weeks of classes to go. Still, they'll be crazy ones. I just got back from a conference, which took several days out of my schedule. The next few days I'll be feverishly trying to finish up a paper for submission in time for a colleague to put it on her 3-year mid-tenure review (if we get it submitted by Friday he can count it, but not if we submit it later. And since he hasn't done as much writing in the last three years as he should have, this piece is important to him.
In addition, my student-managed investment fund class has to prepare our end-of-semester report for our advisory board, and I still have to create a couple of problem sets and final exams in the next week.
I know I say this every year at this time, but man, am I tired. But at least it's only two more weeks and then finals (followed by alcohol, and then sleep).
Ah well, it still beats a job in industry by a country mile.
In addition, my student-managed investment fund class has to prepare our end-of-semester report for our advisory board, and I still have to create a couple of problem sets and final exams in the next week.
I know I say this every year at this time, but man, am I tired. But at least it's only two more weeks and then finals (followed by alcohol, and then sleep).
Ah well, it still beats a job in industry by a country mile.
Perverse Incentives In Academia
I came across this Dilbert cartoon the other day, and it reminds me of academia.
I've had (tenured) colleagues who regularly "blow up" at one thing or another. It could be that they don't like their teaching schedule (or the number of courses they teach). It could be about travel funds. Regardless, what often happens is that the dean (or deparetment chair) tries to sooth the affronted party by giving them a better schedule, more travel funds, etc...
To summarize, the pattern is
Unfortunately, I'm not yet tenured, so complaining on my part will only result in my being on the job market once again. So I guess perverse incentives of the Bitch and Get Rewarded variety are only for tenured faculty.
But you already knew that.
I've had (tenured) colleagues who regularly "blow up" at one thing or another. It could be that they don't like their teaching schedule (or the number of courses they teach). It could be about travel funds. Regardless, what often happens is that the dean (or deparetment chair) tries to sooth the affronted party by giving them a better schedule, more travel funds, etc...
To summarize, the pattern is
- Teaching schedule is floated aound
- Colleague gripes about teaching load
- Dean gives colleague reduced teaching load or better schedule
Unfortunately, I'm not yet tenured, so complaining on my part will only result in my being on the job market once again. So I guess perverse incentives of the Bitch and Get Rewarded variety are only for tenured faculty.
But you already knew that.
Five Good Commercials
Here are some pretty funny commercials from Ameriquest Mortgage (combined into one video)
HT: Some other blogger who I forgot to write down.
HT: Some other blogger who I forgot to write down.
Get The Wall Street Journal Online For Free
Either on the blog or in class, I refer to articles in the Wall Street Journal a lot. Unfortunately, the person I'm talking to often doesn't have a subscription. Fear no more - it turns out there's a way to get all the content on the WSJ Online for free. Here's how it works: If you click on a link to the WSJ's "protected" content through a non"portal" site, you get sent to a limited version of the full article. To get the whole thing, you have to log in.
But if you click on a link to that same article in Google News or Digg, you can access the full story for free. Here's how to use this approach:
- Many (not all, but many) of the articles are available through Google News. If you know the title of the article, go there and search for it. If it's available, you'll get the full article. Unfortunately, not all articles are available through this avenue.
- If you're a FireFox user, there's another way. First, install the add-on refspoof. Then, when going to the WSJ online, use www.digg.com as the spoofed address. This makes it look to the WSJ site like you're coming from Digg. I've downloaded it, and it's easy to use.
- If you're an Internet Explorer user, QuickSpoof and Spooph provide the same spoofing functionality.
Traders Gone WIld
I was talking to a trader friend of mine the other day and he pointed me to this cartoon.
With the recent volatility in the markets, that pretty much sums it up.
HT: The Big Picture
Click on the link - the comments below the post are pretty funny.
updated 4/3: A reader asked who the cartoonist is, so I googled him. It's Mike Keef of the Denver Post. You can see his other work here.
With the recent volatility in the markets, that pretty much sums it up.
HT: The Big Picture
Click on the link - the comments below the post are pretty funny.
updated 4/3: A reader asked who the cartoonist is, so I googled him. It's Mike Keef of the Denver Post. You can see his other work here.
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