All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions

The Lauder Institute
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All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions

Join Stanford GSB finance professor Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen of The Wharton School in a conversation with prominent business leaders about common flaws in the decision making process and what to do about them. Learn more at AllElseEqualPodcast.com.All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of Stanford Graduate School of Business and is produced by University FM.

  1. Ep50 “Is Proxy Advising a Catch-22?” with Chester Spatt

    OCT 30

    Ep50 “Is Proxy Advising a Catch-22?” with Chester Spatt

    If the purpose of a proxy advisory firm is to gather information and advise shareholders on how to vote, then how do the firms handle the many different goals and incentives each shareholder brings to the table? Where do the proxy advisory firms’ interests truly lie? In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen speak with guest Chester Spatt, finance professor at Carnegie Mellon University and former Chief Economist at U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, about the function and purpose of proxy advisory firms, such as Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis. The conversation delves into the differing objectives and incentives among shareholders and how that complicates the work of a proxy advisory firm. They also discuss how and why proxy advisory firms may purposely foster close votes, and what could serve as better voting benchmarks. Find All Else Equal on the web: https://lauder.wharton.upenn.edu/allelse/ All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of the UPenn Wharton Lauder Institute through University FM.

    24 min
  2. Ep49 “Making Regulation Work” with Jay Clayton

    OCT 16

    Ep49 “Making Regulation Work” with Jay Clayton

    Regulation is meant to fix problems in the market, but as more and more regulation is introduced, those issues have a tendency to evolve into new ones. So is all this regulation even accomplishing what it set out to do? And how do you even measure the success of regulation to begin with? In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen sit down with Jay Clayton, former chairperson of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. They chat with Jay about the unintended consequences of regulation, the increasing challenges facing regulatory bodies in today’s political landscape, and debate whether more regulation helps or hurts the overall market. Find All Else Equal on the web: https://lauder.wharton.upenn.edu/allelse/ All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of the UPenn Wharton Lauder Institute through University FM.

    27 min
  3. Ep48 “Are CEOs Underpaid?” with Dirk Jenter

    OCT 2

    Ep48 “Are CEOs Underpaid?” with Dirk Jenter

    Are CEOs overpaid? It’s easy to see million-dollar (or even billion-dollar) salaries and jump to conclusions. But those figures might not capture the full picture. So, what really goes into deciding CEO compensation? In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen welcome back Dirk Jenter, Professor of Finance at the London School of Economics. Together, they debunk some common myths about how CEO compensation is set, explore the value that CEOs add to firms, and make the case for why CEOs could actually be paid more. Find All Else Equal on the web: https://lauder.wharton.upenn.edu/allelse/ All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of the UPenn Wharton Lauder Institute through University FM.

    29 min
  4. Ep47 “Is the US National Debt Sustainable?” with Mohamed El-Erian

    SEP 18

    Ep47 “Is the US National Debt Sustainable?” with Mohamed El-Erian

    What is the best way to measure National Debt Sustainability, and how does the US do on those metrics compared to other countries? In the first episode of the new season, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen speak with guest Mohamed El-Erian about the intricacies of the national debt, different measures of sustainability, and the implications of rising debt for national and global economies. Mohamed, Jonathan, and Jules also explore the broader macroeconomic and geopolitical factors at play. They discuss the importance of demographic shifts as well as recent technological advancements (AI) for economic growth and our fiscal future. El-Erian is the former chair of President Obama's Global Development Council and former CEO of PIMCO. He is a Senior Fellow at the Lauder Institute. Find All Else Equal on the web: https://lauder.wharton.upenn.edu/allelse/ All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of the UPenn Wharton Lauder Institute through University FM.

    36 min

  5. SEP 4

    Rerun: Ep12 Corporations as Job Security Providers

    This summer break, we'll be taking a pause from uploading new episodes. However, Jules and Jonathan have handpicked some favorite past episodes for new listeners to enjoy and subscribers to revisit! Corporations are often characterized as evil entities that exploit workers. But in fact they enable firms to provide job security and thus serve the important role of minimizing risk for individual employees. In this episode of All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen explore how corporations set employees’ wages based on their job performance while still providing job security by comparing it to an insurance contract. “I think, in fact, you could think of corporations as entities that insure workers,” says Jonathan Berk. Also in this episode, Jonathan and Jules talk about bankruptcy, house fires, and why your supervisor hasn’t fired that one annoying coworker who doesn’t do anything. Submit your questions to the show here: https://bit.ly/AllElseEqual Find All Else Equal on the web: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/business-podcasts/all-else-equal-making-better-decisions All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of Stanford Graduate School of Business and is produced by University FM.

    21 min
  6. Rerun: Ep1 "Making a Business Decision" with Ruth Porat

    AUG 21

    Rerun: Ep1 "Making a Business Decision" with Ruth Porat

    This summer break, we'll be taking a pause from uploading new episodes. However, Jules and Jonathan have handpicked some favorite past episodes for new listeners to enjoy and subscribers to revisit! When the scientific method began to be applied widely hundreds of years ago, innovation bloomed. Today, those same principles inform business leaders who rely on data analysis to set and shape direction. In this episode of All Else Equal, professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen speak with Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat about how to — and how not to — use data to make decisions. “It’s too easy to just anchor on a set of numbers,” Porat says. “Most important is to look at the trends over time, then break it down to the sensitivity analysis — what are the key variables that will drive behavior one way or another? “Coming with just a flat set of data is not constructive because obviously the world in which we live is not static.” Submit your questions to the show here: https://bit.ly/AllElseEqual Find All Else Equal on the web: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/business-podcasts/all-else-equal-making-better-decisions All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of Stanford Graduate School of Business and is produced by University FM. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    25 min
  7. Rerun: Ep17 "Can the Free Market Discourage Fraud?" with Marc Cohodes

    AUG 7

    Rerun: Ep17 "Can the Free Market Discourage Fraud?" with Marc Cohodes

    This summer break, we'll be taking a pause from uploading new episodes. However, Jules and Jonathan have handpicked some favorite past episodes for new listeners to enjoy and subscribers to revisit! There’s a negative connotation associated with short selling – the act of betting against a stock to perform well. But is this trading practice truly a bad thing?  In this episode of All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen build the case for short selling as a dynamic regulating force in the free market. And an incentive for individuals to investigate and expose fraud. Later in the episode, Jonathan and Jules speak with Marc Cohodes, whose notable short-selling decisions have landed him in hot water with powerful figures all over the world. Cohodes has exposed a series of fraudulent practices – from mortgage lender Novastar to digital finance giant Wirecard, and most recently the cryptocurrency exchange FDX – and shares his view on the role of short sellers to step in where government regulation fails. Submit your questions to the show here: https://bit.ly/AllElseEqual Find All Else Equal on the web: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/business-podcasts/all-else-equal-making-better-decisions All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of Stanford Graduate School of Business and is produced by University FM. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    27 min
  8. Rerun: Ep8 “Why Capitalism Works" with John Cochrane

    JUL 24

    Rerun: Ep8 “Why Capitalism Works" with John Cochrane

    This summer break, we'll be taking a pause from uploading new episodes. However, Jules and Jonathan have handpicked some favorite past episodes for new listeners to enjoy and subscribers to revisit! Competitive markets don’t produce the same level of prosperity for everyone. But economist John Cochrane thinks they give us something essential — incentives. In this episode of All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions, hosts Jules van Binsbergen and Jonathan Berk are joined by Cochrane, a prominent free-market economist and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. According to Cochrane, competition gives us the motivation to work, serve the needs of others, and innovate. A system with incentives, he says, “is the only one where we all don't end up worse.”  Submit your questions to the show here: https://bit.ly/AllElseEqual Find All Else Equal on the web: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/business-podcasts/all-else-equal-making-better-decisions All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of Stanford Graduate School of Business and is produced by University FM. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    32 min
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Join Stanford GSB finance professor Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen of The Wharton School in a conversation with prominent business leaders about common flaws in the decision making process and what to do about them. Learn more at AllElseEqualPodcast.com.All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of Stanford Graduate School of Business and is produced by University FM.

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