All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions

Ep76 “How Should You Deal with Uncertainty in Today's World?” with Nick Bloom

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 15:19:06 +0000

What do measures of uncertainty tell us about the state of the economy and how should firms and households use

those measurements to inform decision-making? Hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen are joined by returning guest Nick Bloom,

professor of economics at Stanford University, whose research on the causes and consequences of uncertainty helped build the Economic Policy Uncertainty Index.

In the discussion, they cover the various ways to measure uncertainty including the VIX and text-based methods, Bloom explains how the Economic Policy Uncertainty Index works, why

discrepancies can sometimes exist between uncertainty measurements, and how these uncertainty indices can help inform better business decision-making.

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Ep75 The Misleading Truth Behind IRR

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Thu, 2 Apr 2026 14:00:00 +0000

Despite it being widely taught in business schools and practiced in the industry, you should think twice before using the internal rate of return as a criteria for making an investment decision.

Hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen are back to discuss why using the internal rate of return (IRR) as an investment decision rule is fundamentally flawed compared with the net present value (NPV).

They outline IRR’s problems including multiple or nonexistent solutions, failure to account for scale and timing, and structural vulnerability once financing/payment plans are allowed, enabling arbitrary or inflated IRRs.

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All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of the UPenn Wharton Lauder Institute through University FM.

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Ep74 Is The Financial Sector Good for Society?

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 14:00:00 +0000

What value does a financial sector add to society? How would society function without a financial sector?

In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen make the case that a competitive market financial sector is crucial to economic growth and the betterment of society.

Jonathan and Jules contend with the critiques they hear most often when it comes to free markets, breaking down the core purpose of a financial sector and why its value is not easily observable or necessarily fair. They also compare and contrast other financial systems, like command-and-control, and explain why those systems tend to fail.

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Rerun: Ep29 “How Do You Become CEO?” with Dirk Jenter

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 4 Mar 2026 14:00:00 +0000

All Else Equal is on Spring Break this week, so we’re revisiting one of our most popular episodes dealing with the question: How does one become a CEO? We’ll be back with new episodes in two weeks.

A lot has been written and said about CEOs and their compensation, but who are they really and how did they get there? According to the data, what are the most likely paths to become one? In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen are joined by Dirk Jenter, Professor of Finance at the London School of Economics, for a fascinating discussion of CEOs, including the surprising truths about who rises to the rank of CEO and from where, as well as exploring the issue of CEO pay, and how it could be justified.

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All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of the UPenn Wharton Lauder Institute through University FM.

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Ep73 “The Dangers of Group Think on Decision Making” with Adi Sunderam

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 04:27:37 +0000

Whether it be in politics, public health, or corporate finance, why are people more likely to interpret facts or data in a way that fits their preconceived notions about the world as opposed to searching for the fundamental truth?

A new paper from the Harvard Business School called, Sharing Models to Interpret Data (by Joshua Schwartzstein and Adi Sunderam)

studies the propensity for people to adopt interpretations to data based on their community’s beliefs, and why this can lead to less accurate conclusions. Hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen are joined by the paper’s co-author Adi Sunderam, who is a professor of corporate finance at Harvard Business School, a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and a co-editor of the Journal of Finance.

The conversation covers the complexity of Bayesian updating and how the process is improperly deployed in today’s thinking, not only in corporate decision-making but also on a sociological level. They also discuss Sunderam’s model for explaining how people interpret data, why people are more likely to fall into group-belief dynamics, and if there are any interventions that would lead to better decision-making.

Read Adi Sunderam and Joshua Schwartzstein’s paper: Sharing Models to Interpret Data

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Ep72 Alternatives vs. Mutual Funds: Where Should You Put Your Money

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 4 Feb 2026 14:00:00 +0000

In the rapid-moving world of delegated money management, it is important to recognize the differences in how mutual funds and alternative assets operate. When it comes to alternatives, how do these funds wind up with strong incentive contracts for the money managers as opposed to flat fee contracts more commonly seen in mutual funds? Why do managers of alternatives cap their fund sizes when it could potentially lead to lower fees?

On this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen examine the key differences between mutual funds and alternatives, by unpacking research in a new paper co-authored by Berk.

The conversation covers performance fees, persistent alpha, limits on capital, and the key liquidity distinction between mutual funds and alternatives.

Read “A Unified Theory of Delegated Capital Management” by Jonathan Berk and Peter DeMarzo here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6019667

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Ep71 “The Working From Home Revolution” with Nick Bloom

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 17:57:08 +0000

When the pandemic hit in 2020, working from home skyrocketed. Six years later, many companies have returned to in-person work, but hybrid models are still the dominant structure. So with WFH here to stay in some form, what’s the proper balance? And what are we at risk of losing in the long term with less in-office interaction?

Nick Bloom is an economics professor at Stanford University and one of the first researchers to take a serious look at the work from home phenomenon. He joins hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen to discuss his research into why working from home has outlasted COVID precautions, its impact on employee performance, the surprising effects its had on birthrates, and his recommendation to companies on striking the perfect balance with a hybrid structure.

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All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of the UPenn Wharton Lauder Institute through University FM.

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Ep70 "The Science Behind Why We Don’t Just Say What We Mean" with Psychologist Steven Pinker - Part 2

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 7 Jan 2026 16:00:14 +0000

In the final part of this two-part interview, Steven Pinker, an experimental psychologist and Harvard professor, again joins hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen to discuss his new book When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows: Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life.

In this episode, Jonathan and Jules break down more revelatory examples from Steven’s book that demonstrate how common knowledge is a first order explanatory variable for how humans behave. They also explore the role common knowledge plays in financial markets, particularly when it comes to speculative trading, and examine common knowledge in an academic freedom sense, highlighting the delicate balance between promoting open debate and safeguarding societal norms.

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All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of the UPenn Wharton Lauder Institute through University FM.

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Ep69 "The Science Behind Why We Don’t Just Say What We Mean" with Psychologist Steven Pinker - Part 1

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 15:46:50 +0000

Everyday, we participate in seemingly arbitrary but essential choices for society to function. We all agree on what side of the road to drive on, to use paper currency, or to speak the same language. These kinds of choices make up a group’s common knowledge – things that are made blatantly and publicly known. But what about the things that are known, but unspoken? What is the purpose of innuendos, euphemisms, and veiling the true meaning of our words in society?

Steven Pinker, an experimental psychologist and Harvard professor, joins hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen to discuss his new book When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows: Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life.

In this two-part conversation, they explore the psychological and social significance of common knowledge in human interactions, highlighting its complex role in both fostering cooperation and permitting social taboos. They also discuss the intersection of common knowledge with economic behaviors like speculative trading, and the balance between maintaining social norms and fostering open debate in academic settings.

Find All Else Equal on the web:

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All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of the UPenn Wharton Lauder Institute through

University FM

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Rerun: Ep63 “What Explains the Growth of Private Equity? A Different Perspective” with Ludovic Phalippou

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 14:00:00 +0000

This holiday week, All Else Equal is looking back at its episode on the growth of private equity with Ludovic Phalippou.

Private markets have taken off in the last couple decades, with more investors opting to invest in private equity and debt instead of public markets. But what caused that shift? And are the private markets really a better bet right now, or is there more to the story?

Hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen sit down with private markets expert Ludovic Phalippou, a professor of financial economics at the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford and author of Private Equity Laid Bare.

In the conversation, they explore what private markets can provide asset owners that public markets can not, the potential tradeoffs of investing in private equity, how performance in private and public markets is measured, and if the return on investment is really worth the high fees that come along with private equity firms.

Submit your questions to the show here: https://bit.ly/AllElseEqual

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Ep68 “Is It Better to Overestimate or Underestimate Your Enemies?” with H.R. McMaster

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 14:00:00 +0000

Historically, the U.S. has had a habit of overestimating the capabilities of its enemies. Why? Is this an intentional security strategy? Or does the U.S. need to change the way it gathers enemy intelligence?

Former National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster gives hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen a crash course on military intelligence and national security advising.

The conversation covers why the overestimation of enemies happens, including historical examples of misjudgments, the role of proxies in modern conflicts, strategic considerations involving major powers like China, and the threat of information warfare.

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All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of the UPenn Wharton Lauder Institute through University FM.

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Ep67 Real Talk on Rent Control: Its Pros and Cons

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 14:00:00 +0000

As the 2025 municipal elections approach, the New York City mayoral race has garnered national buzz, with one issue particularly capturing attention: rent control.

On this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen explore and unpack the best possible reasons for rent control, and why oftentimes – those reasons still come up short.

They contextualize their discussion with historical examples from Chicago and San Francisco, analyze the arguments for rent control, and explain how despite rent control’s aim to bring more balance to the tenant-landlord dynamic, its negative repercussions on housing supply might outweigh the benefits.

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All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of the UPenn Wharton Lauder Institute through University FM.

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Ep66 When (and When Not) To Listen to Investment Advice

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 14:00:00 +0000

Solicited or not, advice on where to invest your money seems to be around every corner these days. But determining whether the advice is credible and worth listening to can be challenging.

On this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen put sources of investment advice to the test and provide listeners with some guidance on how to judge the credibility of someone’s stock picks. They also discuss private investing and the potential risk of getting in on the ground floor as an angel investor.

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All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of the UPenn Wharton Lauder Institute through University FM.

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Ep65 "Will Future AI Systems Operate Like The Human Brain? It’s Complicated” with Jeff Hawkins

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 1 Oct 2025 20:04:55 +0000

With growing concerns over whether or not AI will take away jobs and eventually become superior to human intelligence, maybe it’s time to take a closer look at the human brain and discover how AI will always have its limitations.

Hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen sit down with Jeff Hawkins, a neuroscientist and computer scientist, whose book A Thousand Brains challenges the way we think about intelligence and how the brain works.

Jonathan, Jules, and Jeff discuss the fundamentals of how the human brain operates and how it differs from the way current AI models work. They also dive into the cutting-edge innovations happening in the world of AI and whether future versions of the technology could one day emulate the human brain more closely.

Find All Else Equal on the web:

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All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of the UPenn Wharton Lauder Institute through University FM.

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Ep64 "Why Higher Education Needs a Massive Overhaul: Are the Kids Even Learning Anything?" with Bryan Caplan

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 14:45:00 +0000

While a higher education may help your career in terms of income, how much of what you’re taught in a classroom actually prepares you for the work you do on the job?

Hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen chat with economist Bryan Caplan about his book, “The Case Against Education.” In the book, Bryan lays out why education these days is less about what you’re learning, and more about signaling to future employers that you’ll be a good hire.

Jonathan, Jules, and Bryan discuss the pitfalls of a modern liberal arts education, historical shifts that got us here, and what could be a more effective way of teaching.

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All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of the UPenn Wharton Lauder Institute through University FM.

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Rerun: Ep53 “The Truth About Inflation and Price Caps: Learn From Argentina” with Veronica Rappoport

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 14:00:00 +0000

It’s the final episode of the summer season and with some key mayoral races coming up this fall, we’re revisiting our conversation on inflation with Veronica Rappoport, a former official at the Central Bank of Argentina who had a front row seat to the country’s inflation crisis.

Over the last couple U.S. election cycles, one policy idea to get inflation under control that is routinely floated is price caps. But history has shown time and time again that price caps do anything but reduce inflation. So why do policymakers still want to try it?

In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen speak with guest Veronica Rappoport, associate professor at London School of Economics and former 2nd Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Argentina. Veronica served as the deputy governor during a key period of high inflation for Argentina.

She chats with Jonathan and Jules about the circumstances that can lead to inflation rates as high as the ones Argentina has seen in the last 50 years, how band-aids like price caps can in fact make inflation significantly worse in the long run, and what lessons countries like the U.S. can take from Argentina’s case.

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All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of the UPenn Wharton Lauder Institute through University FM.

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Ep63 “What Explains the Growth of Private Equity? A Different Perspective” with Ludovic Phalippou

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 13 Aug 2025 14:00:00 +0000

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.

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Rerun: Ep60 “A Trade Deficit? More Like a Capital Surplus” with John Cochrane

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 14:00:00 +0000

For the summer season, All Else Equal will be alternating between new episodes and reruns. In this week’s episode, we’re revisiting our conversation with Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University John Cochrane.

What exactly is a trade deficit? And why are so many policymakers fixated on it? Lately, the trade deficit in the U.S. is taking the bulk of the blame for the economic situation we’re in and it’s one of the reasons the Trump administration is pushing for sweeping tariffs. But tariffs are likely not the answer, and a trade deficit might be better referred to as a capital surplus.

As a continuation of the tariffs discussion in the last episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen are joined by John Cochrane, an economist at Stanford University and the Hoover Institution.

The conversation covers how trade deficits actually work, their implications on global and domestic economies, and how current trade policies may impact economic growth, inflation, and international relations.

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Rerun: Ep59 “Why Tariffs Are Not The Ultimate Trade Weapon” with Dani Rodrik

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 14:00:00 +0000

For the summer season, All Else Equal will be alternating between new episodes and reruns. In this week’s episode, we’re revisiting our conversation with Ford Foundation Professor of International Political Economy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and the author of the book Straight Talk on Trade: Ideas for a Sane World Economy, Dani Rodrik.

With President Trump’s tariffs on Canada, Mexico, China, and other countries now in full swing, what consequences from an economic standpoint could the U.S. be facing? And what was the path that led us here?

Hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen put the tariffs question to economist and author Dani Rodrik. Rodrik is the Ford Foundation Professor of International Political Economy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and the author of the book Straight Talk on Trade: Ideas for a Sane World Economy.

Beginning with the historical context and purpose of tariffs, the conversation covers how the political and social dissatisfaction with hyperglobalization opened the door for these extreme tariffs, whether or not they’re an effective tool in modern trade policy, and what alternative strategies exist to rebuild America’s middle class.

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Rerun: Ep55 “The Future Of The MBA: From 3 Top Business Schools” with Madhav Rajan

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 2 Jul 2025 14:00:00 +0000

For the summer season, All Else Equal will be alternating between new episodes and reruns. In this week’s episode, we’re revisiting our conversation with Madhav Rajan of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

As more and more universities move away from full-time MBA programs, what does the future of business education look like? How should it look?

In this episode, hear perspectives from three of the top business schools in the U.S.: Stanford Graduate School of Business, The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago.

Hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen sit down with Chicago Booth’s Madhav Rajan to discuss the state of the MBA programs at their universities and why there seems to be a decline in MBA degrees. The conversation also touches on the need for rigorous education, the value of technical skills versus managerial training, and potential innovations like modular MBA degrees.

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Rerun: Ep54 “The Rise And Fall of Great Societies: Lessons from History” with Victor Davis Hanson

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 14:00:00 +0000

For the summer season, All Else Equal will be alternating between new episodes and reruns. On this week’s episode, we’re revisiting our conversation with historian Victor Davis Hanson.

History shows that as societies rise to greatness, the scales eventually tip back and those societies fall. But what leads to that fall and are we heading toward one?

In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen speak with historian Victor Davis Hanson, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution who specializes in classics and military history.

The conversation explores the complexities and fragilities of successful societies like the Mycenaeans, Romans, and Byzantines, how specialization can lead to higher living standards but also increased vulnerability, and our existential worries about the future.

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

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 4 Jun 2025 14:00:00 +0000

For the summer season, All Else Equal will be alternating between new episodes and reruns. On this week’s episode, we’re revisiting our conversation with Mohamed El-Erian on the intricacies of national debt and the best ways to measure it.

Mohamed, Jonathan, and Jules 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.

You can read Jonathan and Jules’ paper on national debt, “Why Care About Debt-to-GDP?” published May 27, 2025, here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5271557

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Ep62 “The Cost of Social Compliance: Exploring Preference Falsification" with Timur Kuran

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Thu, 22 May 2025 14:00:00 +0000

Is the emperor wearing clothes?

Hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen are joined by economist and political scientist Timur Kuran who wrote the book, Private Truths, Public Lies: The Social Consequences of Preference Falsification. This 30-year-old book explains the social phenomenon where people express preferences they do not have. As political and social tensions have risen in the U.S., the freedom to express views that go against the status quo has become more difficult.

Jonathan, Jules, and Timur discuss what preference falsification is and why people engage in it, historical and contemporary examples, the implications of this behavior in various domains, including politics, business, and academia, and insights into how societies can counteract it. The conversation also addresses the importance of fostering environments, particularly in universities, where open and honest discourse is encouraged.

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Ep61 “Pursuit for Academic Freedom” with Richard Saller

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 7 May 2025 14:00:00 +0000

If universities believe they should be free from government interference and that students and faculty have the right to freely express whatever viewpoints they hold, then the universities should be held to the same standard, right?

Hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen are joined by Richard Saller, an American classist and former interim president of Stanford University, to discuss whether or not the government has the right to intervene in university affairs and the hypocrisy that sometimes surrounds these issues.

The conversation covers the recent statement signed by 562 university presidents advocating for academic freedom, examples of academic censorship, and the impact of federal funding on universities. They also raise questions about what true academic freedom means as universities have grown increasingly homogenous, and propose solutions to how universities can live up to their mission of being a place where all viewpoints can be expressed.

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Ep60 “A Trade Deficit? More Like a Capital Surplus” with John Cochrane

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 14:00:00 +0000

Find All Else Equal on the web:
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All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of the UPenn Wharton Lauder Institute through University FM.

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Ep59 “Why Tariffs Are Not The Ultimate Trade Weapon” with Dani Rodrik

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 9 Apr 2025 14:00:00 +0000

Find All Else Equal on the web:
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All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of the UPenn Wharton Lauder Institute through University FM.

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Ep58 How Rich Are The Ivy League Universities, Really? University Endowments Explained

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 14:00:00 +0000

The recent crackdown on federal spending has universities sweating despite the fact that many of them boast huge billion-dollar endowments. So what gives? Why would less money from the federal government be a cause for concern? Where does all that money go? And could there be more to this budget picture than meets the eye?

In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen delve into the inner workings of university endowments and how these institutions are balancing their budgets in a way that’s leaving themselves vulnerable to dire financial situations.

Read John Cambell, Jeremy Stein, and Alex Wu’s paper, “Economic Budgeting for Endowment-Dependent Universities” here.

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Rerun: Ep36 “Institutional Neutrality: Open Debate and Moral Stands” with John Etchemendy

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 14:00:00 +0000

All Else Equal is taking a little spring break, so on this episode we’re revisiting a fascinating conversation on what happens when universities step off the sidelines and take a stance on contentious issues. Are they boarding a roller coaster that they can’t ever get off? Hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen chat with John Etchemendy, former Provost of Stanford University, for a discussion about institutional neutrality and the long-term unseen costs of any stance institutions elect to take.

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ep57 “Effective Communication: Trump vs. Reagan” with Peter Robinson

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 14:00:00 +0000

One key to effective negotiation is to keep your opponent guessing by randomizing your strategy. And right now, there might not be a more prolific example of this kind of strategy than President Donald Trump’s communication style.

In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen are joined by Peter Robinson, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution and former speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan.

Together, they examine Trump’s communication style by comparing and contrasting it with Reagan’s. They also discuss the effectiveness of an unpredictable communication strategy, whether Trump’s off-the-cuff remarks are calculated or mere chaos, and Peter shares behind-the-scenes details of the Reagan administration including how Peter came to write the famous line, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ep56 “When Should We Lie for the Greater Good?” with John Ioannidis

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:00:00 +0000

Is it acceptable for doctors to lie to their patients, or withhold some of the truth, if it’s in the patient’s best interest?

In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen welcome back John Ioannidis, professor of medicine at Stanford University, to discuss the ethical implications of concealing the truth in the medical world, even when it’s for the greater good.

The conversation touches on the importance of building and maintaining trust in healthcare, cases where that trust has been tested or fractured, the paternalism mindset in medicine, the potential biases in medical research funding, and why building back trust in healthcare is a steep climb.

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ep55 “The Future Of The MBA: From 3 Top Business Schools” with Madhav Rajan

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 14:00:00 +0000

As more and more universities move away from full-time MBA programs, what does the future of business education look like? How should it look?

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ep54 “The Rise And Fall of Great Societies: Lessons from History” with Victor Davis Hanson

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 15 Jan 2025 14:00:00 +0000

History shows that as societies rise to greatness, the scales eventually tip back and those societies fall. But what leads to that fall and are we heading toward one?

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Rerun: Ep48 “Why CEOs are Underpaid” with Dirk Jenter

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Thu, 2 Jan 2025 14:00:00 +0000

As we ring in the new year, we’re bringing back one of our favorite episodes! Handpicked by Jules and Jonathan, this previous conversation is perfect for starting your year with thought-provoking insights.

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ep53 “The Truth About Inflation and Price Caps: Learn From Argentina” with Veronica Rappoport

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 14:00:00 +0000

During the 2024 U.S. presidential election, inflation was one of the most talked about issues, and there was one policy idea to get inflation under control that kept coming up: price caps. But history has shown time and time again that price caps do anything but reduce inflation. So why do policymakers still want to try it?

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ep52 “Should Legacy Admissions at Universities Be Illegal?” with Patrick Awuah

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 14:00:00 +0000

Should legacy admissions at colleges and universities be banned? What are the benefits and tradeoffs of admitting students based on their legacy status?

In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen speak with guest Patrick Awuah, president of Ashesi University, about the Ghanaian university’s unique economic engine and the place for legacy admissions in the higher ed world.

The conversation delves into how Ashesi University balances economic sustainability with educational inclusivity, the ethical and financial implications of legacy admissions, and tackles the controversial question, does admitting legacy students from wealthy families benefit the greater good of an institution?

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ep51 Celebrating 50 Episodes: The Biggest All Else Equal Mistakes

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 19:00:00 +0000

The All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions podcast has officially done 50 episodes! To commemorate the milestone, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen look back on some of the major all else equal mistakes they’ve covered on the show.

With highlights from past guests like Google CFO Ruth Porat and former SEC chair Jay Clayton, Jonathan and Jules provide insight on the pitfalls of oversimplified decision-making, regulatory challenges, correlation vs. causation, and what organizations can do to avoid making the same all else equal mistakes.

Links to past episodes referenced in the show:

"Secrets of a Stockpicking Star" with Cliff Asness

"Turning ‘Bad’ Investments into Good Profits" with Pete Briger

"Why Has Private Equity Grown So Much?" with Eric Zinterhofer

"Why the Private Debt Markets Have Exploded" with Laurence Gottlieb

“Making Regulation Work” with Jay Clayton

“Investigating Implausible Theories” with John Ioannidis

“Institutional Neutrality: Open Debate and Moral Stands” with John Etchemendy

“Making a Business Decision” with Ruth Porat

“The Future of Higher Education Part 2” with Niall Ferguson

“Disentangling Causation and Correlation” with Guido Imbens

“Fair or Unfair: Do Competitive Markets Give Everyone a Chance?” with John Cochrane

“May Contain Lies” with Alex Edmans

“Understanding the SEC's New Climate Disclosure Rules” with Lawrence Cunningham

“Finance Professors on Why Leaders Can’t ‘Agree to Disagree’” with Robert Aumann

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 14:00:00 +0000

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ep49 “Making Regulation Work” with Jay Clayton

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 14:00:00 +0000

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ep48 “Are CEOs Underpaid?” with Dirk Jenter

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 2 Oct 2024 14:00:00 +0000

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 14:00:00 +0000

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Rerun: Ep12 Corporations as Job Security Providers

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 4 Sep 2024 14:00:30 +0000

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 14:00:00 +0000

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 7 Aug 2024 14:00:00 +0000

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Rerun: Ep8 “Why Capitalism Works" with John Cochrane

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 14:00:00 +0000

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Rerun: Ep7 Can Investors Effect Social Change?

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 14:00:00 +0000

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!

How can investors play a part in accomplishing social change? In this episode of All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions, hosts Jules van Binsbergen and Jonathan Berk explore what strategies are available to the social-minded investor.

When it comes to what’s good for business and what’s good for society, van Binsbergen says, “People really would like to have it both ways.” But as he and Berk explain, it is unlikely that they can.

The Impact of Impact Investing working paper referenced in this episode. Read more about the pitfalls and promises of ESG on Stanford GSB's website.

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Rerun: Ep6 "Can (and Should) Corporations Be Taxed?" with Larry Summers

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 14:00:00 +0000

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!

In this episode, hosts Jules van Binsbergen and Jonathan Berk discuss the complexities of the corporate income tax with former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who argues for retaining the tax.

Summers explains why taxing corporations is one of the most effective tools the federal government has in making sure the wealthy pay their fair share. Might there be room for improvement? Yes, Summers says, but don’t abolish it. “Before we are critical of that tax, we better make awfully sure that we have a superior alternative.”

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Rerun: Ep4 "Making Bad Investments Profitable" with Pete Briger

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 14:00:00 +0000

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 it comes to investments, value sometimes resides in unlikely places. Pete Briger, CEO of Fortress Investment Group, specializes in buying bad debt and spinning it into gold.

In this episode of All Else Equal, Briger, who dubs himself a “garbage collector,” describes how he makes decisions and why being prepared to act quickly and decisively is crucial for success.

In a market bristling with competitors, “the competitive edge you get may be expressed in the context of days,” Briger says.

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ep46 "May Contain Lies" with Alex Edmans

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Thu, 30 May 2024 14:00:00 +0000

What is the real problem with misinformation? Are our biases so ingrained in us that we are unable to think critically about the world and the systems around us? What happens when large institutions attempt to push a heterodox narrative? Do we simply need more education to overcome misinformation, or do we need something much deeper—to learn to think critically again? In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen welcome Alex Edmans, Professor of Finance at London Business School to discuss his latest book, May Contain Lies: How Stories, Statistics, and Studies Exploit Our Biases – And What We Can Do About It.

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ep45 “The Future of Higher Education Part 2” with Niall Ferguson

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 15 May 2024 18:00:00 +0000

What are the unseen costs of administrative bureaucracy and an ideology that favors victimhood over scholarly debate? What caused the ideological shift from classical liberalism to the illiberal leanings that now permeate universities, and what does it mean for the future of intellectual innovation and freedom? In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen welcome Niall Ferguson, the Millbank Family Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and a Senior Faculty Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University, for a discussion of Niall’s solution to the current problems – a new university.

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ep44 “The Future of Higher Education Part 1” with Carmen Twillie Ambar and Kimberly Wright Cassidy

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Thu, 9 May 2024 18:00:00 +0000

Should universities be primarily research and teaching institutions or should they have broader social responsibilities to today’s youth? How are institutions navigating the delicate dance of institutional neutrality among very hot-button and controversial issues? In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen welcome Carmen Twillie Ambar, President of Oberlin College, and Kimberly Wright Cassidy, President of Bryn Mawr College, to discuss the shape, motivations, and responsibilities of Higher Education today and also going forward.

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ep43 Examining Bad Investment Advice

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 17 Apr 2024 14:00:00 +0000

Is Suze Orman giving out bad investment advice? Should you ever not refinance rates drop? Is dilution of stock a bad thing for the early stockholders? Should you dollar cost average? In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen evaluate three pieces of widely given investing advice and drill down for why each one is actually bad investment advice.

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ep42 Waiting to Invest

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 3 Apr 2024 14:00:00 +0000

What could be the reason to delay investing in an option that will make you money? How do your investment opportunities expand when you make that choice? In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen discuss the concept of real options in finance, focusing particularly on investment decision-making. They also address the challenge of valuing growth options in uncertain investment environments, emphasizing the importance of flexibility and the potential to create value through well-timed information and decisions.

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ep41 “Understanding the SEC's New Climate Disclosure Rules” with Lawrence Cunningham

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 14:00:00 +0000

Why should climate risk be singled out for mandatory disclosure by the SEC, and how does this change the investment landscape? Can climate disclosure legislation walk the fine line between transparency and information overload? In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen welcome Lawrence Cunningham, Research Professor of Law Emeritus at GW Law and special counsel with Mayer Brown LLP, to explore the arguments for and against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) mandating climate risk disclosures for companies.

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Navigating Workplace Power Dynamics with Deborah H. Gruenfeld feat. ‘If/Then’ Podcast

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Mon, 4 Mar 2024 16:30:00 +0000

Today, we’re sharing a special episode from If/Then, the new podcast from our friends at Stanford Graduate School of Business. If/Then is made for curious people looking for answers to challenging questions, featuring experts and thought leaders engaged in cutting-edge research on topics like AI, immigration, sustainability, and power - all framed around an if/then statement that captures the guest’s incisive, sometimes surprising, takeaways. Like this episode, where Stanford Professor of Organizational Behavior Dr. Deborah Gruenfeld answers the question, “If we want to change power systems, then we need to understand the animal forces that drive our behavior.”

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Ep40 “Why the Private Debt Markets Have Exploded” with Laurence Gottlieb

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 15:00:00 +0000

There has been a rising trend in the importance of private debt as a way of financing companies. But what are the differences between private debt and public debt? Why is it increasing in popularity? What advantages does it offer over traditional banking models? In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen welcome Laurence Gottlieb, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Fundamental Advisors LP, for a discussion about why the private debt markets have exploded.

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Ep39 “Why Does the Non-Profit Model Work?” with Daniel Diermeier

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 16:10:00 +0000

Without a residual claimant, who sets the agenda of a non-profit organization like a university? Who makes sure that the organization follows that agenda rather than serving the interests of the administrators running the organization? Who are the stakeholders in a non-profit organization, and how does the organization prioritize their competing interests. In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen welcome Daniel Diermeier, Chancellor of Vanderbilt University, for a discussion about Non-Profit Organizations, and some key ways in which they operate differently and are able, in some instances to achieve better results than For Profit Organizations.

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Ep38 "The Power of Non-Monetary Incentives: Lessons from the Military" with Lt. Gen. Thomas Bostick

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 16:30:00 +0000

Picture a workforce driven not by the promise of a paycheck, but by a shared sense of purpose and the thrill of contributing to something greater than themselves. How can you can ignite a passion in a team that money simply can't buy. In this episode, based on a question from a listener, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen welcome Lieutenant General Thomas Bostick, was the 53rd Chief of Engineers of the United States Army and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, for a discussion about Non-Monetary Incentives, and how they function in the military.

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Ep37 Five Common Finance Mistakes

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 15:00:00 +0000

Today, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen discuss five common mistakes financial decision-makers often make. There is much misinformation and bad advice in financial markets. In this episode, Jonathan and Jules discuss strategies for avoiding bad advice and making better decisions.

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Rerun: Ep15 "Shareholder vs. Stakeholder Capitalism" with Alex Edmans

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 3 Jan 2024 14:00:00 +0000

For the end of the year, Jules and Jonathan are taking some well-deserved time off, and wanted to rerun a past episode they love for the new audience who has joined since then.

Imagine being able to see through all the layers of corporate decision-making to uncover whether businesses should prioritize profits for shareholders or the well-being of a wider community. In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen are joined by Alex Edmans, professor of finance at the London Business School, as they wade through the murky waters of balancing diverse interests, addressing externalities such as environmental impacts, and whether government intervention or corporate ethics should lead the charge. It's an exploration of the potential for businesses to harness their unique strengths for the greater good, while navigating the delicate balance of power between corporate and governmental roles in shaping society.

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Rerun: Ep5 "Why You Can't 'Agree to Disagree" with Robert Aumann

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 27 Dec 2023 15:00:00 +0000

For the end of the year, Jules and Jonathan are taking some well-deserved time off, and wanted to rerun a past episode they love for the new audience who has joined since then.

Is it possible to unravel the paradox of disagreement in rational decision-making? How should we dissolve discord? In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen are joined by Robert Aumann, mathematician, professor, and Nobel Prize winner, as they discuss acknowledging errors and embracing diverse viewpoints, with stories of Nobel Prize-winning luminaries showing the importance of evolving one's understanding in light of new evidence.

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Rerun: Ep3 “Why Good Stocks Are Not Good Buys” with Cliff Asness

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 20 Dec 2023 15:00:00 +0000

For the end of the year, Jules and Jonathan are taking some well-deserved time off, and wanted to re-present a past episode they love for the new audience who has joined since then.

Investing in stocks isn’t just prowess in numbers but a mental marathon as well. But prowess in numbers isn't all there is; this episode also explores the mental marathon of investment. It's a master class in economic acumen that will challenge the way you see the numbers, with the promise to elevate your understanding of the intricate dance between buyer and seller dynamics. In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen are joined by Cliff Asness, co-founder of AQR Capital Management, as they move beyond the common mantras of investment strategies to confront the harsh market realities and identify what truly makes a stock undervalued or overvalued.

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Ep36 "Institutional Neutrality: Open Debate and Moral Stands" with John Etchemendy

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 15:00:00 +0000

What happens when universities and step off the sidelines and take a stance on contentious issues? Are they boarding a roller coaster that they can’t ever get off? In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen welcome John Etchemendy, former Provost of Stanford University, for a discussion about Institutional Neutrality, and the long-term unseen costs of any stance institutions elect to take.

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Ep35 “Does Common Ownership Affect Product Market Outcomes?” with Martin Schmalz

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Thu, 23 Nov 2023 17:00:00 +0000

It turns out your airline ticket prices might be affected by common ownership in mutual and index funds, but how? In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen welcome Martin Schmalz, Professor of Finance and Economics at Oxford Saïd and Academic Area Head for the FAME faculty group (Finance, Accounting, Managerial Science, and Economics) for a discussion about Common Ownership, and the unseen power it holds in asset management for the corporate world.

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Ep34 “Why Has Private Equity Grown So Much?” with Eric Zinterhofer

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 1 Nov 2023 14:00:00 +0000

What accounts for the recent growth of private firms? In this episode of All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen welcome Eric Zinterhofer, Founder of Searchlight Capital Partners, to discuss the fundamental tradeoff between Public Equity and Private Equity, and how having a manager with more skin in the game creates greater returns, but at a cost of greater risk.

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Ep33 How Risky Should Your Retirement Savings Be?

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Thu, 19 Oct 2023 14:00:00 +0000

In this episode of All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen discuss the second half of the retirement equation, after going over how much you need to save, they now elaborate on how to think about investing what you have saved, and what theories make for optimizing your own personal risk exposure. They explain the importance of holding a diversified portfolio and tailoring the overall risk of that portfolio to you own personal needs.

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Ep32 “Labor Unions and Detroit Struggle” with Larry Katz

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Thu, 5 Oct 2023 14:00:00 +0000

With recent strikes making big news, what are the complexities at hand when Unions become involved in the labor force? Some are well known but other effects, both good and bad, have been less obvious. Exact data can be hard to discern, but In this episode of All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen talk with Larry Katz of Harvard University about how labor unions have functioned in the past, the current union landscape with an ongoing UAW strike in Detroit, and what impacts and changes they think will happen in the future as technology disrupts labor markets in different ways.

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Ep31 How Much Should You Save?

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 14:00:00 +0000

How much are you supposed to save for retirement and how do you get there? What is the different advice for people with different plans or risk tolerances?In this episode of All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen discuss the ins and outs of long term investing, and how to make a working retirement plan that will work for you.

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Ep30 “Becoming a Better Communicator” with Matt Abrahams

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 2 Aug 2023 14:00:00 +0000

Are you breaking some basic rules of communication without knowing it? What are the things you can start doing right now to communicate better? In this episode of All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen are joined by Matt Abrahams, lecturer at Stanford GSB, and host of the highly influential podcast Think Fast, Talk Smart for a discussion about becoming a more effective communicator and presenter.

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Ep29 “How Do You Become CEO?” with Dirk Jenter

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Thu, 29 Jun 2023 14:00:00 +0000

A lot has been written and said about CEOs and their compensation, but who are they really and how did they get there? According to the data, what are the most likely paths to become one? In this episode of All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen are joined by Dirk Jenter, Professor of Finance at the London School of Economics, for a fascinating discussion of CEOs, including the surprising truths about who rises to the rank of CEO and from where, as well as exploring the issue of CEO pay, and how it could be justified.

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Ep28 Incentives and Externalities

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 14:00:00 +0000

Humans respond to incentives, and so incentives predict behavior and sometimes the behavior can be detrimental. In this episode of All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen discuss a range of less obvious examples of how incentives produce negative externalities — long legal contracts, negative news stories, dumb traffic lights, overly pessimistic disaster prediction and other examples.

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Ep27 "The Future of AI" with Michal Kosinski

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 31 May 2023 14:00:00 +0000

The speed at which AI is getting smarter is on everybody's mind these days. In this episode of All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen discuss with Stanford Professor Michal Kosinski what we should expect from the coming wave of AI technology, how it relates to the research on "Theory of Mind" and whether and how it potentially could be regulated.

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Ep26 “Investigating Implausible Theories: The Case of COVID” with Matt Ridley

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 17 May 2023 14:00:00 +0000

When COVID-19 shut down the world economy in 2020 many wondered where it had begun and why the pandemic had even started in the first place. In this episode of All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen discuss with Matt Ridley (biologist and author of Viral: The Search for the Origin of COVID-19) about the possible origins of the coronavirus pandemic, and the reasons that the thinking on what the origin is has changed over time.

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Ep25 “Bubble Trouble” with Will Goetzmann

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 3 May 2023 14:00:00 +0000

Financial bubbles are episodes where the value of something (like stocks, tulips or cryptocurrency) shoots up very rapidly, but then peaks and comes crashing down. The problem has never been seeing them in hindsight, but rather identifying one while in the middle of it. In this episode of All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen discuss with Will Goetzmann (Edwin J. Beinecke Professor of Finance and Management Studies at the Yale School of Management how to identify bubbles and which key historical bubbles have shaped our thinking about them.

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Ep24 “When Institutions Cry Wolf” with Jay Bhattacharya

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 14:00:00 +0000

It takes a long time to build up credibility, but you can lose it in an instant. What would it take to justify lying to the public for their own good, and are the benefits worth the costs? In this episode of All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen discuss the costs and benefits of the government lying to its own citizens.

They then discuss the topic with Dr. Jay Bhattacharya (Professor of Medicine at Stanford University's Medical School, PhD in Economics, fellow of the Hoover Institution, and associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research) in the context of his prescient research during the COVID pandemic.

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Ep23 “When Banking Fails” with Amit Seru

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Fri, 24 Mar 2023 17:00:00 +0000

The FDIC and Federal Reserve have recently intervened to stop another banking crisis. In this episode of All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen dig in to see what failed. What causes bank runs? Are the government subsidies of banks worth it? Is a bank the right way to finance risky investments or are they historical artifacts. Their guest Amit Seru, The Steven and Roberta Denning Professor of Finance and Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Stanford Graduate School of Business, explains what went wrong with the banks in Silicon Valley, and why regulators seemed to have missed the boat.

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Papers on Bank Fragility

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Ep22 “How Do You Know If Your Marketing Dollars Are Working?” with Florian Zettelmeyer

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 15 Mar 2023 17:50:00 +0000

Note: if you are hearing the wrong audio try redownloading the episode or listen here.

What reach does marketing really have? In the murky waters of cause and effect marketers have to figure out where to put their resources and what impact they can make on consumers. In this episode of All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen talk about how to measure the impact advertising has, and how not to measure it. They then discuss with Florian Zettelmeyer (the Nancy L. Ertle Professor of Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University) about why measuring the effects of marketing is so tricky, some mistakes that have been made in past attempts, and how to avoid them.

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Ep21 "Disentangling Causation and Correlation" with Guido Imbens

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 1 Mar 2023 15:00:00 +0000

It can be tempting to think one thing causes another because they happen in succession, but there’s a lot to unwrap in the idea of causality. In this episode of All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen explain the difference between correlation and causality, and examine cases where it is tempting to assume one thing caused another, but the reality is quite different or even the opposite. They then discuss with Guido Imbens (Nobel Prize Winner and a chaired professor in Economics at the Stanford Graduate School of Business) the revolution in empirical work in economics that he helped start.

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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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Ep20 "Risk and the Fundamental Tradeoff of Corporate Finance"

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 15:00:00 +0000

Risk is an inherent part of all business decisions and understanding ways this risk can be reduced is essential to succeeding in today’s business environment. In this episode of All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen explain how to assess risk and discuss smart ways of diversifying it away. But sometimes diversification comes at a cost to productivity and the hosts present this as the fundamental tradeoff of corporate finance.

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.

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Ep19 “The Future of Money: Central Bank Digital Currency?” with Kevin Warsh

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 1 Feb 2023 15:00:00 +0000

Cryptocurrency is increasing in popularity but still confusing to many consumers and finance professionals alike. On this episode of All Else Equal, finance professors Jules van Binsbergen and Jonathan Berk admit they don’t understand why some central banks are introducing digital currencies and why there would be need in our economic system.

To help answer these questions they speak with Kevin Warsh, a former governor for the Federal Reserve and current Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institute at the Stanford School of Business. Kevin makes the case for regulating crypto currencies and what that would look like, and says the recent collapse of FTX, the world’s largest crypto currency exchanges, is not an indicator of this being a failing currency.

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.

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Ep18 “Investigating Implausible Theories” with John Ioannidis

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 18 Jan 2023 14:00:00 +0000

In science, we often hear about new discoveries or theories that could change our way of thinking. In the business world, a start-up might promise a revolution in a specific industry, if it can get the right investments. So, when is it worth believing or betting on one of these new theories, and when is it a waste of time? In this episode of All Else Equal, Jules and Jonathan discuss how we can all use the principle of Occam’s Razor (the idea that the simplest theory is often the correct one) in many different areas of our life.

Helping them explain the real world practice of this is John Ioannidis, a professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at Stanford University. John was the first academic to question the practices of Theranos, the company co-founded by Elizabeth Holmes that claimed it would change medicine with its new method of testing blood. He criticized the lack of peer reviewed research of the company’s methods, while at the same time investors were making it a billion dollar company. John tells Jules and Jonathan about this experience, as well as how Occam’s Razor comes into play with a lot of scientific research.

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.

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Ep17 “Can The Free Market Discourage Fraud?” with Marc Cohodes

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 7 Dec 2022 14:00:00 +0000

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.

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.

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Ep16 “The Value Of Protecting Unpleasant Speech” with John Paulson

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 16 Nov 2022 14:00:00 +0000

Freedom of expression is a constitutional right, but it’s also a valuable business strategy.

In this episode of All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen build the case that without freedom of expression within an organization, the competitiveness of the organization will suffer and ultimately be much worse off without a culture that allows for dissenting opinions.

Later in the episode, Jonathan and Jules speak with John Paulson – whose outside-the-box thinking allowed him to predict the 2008 mortgage crisis before almost anyone else, and to position himself and his clients to gain financially. Paulson’s decision to short mortgage bonds was the subject of Michael Lewis’ book “The Big Short” and a blockbuster film of the same name.

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.

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Ep15 "Shareholder vs. Stakeholder Capitalism" with Alex Edmans

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 2 Nov 2022 14:00:00 +0000

Businesses often prioritize shareholder interests to make profit. But this can lead to short-sighted decisions that fail to benefit other stakeholders… right?

In this episode of All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen – and guest Alex Edmans – ask that very question and provide some surprising answers. Whose interests are better aligned with the long-term health of a business: external stakeholders or internal shareholders?

Alex Edmans is a finance professor at the London Business School. He has written a book on the topic of shareholder versus stakeholder capitalism called “Grow The Pie: How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit.”

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.

More About the Guest:

The End of ESG

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Ep14 “‘A Pound Of Flesh’ And Student Debt” with Sheila Bair

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 14:00:00 +0000

President Biden has promised sweeping debt relief to millions of student loan borrowers. In this episode of All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen discuss the implications of this policy decision and the ways it could influence behavior for both students and educational institutions.

Later in the episode, Jonathan and Jules call in an expert: Sheila Bair, former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury and Chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Sheila shares her work as a Senior Fellow at the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, where she currently focuses on financial issues confronting young people.

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.

Resources:

Student Debt Smarter

Loan Affordability Calculator

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Ep13 “Does Regulation Help or Hurt Consumers?” with Maureen Ohlhausen

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 5 Oct 2022 14:00:00 +0000

Conventional wisdom tells us that we need regulators to ensure quality work in certain professions. But do consumers really benefit as much as they think from government regulation?

In this episode of All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen investigate the question: Who does regulation help more, consumers or producers?

Later in the episode, Jonathan and Jules call in an expert: Maureen Ohlhausen, who chairs the Global Antitrust and Competition Law practice at Baker Botts.

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.

Show Links:

Regulation of Charlatans in High-Skill Professions

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Ep12 "Corporations as Job Security Providers"

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 21 Sep 2022 14:00:00 +0000

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.

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Ep11 "Is Bankruptcy the End?" with Jim Millstein

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 7 Sep 2022 14:00:00 +0000

Does filing for bankruptcy spell the end for a company? Or is there another way to look at corporate financial distress?

In this episode of All Else Equal: Making better decisions, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen debunk some myths about Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code – and compare the benefits of financing your company with equity or debt. Later, bankruptcy expert Jim Millstein joins the show to talk about corporate restructuring proceedings and the government bailout of General Motors.

Jim Millstein is the Co-Chairman of Guggenheim Securities, the investment banking and capital markets business of Guggenheim Partners, a global investment and advisory firm. Prior to joining Guggenheim in 2018, Mr. Millstein was the Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Millstein & Co. His representative engagements include providing advice to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in connection with the management of its $75 billion of institutional indebtedness; to US Airways in connection with its acquisition of American Airlines out of Chapter 11; and Caesars in its Chapter 11 proceedings.

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.

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Special Episode: What’s Wrong with Buybacks?

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 10 Aug 2022 18:00:00 +0000

Are buybacks bad for business? Should firms buy dividends instead, or just not make payouts?

In this episode of All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions, hosts and finance professors

Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen debunk myths about buybacks. They explain what a

buyback, or share repurchase, is and why companies choose to use them, as well as the

implications of the Inflation Reduction Act’s proposal to assess a 1% tax on buybacks.

All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions is a podcast produced by Stanford Graduate School of

Business. It is hosted by Jonathan Berk, The A.P. Giannini Professor of Finance at Stanford

GSB, and Jules van Binsbergen, The Nippon Life Professor in Finance, Professor of Finance, at

The Wharton School. Each episode provides insight into how to make better decisions.

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.

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Ep9 "When is a Business Decision a Mistake?" with Hadley Mullin

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Tue, 12 Jul 2022 15:00:00 +0000

As leaders, how do we know when we've made a mistake? Is it as simple as evaluating whether the outcome was good or bad? In this episode of All Else Equal: Making better decisions, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen discuss how risk/reward calculations can help define what is a mistake and what isn't.

To talk more in depth about this topic, and how owning up to a mistake plays out inside an investment firm, the hosts interview Hadley Mullin. Mullin is a senior partner at TSG Consumer Partners, a private equity firm with approximately $10 billion in assets under management. At her firm, decisions are made collectively – and accountability is shared. "It's not a blame game," Mullin says. "Not focusing on whose deal this is, but referring to it as 'our deal,' makes us better positioned to do an unbiased postmortem."

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.

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Ep8 "Why Capitalism Works" with John Cochrane

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Tue, 7 Jun 2022 18:18:18 +0000

Competitive markets don’t produce the same level of prosperity for everyone, but economist John Cochrane thinks they give us something more important — incentives.

In this episode of All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions, hosts Jules van Binsbergen and Jonathan Berk are joined by John Cochrane, a prominent free-market economist and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

According to Cochrane, competition gives us the incentives 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.

More About the Guest:

John Cochrane at the Hoover Institute

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Ep7 "Can Investors Effect Social Change?"

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Tue, 3 May 2022 14:00:00 +0000

The Impact of Impact Investing working paper referenced in this episode. Read more about the pitfalls and promises of ESG on Stanford GSB's website.

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.

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Ep6 "Can (and Should) Corporations Be Taxed?" with Larry Summers

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Tue, 19 Apr 2022 15:00:00 +0000

In this episode, hosts Jules van Binsbergen and Jonathan Berk discuss the complexities of the corporate income tax with former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who argues for retaining the tax.

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.

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Ep5 "Why You Can't 'Agree to Disagree" with Robert Aumann

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Tue, 5 Apr 2022 16:00:00 +0000

"The reason people disagree is because they're striving toward a different goal," says mathematician and Nobel Prize winner Robert Aumann. In this episode of All Else Equal, Aumann sits down with finance professors and podcast hosts Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen.

"If there's a disagreement in the room at the end of a discussion, someone in the room is making a mistake," says Berk.

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.

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Ep4 "Making Bad Investments Profitable" with Pete Briger

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Tue, 22 Mar 2022 13:00:00 +0000

When it comes to investments, value sometimes resides in unlikely places. Pete Briger, CEO of Fortress Investment Group, specializes in buying bad debt and spinning it into gold.

In this episode of All Else Equal, Briger, who dubs himself a “garbage collector,” describes how he makes decisions and why being prepared to act quickly and decisively is crucial for success.

In a market bristling with competitors, “the competitive edge you get may be expressed in the context of days,” Briger says.

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.

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Ep3 “Why Good Stocks Are Not Good Buys” with Cliff Asness

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Tue, 8 Mar 2022 15:00:00 +0000

Picking stocks is a famously difficult exercise, not for the faint of heart. So how do investment professionals make decisions about which stocks to buy?

In this episode of All Else Equal, professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen interview Cliff Asness, cofounder and chief investment officer at AQR Capital Management, about his decision-making strategy. Fundamentally, Asness says, success depends on the ability to “withstand pain” when your investments perform poorly and the confidence to trust your judgment.

“Everybody talks about the long term, but actually being long-term is a superpower in investing if you can do it,” Asness says.

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.

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Ep2 "How the NBA Builds Teams" with Billy King

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Tue, 22 Feb 2022 01:00:00 +0000

Personnel decisions can be some of the toughest a manager will make. What are the attributes you should look for when building a team?

In this episode of All Else Equal, professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen interview former NBA general manager Billy King about how he approached player evaluation. Statistics are an important measure of performance, but King says he also tried to assess how individual players made the players around them better.

King invokes the philosophy of his mentor, Duke University head coach Mike Krzyzewski, who taught the power of teamwork. Punching a wall with five separate fingers would have little effect, “but if you make those fingers into a fist, you’re going to have a better impact,” King says.

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.

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Ep1 "Making a Business Decision" with Ruth Porat

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Mon, 7 Feb 2022 16:29:50 +0000

In this inaugural 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.

“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.

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Introducing "All Else Equal"

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Mon, 31 Jan 2022 22:00:00 +0000

Join finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen in a conversation with prominent business leaders about common flaws in the decision making process and what to do about them.

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