Smart Interviews

Q&A 19 - February 23, 2007

Social Security in an Aging World

Wharton Professor Olivia S. Mitchell answered readers' questions on how demographic changes affect financial markets and public policy, on global approaches to social security and pension reform, and on public vs. private forms of retirement savings.
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Q&A 18 - February 14, 2007

Globalization and Economic Development

Harvard University Professor Dani Rodrik answered readers' questions on how globalization affects developing countries' growth prospects, on what policies are most conducive to long-term growth in the global economy, and on why some governments are unable to implement them.
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Q&A 17 - January 31, 2007

Corporate Governance in the United States

Kellogg Professor Paola Sapienza answered readers' questions on the benefits of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for shareholders and its compliance costs for listed companies, and on the role of independent directors in corporate governance.
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Q&A 16 - December 14, 2006

Democracy and Economic Growth

MIT Professor Daron Acemoglu answered readers' questions on the economic origins of political regimes, the relationship between income and democracy, the causes of long-run economic growth, and the role of institutions in the economy.
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Q&A 15 - November 21, 2006

Management Practices of Successful Firms

Stanford University Professor Nick Bloom answered readers' questions on how best management practices contribute to firms’ success, on how market competition affects corporate strategy, and on the role of managerial succession in family firms.
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Q&A 14 - November 2, 2006

Optimism, Entrepreneurs and Investors

Duke University Professor Manju Puri answered readers' questions on how optimism affects economic decisions and financial planning, on entrepreneurship and venture capital, and on commercial banks' underwriting activity.
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Q&A 13 - October 13, 2006

China’s Rise and the World Economy

UC Berkeley Professor Barry Eichengreen answered readers' questions on how China’s impressive growth affects the international economic and financial system, on its implications for the dollar’s exchange rate, for Asian economies, and for the IMF.
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Q&A 12 - October 9, 2006

Knowledge-Based Firms and the Internet

University of Chicago Professor Luigi Zingales answered readers' questions on how advances in information technology are transforming firms’ physical boundaries and the nature of knowledge-based industries, and on the implications for corporate strategy and industry policy.
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Q&A 11 - August 2, 2006

Assessing Corporate Governance

LSE Professor Antoine Faure-Grimaud answered readers' questions on corporate governance assessments by rating agencies, on how company face the disclosure vs. non-disclosure dilemma, on the outlook for corporate governance ratings, and on the implications for regulatory policies.
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Q&A 10 - July 19, 2006

Business Education and Executive Jobs

Stanford University Professor Paul Oyer answered readers' questions on the value of business education, on how the macroeconomic situation affects career choices, on the effectiveness of firms’ incentives, and on the implications for personnel policies.
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Q&A 9 - July 10, 2006

Open Source and Patents

UC Berkeley Professor Bronwyn H. Hall answered readers' questions on the relative advantages and disadvantages of open source vs. intellectual property rights (IPR) in knowledge creation, on the role of innovation management in firms and universities, and on the implications for technology policy.
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Q&A 8 - June 19, 2006

Financial Globalization and Exchange Rates

Trinity College Dublin Professor Philip R. Lane answered readers' questions on how the increasing integration of international financial markets affects the relationship between exchange rates and external imbalances, and on the implications for monetary and exchange rate policy.
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Q&A 7 - June 8, 2006

Global Job Markets and US Leadership

Harvard University Professor Richard B. Freeman answered readers' questions on the relationships among immigration flows, scientific education and the global market for skilled workers, on how they affect US technological leadership, and on their implications for economic policy.
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Q&A 6 - May 29, 2006

Psychology and Persuasion in Finance

Harvard University Professor Sendhil Mullainathan answered readers' questions on the psychological component in investors' decisions, on how financial firms try to persuade their audience, and on the more general economic implications of people's psychologies for financial markets.
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Q&A 5 - May 19, 2006

Tech Stocks and Market Bubbles

University of Chicago Professor Pietro Veronesi answered readers' questions on the valuation of high-tech companies, on what caused tech-stock prices to rise in the late 1990s and drop in 2000, and on the impact of technological innovation on the stock market.
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Q&A 4 - May 5, 2006

Trends in Corporate Governance

LSE Senior Fellow Sir Geoffrey Owen answered readers’ questions on the latest developments in European corporate governance, on convergence and divergence trends across countries, on changes in the role of shareholders, and on the comparison between corporate governance in Europe and the United States.
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Q&A 3 - April 25, 2006

Consumers and the Internet

Yale University Professor Fiona Scott Morton answered readers’ questions on how the Internet lowers the prices paid by some consumers in retail markets, on the alleged shift of power from sellers to consumers, and on which demographic groups benefit the most from the Internet.
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Q&A 2 - April 14, 2006

Firms and Globalization

Dartmouth College Professor Andrew B. Bernard answered readers’ questions on how imports from low-cost countries affect US and European businesses, on the role of manufacturing in the economy, on the international division of labor, and on how economic policy can affect firms’ responses to Asian imports and economic prosperity.
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Q&A 1 - March 24, 2006

The US Trade Deficit

University of Wisconsin Professor Menzie D. Chinn answered readers' questions on the economic consequences of the US trade deficit, on its likely future evolution, on how the dollar will behave in the long-term, on the political aspects of the trade deficit, and on how European and Asian countries will deal with it.
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