Economics & Finance | INSEAD Knowledge

Economics & Finance

Pay Attention to the Details

Shiwon Song

Focusing on the right information can pay dividends for any investor.

Economics & Finance

Deflation Woes: Can China Avoid Japanification?

Pushan Dutt

What the world’s second-largest economy could do to stop its spiral into economic stagnation.

Economics & Finance

Covid-19 Furloughs Helped Firms Thrive

M. Bennedsen, B. Larsen, I. Schmutte, D. Scur

Even keeping low-wage workers on the payroll yielded benefits after Covid-19 restrictions ended.

Economics & Finance

Managing Systemic Risks in Tech: Lessons from Finance

F. Candelon, D. Martinez, P. Nathanial, T. Evgeniou, L. Van der Heyden

The financial sector's track record in risk management offers invaluable lessons for the tech industry.

Economics & Finance

Better Geographic Investing Begins With an Inclusive Index

Bernard Dumas

A novel stock return index can help portfolio managers make more informed investment decisions and better manage risks.

understanding depopulation could be good for business

Economics & Finance

Why Demographics Matters More Than Ever for Businesses

C. Zeisberger, D. G. Munro

How understanding expanding and shrinking population subsets could help business and investors identify opportunities to pursue and pitfalls to avoid.

US-China Ties: Damage Controlled But Obstacles Await

Economics & Finance

US-China Ties: Damage Controlled But Obstacles Ahead

Pushan Dutt

Even before the top US diplomat headed to China this week, talk of a new Cold War was unhelpful. Still, Washington and Beijing have their work cut out steering their relationship back on course.

Economics & Finance

The Future of Energy Transition and Climate Finance

Lily Fang

What more can companies and investors do to facilitate the transition to cleaner energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

Economics & Finance

What Comes After the Fall of Silicon Valley Bank?

INSEAD Knowledge

The bank’s collapse could have significant implications for monetary policy and banking regulations.

Economics & Finance

The Costs of Fuelling Economic Growth

Robert (Bob) Ayres

A study of ten large global economies shows that exergy – not human labour – is the primary driver of GDP growth. Existing production models cannot explain growth.

Economics & Finance

Why Did Silicon Valley Bank Collapse?

L. Fang, K. Snellman, C. Zeisberger, D. G. Munro

Risky investments and a lack of regulatory oversight contributed to the failure of Silicon Valley Bank.

Economics & Finance

Will ESG Investing Solve Our Pressing Problems?

Lily Fang

ESG or sustainable investing suffers from a principal-agent problem. Far more impact will be achieved when business leaders incorporate sustainability into business decisions.

Economics & Finance

The World Economy in 2023: A Recession Year?

INSEAD Knowledge

How current market and economic conditions will shape the year ahead.

Economics & Finance

China is Back: What Its Reopening Means for the World

L. Fang, C. Lin, G. Chen, X. R. Luo, B. Zhou, A. Fatás

What the world economy, businesses and investors could expect from China’s return to the fray.

Responsibility

Five Global Trends in Business and Society in 2023

K. Le Goulven, I. Mihov, M. Stabile

INSEAD faculty weigh in on the greatest threats and opportunities for the year ahead.

Economics & Finance

In the US, Owning a Home May Not Lead to a Better Life

Pierre Mabille

Policies meant to help lower-income Americans purchase homes may be perpetuating the Black-white wealth gap.

Economics & Finance

After the Fall, What’s Next for Crypto?

INSEAD Knowledge

Amid the collapse of crypto exchange FTX, Lily Fang, Antonio Fatás, Peter Zemsky and Jason P. Davis unpack why it happened and where crypto could go from here.

Economics & Finance

The Importance of Soft Skills in Driving Productivity

M. Guadalupe, B. Ng

The economy of the future requires a workforce with strong soft skills. Investing in these crucial skills can result in increased productivity.

Economics & Finance

The Road Ahead for Venture Capital

Katy Scott

In this Thinkers50 webinar, Claudia Zeisberger provides insights into the state of the venture world in today’s climate of unprecedented uncertainty.

Economics & Finance

China’s Economy: Dragon in Turbulence

Pushan Dutt

Anaemic growth and a crippling economic war with the United States weigh on Xi Jinping even as he cements his position as China’s most powerful leader since Mao.

Economics & Finance

Can Fintech Be a Force for Good?

Geraldine Ee

In this Thinkers50 webinar, Lily Fang discusses how the meeting of finance and technology could unleash a transformative force towards more inclusive financial services.

Economics & Finance

A Perfect (Macroeconomic) Storm

Antonio Fatás

The outlook for the world economy next year doesn’t inspire optimism.

Responsibility

Responsible AI Has Become Critical for Business

C. Zeisberger, A. Bose

Investors need to prioritise the ethical deployment of AI – too much is at stake if they don’t.

Economics & Finance

Banning Payment for Order Flow May Benefit No One

B. Zhou, M. Baldauf, J. Mollner

Increased regulations could result in reduced market liquidity and a negative impact on retail traders.

Economics & Finance

Affordable Homes for the Poor Can Boost Collective Well-Being

Pierre Mabille

For all their much-studied drawbacks, affordable housing policies can be a net positive for the aggregate welfare of city dwellers.

Economics & Finance

Casting a Wider Net in OTC Trading: For Better or Worse?

S. Glebkin, B. Y. Zhou

Simultaneous multilateral search for quotes may not always lead to the best deal in over-the-counter trading for dealers and the market.

Economics & Finance

A China Blockade of Taiwan Will Hurt Us All

Pushan Dutt

The global economy will bear the consequences of an all-out economic war between the United States and China should the latter try to shut off Taiwan.

Economics & Finance

Biden’s Misguided Tax on Share Buybacks

Theo Vermaelen

The Biden administration’s ideological distaste for companies purchasing their own stock may do more harm than good.

Responsibility

Bob Ayres at 90: Key Insights on Energy in the Economy

The Organising Committee of the Bob@90 Conference

Groundbreaking observations on the fundamental role energy and materials play in the economy.

Economics & Finance

Too Many ESG Funds Mislead Investors

Theo Vermaelen

Regulatory reckoning with ESG funds does not go far enough.

Economics & Finance

Don’t Kill Share Buybacks

A. Bonaimé, T. Vermaelen

New proposed restrictions on companies buying back their own stock would likely backfire.

Economics & Finance

Sales Numbers Are Up? It May Only Be Inflation

O. Binz, E. Ferracuti, P. Joos

Managers need proper information systems to decipher the real causes of any bump in sales revenue and decide whether investments are required.

Economics & Finance

Where a Firm’s Value Truly Lies

F. Belo, M. A. Vitorino

A new approach to uncovering the sum of all the parts of a modern firm.

Responsibility

Can Private Equity Make Money While Doing Good?

Claudia Zeisberger

With the right tools, investors can help prevent an impact investing debacle.

Economics & Finance

China’s Urban Rich and the Quest For Common Prosperity

L. Yang, S. H. Lee

The key to closing China’s income gap lies in education and bolstering the ranks of its professionals, the meteoric rise of its urban elites in recent decades suggests.

Economics & Finance

The Unexpected Role of PE Firms in Reducing Within-Firm Pay Inequality

Lily Fang

The incentives that drive PE firms have an interesting by-product: a reduction in income inequalities, such as the gender wage gap.

Economics & Finance

How DBS Became the ‘World’s Best Bank’

V. D. Rao, R. Speculand

The Singapore titan’s tech-charged quest to take the banking out of banking has paid off handsomely.

Economics & Finance

A Sign of the Times: The ESG Buyback

Theo Vermaelen

Using ESG sensitivities to market financial products.

Leadership & Organisations

Aligning Individual and Organisational Values

M. Guadalupe, Z. Kinias, F. Schloderer

How employees’ personal values fit within their organisation.

Economics & Finance

Trust, Social Capital and the Bond Market Benefits of ESG

Hami Amiraslani

Although ESG-oriented investments are becoming increasingly common, their benefits are often only realised during certain time periods. So, when do these investments deliver economic payoffs?

Economics & Finance

When Scandal Hits, It Pays to Resemble the Villain

Ivana Naumovska

Financial wrongdoing by a single firm often batters its industry peers. Managers and investors may yet profit by using a granular lens to identify a handful of firms that will emerge stronger.

Economics & Finance

In Global Trade, Familiarity Breeds Commerce

Pushan Dutt

Given time and experience, even countries far apart in geography and culture can build strong trade links.

Economics & Finance

The Missing Millennial Homebuyers

Pierre Mabille

Property prices fell during the Great Recession, but millions of millennials in the US still couldn’t afford their first homes. Here’s why – and how we could tackle the next housing crisis better.

Economics & Finance

How Africa Could Astonish the World

P. Yadav, V. D. Rao

Already the most dynamic and youngest continent, Africa could be the world’s next growth miracle – with the right type of leadership.

Economics & Finance

Rethinking Capitalism: The Power of Creative Destruction

P. Aghion, I. Laporte

With the proper safeguards, creative destruction – the process by which the new replaces the old – remains the way to greater economic growth and prosperity.

Economics & Finance

When American Firms Misbehave, Chinese Companies Pay the Price

Ivana Naumovska

“Guilt by association” in US financial markets appears to be driven by investors’ prejudice against Chinese firms.

Economics & Finance

When Do Managers Have an Information Advantage Over Analysts?

Theo Vermaelen

The role of network centrality in timing buybacks.

There Goes the Neighbourhood Legalised Marijuana.jpg

Economics & Finance

There Goes the Neighbourhood: Legalised Marijuana and Property Values

Lin Tian

When a recreational marijuana dispensary opens, it depresses property prices in its immediate vicinity.

Economics & Finance

Social Capital Makes the Difference Between ‘Good’ and ‘Bad’ Buybacks

S Huang, K Snellman, T Vermaelen

Executives who respect both the letter and the spirit of ethical norms aren’t born – they’re shaped by their home communities.

Economics & Finance

Reverse Mergers Went Bust. Will SPACs Follow?

Ivana Naumovska

Despite current exuberance, the signs don’t augur well for “blank cheque” companies.

Economics & Finance

Who Wins the Market: The Swift or the Smart?

Bart Zhou Yueshen

Both speed technology and information are vital trading inputs.

Economics & Finance

Can State and Shareholder Capitalism Combine?

The structural “liabilities” of state-owned enterprises can, in fact, be creative assets that privately owned firms can emulate.

Economics & Finance

What It’s Like to Be a Gig Worker During a Pandemic

M. Stabile, A. Roulet

How precarious workers balance financial uncertainty, health risks and mental well-being in the age of Covid-19.

Economics & Finance

Why Universal Basic Income Should Be President Biden’s Top Priority

Robert Ayres & Jeroen van der Bergh

An updated system of income and taxes would alleviate the worst crises the United States faces, including climate change. What’s more, we’ve got the numbers to prove it can work.

Economics & Finance

In Bad Times, Decentralised Firms Outperform Their Rivals

P. Aghion, I. Laporte

When there’s increased turbulence, delegating power improves sales and productivity, boosting a firm’s chance of survival.

Economics & Finance

Doing Good: Where Sustainable Investing Gets It Wrong

Lucie Tepla

A high sustainability rating does not necessarily equate to real sustainability impact (and profit).

Economics & Finance

A Liquidity Cushion in Troubled Times: The PE Secondaries Market

Even without deep discounts, secondaries’ modest risks and returns are attracting investor interest.

Economics & Finance

Covid Cost-Cutting May Backfire in the Long Run

Oliver Binz

Macroeconomic uncertainty makes firms more profitable in the short-term, but the bill comes due later.

Economics & Finance

How Would an Immigration Surge Affect Your Pay Cheque?

Lin Tian

Workers whose product or output is not easily sold elsewhere are more likely to lose out amid an inflow of immigrants.

Economics & Finance

How Trade Made the Richest 0.1% Even Richer

Dimitrije Ruzic

Better access to foreign markets benefited exporting firms’ top executives disproportionately more than rank-and-file workers.

Economics & Finance

Introducing Excess Value: A Metric for Private Market Outperformance

A Turetsky, M Pyrz, B Griffiths, J Lujan, I Beckel

The gains from private market investing are best understood relative to public benchmarks. But there has been no way to compare the two in currency terms – until now.

Economics & Finance

How Universal Basic Income Could Save Capitalism

Robert U. Ayres

A viable democratic social system must not allow a “winner takes all” approach.

Economics & Finance

What’s Behind the Rising Inequality of Everything?

B. Kessler, M. Olsen

However you parse the data, capitalism increasingly appears to disproportionately benefit the very top performers.

Economics & Finance

Can Investors Save the Planet While Making a Profit?

D. Gospodinov, C. Zeisberger

Sustainability is fast becoming a core investment focus. Here’s what the industry can learn from the most successful climate impact funds.

Economics & Finance

Corporate Funding Gap and the Role of Fintech

N. Maneri, J. Dermine

Financing for small and medium enterprises is limited in many parts of the world. Is P2P lending the magic bullet to narrow the funding gap?

Economics & Finance

Covid-19 Furloughs Are Getting the Job Done

M. Bennedsen, B. Larsen, I. Schmutte, D. Scur

Despite questions as to their cost and fairness, employment subsidies in the EU appear to be working as intended.

Economics & Finance

Has Venture Capital Strayed From Its Roots?

M. Varadan, K. Hassan, C. Zeisberger

Take a step back in time to observe how Georges Doriot – the founder of both VC and INSEAD – set up a machine to fuel and fund innovation and development.

Economics & Finance

Impact Investing in Covid-19 Times: A Three-Step Mission

Despite the economic crunch, the joint pursuit of profit and purpose may have a very bright future. But first, we need to return to basics.

Economics & Finance

Private Equity’s COVID-19 Recovery Plan

Benjamin Kessler

Board members and senior managers can learn from the “structured crisis management” techniques PE firms are employing with their portfolio companies.

Economics & Finance

To Save India’s Economy, Think Big, Blunt and Fast

Pushan Dutt

With unemployment pushing 30 percent, the world’s fifth-largest economy needs a strong dose of fiscal and monetary intervention.

Economics & Finance

Social Norms for the Era of Social Distancing

Rachael Noyes

What we do determines the trajectory of the pandemic.

Economics & Finance

Three Keys to Ending the Great Lockdown

Lily Fang

Mass testing combined with AI is our best hope of managing the coronavirus and containing the economic fallout.

Economics & Finance

COVID-19: Four Reasons for Optimism About the Stock Market

Theo Vermaelen

Although this economic crisis is unique, there is good news from the recent and distant past.

Economics & Finance

The Shape of the COVID-19 Economic Recovery

Rachael Noyes

The shock of shuttering the economy is real and very large. But this is not a normal recession because we decided to shut it down. What happens when we choose to reopen?

Economics & Finance

COVID-19: A Turning Point for Inequality?

Benjamin Kessler

The pandemic calls into question the economic trends of the last four decades.

Economics & Finance

What China’s Cyber-Cash Advantage Means for the Global Economy

Aly Madhavji & Mansoor Madhavji

The rise of cryptocurrency could threaten the dominance of the US dollar and cost the United States trillions in increased debt financing charges.

Strategy

The Changing Tides of the Global Economy

L. F. Monteiro, M. Troyjo

Political economist and diplomat Marcos Troyjo advises us to buckle up for a possible new round of globalisation.

Economics & Finance

The Psychology Behind Coronavirus Panic Buying

A. Yap, C. Chen

The rush for toilet paper and other necessities in the face of COVID-19 is a natural behavioural response to the loss of psychological control.

Economics & Finance

The Problem With Politically Motivated Funding Boycotts

Banks that refuse to back controversial companies create space for less fastidious lenders to step in – and to gain advantage.

Economics & Finance

Turn the Office Into a Lab

Using randomized controlled trials, firms can find out what is really going wrong (and right) in their organisations.

Economics & Finance

Warning Tremors Before a Flash Crash

Cross-market arbitrage that connects one marketplace to another should be watched more closely than it is.

How the Daily Commute Contributes to the Gender Wage Gap.jpg

Economics & Finance

How the Daily Commute Affects the Gender Wage Gap

A. Roulet, T. Le Barbanchon, R. Barthelot

Women’s aversion for commuting motivates them to look for closer and not-so-well paid jobs compared to men.

Economics & Finance

India’s Quiet Digital Revolution

Vinika D. Rao

As China’s breakneck digitisation rivets the world, another Asian giant is unfurling its own transformation.

Leadership & Organisations

When an 80-Hour Workweek Helps

High potentials need to work a lot and in a way that is visible to the firm.

Economics & Finance

A Hippocratic Oath for Corporations

When it comes to corporate responsibility, it’s time to stop the virtuous talk and begin to take simple actions.

Economics & Finance

Universal Basic Income: Lessons From a Failed Experiment

The world needs well-designed studies to move beyond the philosophical aspects of how wealth should be distributed.

Economics & Finance

The Changing Face of Family Offices in Europe

C Zeisberger, C Decker-Lange, K Lange

The tumultuous events of the last two decades have affected European family offices differently, in accordance with the continent’s diversity.

Economics & Finance

Information About Differences Ultimately Leads to Profit

When firms participate in industry classifications, their product may turn out to be better or worse than that of their competitors. Either way, the bottom line is boosted.

Economics & Finance

The Global Impact of the Trade Stand-Off Between Japan and South Korea

A regional trade tiff has the potential to bring on a global recession.

Economics & Finance

Less Than Zero: The New Normal for Interest Rates?

Antonio Fatas

Will your bank pay you to borrow money?

Economics & Finance

How Benchmarking Can Make Markets More Opaque

Adrian Buss

The growth of assets under management by institutional investors influences the informational efficiency of financial markets, asset prices and investors’ portfolio returns.

Economics & Finance

BRT: A New View of Corporations and Capitalism

Theo Vermaelen & N. Craig Smith

Our experts respond to the Business Roundtable's revised statement of the purpose of a corporation.

Economics & Finance

BRT: The Fuzzy Purpose of the Corporation

The Business Roundtable’s statement confuses rather than clarifies.

Economics & Finance

BRT: The New Capitalism?

US CEOs have unveiled a bigger tent that puts shareholders on a par with customers, workers, suppliers and communities.

cautious creativity with investment funds.jpg

Economics & Finance

Cautious Creativity With Investment Funds: A Guide for Non-Profits

Boris Liedtke & Peter Lai

Why charities should be interested in exchange-traded funds.

How the Volkswagen Scandal Turned Made in Germany.jpg

Economics & Finance

How the Volkswagen Scandal Turned ‘Made in Germany’ Into a Liability

Dimitrije Ruzic

Firms that leverage a collective reputation for marketing purposes should never lose sight of the fact that one bad apple can spoil the barrel.

Economics & Finance

Getting Rid of Gender Bias in Venture Capital

M Varadan, K Hassan, C Zeisberger

The gender gap in VC doesn’t merely reflect society’s sexism. It’s an alarm bell, warning of an industry’s obsolescence.

Economics & Finance

The Trick to Predicting Recessions

A primer on predicting the unpredictable.

Economics & Finance

The High Cost of Being Private

Privately held companies need to understand that cost of debt is higher for them, but they can adapt to alleviate it.

Economics & Finance

How Charities Should Manage Their Cash

Boris Liedtke & Peter Lai

For non-profits, a large cash position could signal prudence or betray a lack of investing sophistication.

Economics & Finance

Why Managers – Now More Than Ever – Need to Understand Corporate Finance

Gabriel Hawawini

Sound business strategy isn’t about shareholders vs. stakeholders, but about holistic vs. narrow value creation.

Economics & Finance

When Should Non-Profits Invest More Adventurously?

Boris Liedtke & Peter Lai

In select cases, alternative assets can help to diversify a charity’s portfolio and ease the volatility of returns.

Economics & Finance

Latin American Family Firms and the Path to Longevity

A. Albers-Schoenberg, C. Zeisberger

Survey of family firms shows institutionalisation enables them to overcome the third-generation challenge.

Economics & Finance

What Non-Profits Should Know Before Engaging With Money Managers

Boris Liedtke & Peter Lai

Trustees and investment committee members need to acquire a basic understanding of financial instruments.

Economics & Finance

Creating More Economic Equality for Women

B Kessler, C Cortland, Z Kinias

How to address resource-based gender gaps across a wide variety of contexts.

Economics & Finance

Is Full Employment Sustainable?

Antonio Fatas

Research shows in previous economic cycles, the U.S. has not been able to sustain a low unemployment rate.

Economics & Finance

How PE and VC Are Closing the Gender Gap in Emerging Markets

Claudia Zeisberger & Heather M. Kipnis

If including women in senior private equity and venture capital leadership teams improves returns, why is the gender gap still so pervasive?

What Non-Profits Need to Know About Investment Strategy.jpg

Economics & Finance

What Non-Profits (and Governments) Need to Know About Investment Strategy

Boris Liedtke & Peter Lai

Charities investing in hedge funds isn’t necessarily a cause for concern.

Economics & Finance

Viewing Healthcare Through the Lens of Economics

Hubert Gatignon

A multidisciplinary group of experts share their insights into health economics.

Economics & Finance

Gender Wage Gaps Close When They Are Disclosed

New evidence confirms that transparency creates a more equitable workplace – with no impact on firms’ profit.

Economics & Finance

Finance as a Force for Good

Industry experts discuss how investors, businesses and society all benefit from sustainable finance.

Economics & Finance

The Growing Danger of EU Disintegration

A stabilising hegemonic power or coalition is vital for the EU to survive future crises and the rise of populism.

Economics & Finance

Should Central Banks Start Issuing Cyber-Cash?

Antonio Fatas

To move the fintech debate forward, we need to distinguish between money and payments.

Economics & Finance

Four Strategies for Balancing Charities’ Investment Risks

Boris Liedtke & Peter Lai

Avoid, reduce, transfer and accept are bywords for a disciplined and cautious approach.

archetypes that define national culture.jpg

Economics & Finance

The Growing Menace of Non-GAAP Measures

S. David Young & H. David Sherman

Firms have become increasingly brazen in their use of alternative metrics which cast their financials in a favourable light.

Economics & Finance

KPIs Should Never Be Tied to Compensation

S. David Young & Kevin Kaiser

Monetised indicator targets too often get in the way of value creation.

Sort by:

Subscribe to Knowledge Newsletter