self test
A trivially simple self-test that I took originally during my PhD time. It has greatly influenced my outlook on research...
nobel prize?
Some opinions on influential papers in economics, based on impact cite counts.
data
The Goyal-Welch Annual Series data.
The Market-Betas data and programs.
editorial etc
Academic Financial Economics Journal
including my personal views on meta-finance, professional ethics, economics, finance, etc.
includes my CV, list of publications, etc..
In many rankings, UCLA is now the top public university in the United States and the world (here → or here →), with UCLA and UC Berkeley often trading places.
UCLA is also the world's youngest top-50 university. It is the only one founded in the 20th century---May 23, 1919 to be exact. We just celebrated our first centennial →, followed by some dousing of the spirit by covid. Interestingly, UCLA started as a branch of UC Berkeley (f. 1868).
We even have historical UCLA images here → and here → from the time of construction. In 1922, it looked like this from Pico Boulevard → (and here →). The P.E. track would become Santa Monica Blvd. The line of trees would become Beverly Glen.
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The 1960 California Master Plan for Higher Education → set out the roles for the three major branches of the public university system. The summary explains it well: "The University of California is designated the State's primary academic research institution and is to provide undergraduate, graduate and professional education. UC is to select students from among the top one-eighth (12.5%) of the high school graduating class." → UCLA is not primarily a teaching but a great research university for California, the United States, and the world.
I am proud that we (UCLA) provide the best opportunities to students from lower socioeconomic strata. Whereas most Ivy Leagues cater to legacy (Harvard now admits 40% of legacy applicants; non-Asian minorities and athletes are similarly favored [many as wealthy as the legacy applicants, the rest often badly treated by the NCAA], while Asians are greatly discriminated against →), UCLA caters a lot more to those poorer students who need and deserve fairer opportunities. UCLA is leading all major U.S. universities in students that receive Pell grants.
It behooves us to help all those who are not privileged — regardless of race and ethnicity. Of course, disproportionally many minority children deserve a better chance, but this is not because of their skin or bloodline. Giving preferences by race, gender, etc., creates more tribalism, and tribalism and polarization are a scourge of our time.
I wish we had more minorities in universities. This is not grudging. On the contrary — the more the better! However, I strongly object to the required UC "DEI statement." It is not enough to be in favor of diversity, we are required to compete with confessions for promoting an ideology. This is a medieval or Orwellian concept, where it was enforced (in weaker form) by the thought police (or "Thinkpol" in Newspeak). The idea in Orwell's 1984 was to punish thought-crime — at least, their subjects did not have to describe in writing how they would advance the system. And everyone knows that UC has been using DEI statements to find pretenses to turn down candidates, even though it is illegal. Claims to the contrary are disingenuous.
I also have the Anderson UCLA faculty facebook from 1991. We all had hair then...
Interested to become a visiting scholar (or PhD student) at UCLA Anderson? Apologies, but we get more than 100 inquiries a year from researchers. I understand this very legitimate interest. I wish we could help. Unfortunately, UCLA Anderson finance has virtually no resources [time, office space, administrative arrangements] to accommodate visitors. Unless you already work with someone here at UCLA, it is very unlikely that UCLA will be able to accomodate you.
Interested to have me join as a coauthor on a project? Apologies, but I really work only locally on papers with close friends. I don't accept invitations to join other teams, no matter how well meant such invitations are. The problem is that I am just too busy with all the many projects I already have committed to. Nowadays, I only have negative time left.
associations
bathroom graffiti
Recently, someone wondered whether I could help with taking down some posts on econjobrumors or finjobrumors. I have absolutely never had anything to do with them. I don't even know who runs this. I think their posts are immature and often offensive — just like bathroom graffiti which is what they really are. Do not pay attention to what's on there, and don't blame me for it, either.
germans
Here is a list of German finance faculty in the US. If you should be on it but are not, feel free to drop me a note.
older
Some older professional-related material.
entertaining
It's funny if it's satirizing. You can't satirize unless you distort it. So keep a sense of humor. This is what the following are about. They are not fair.
- Paul Pfleiderer's slides on Disclosure Issues in Conducting Empirical and Theoretical Research: A Provocative View.
- Eric Falkenstein's Risk and Return explained →
- Roy F. Baumeister response to letter to the editor
- Axel Leijonhufvud's Life Among the Econ
- Hitler's Publication Problems →
- Christopher Walken as a an economic census taker on SNL. (NBC sometimes has it working, sometimes not.)
- Greg Hampikian, When May I Shoot A Student? →
- Colbert on Reinhart-Rogoff's → spreadsheet error
- Spurious Correlations →
- The best SNL sketch in a long time: Washington's Dream.