Insights From

Business & Public Policy

A New Model: Dynamics of Household Income and Consumption

What drives household consumption? Standard theories of consumer behavior may not fully account for a major driver of spending (or not spending). Professor Dan Murphy and colleagues have a new model to help us understand consumption choices and the broader effects of policymakers’ attempts to stimulate the economy.

Minority-Owned Banks: Doing More with Less

Minority-owned banks offer a valuable function in providing equitable support to minority communities and small-businesses. While they receive some government benefits, they also receive criticism for the support and a perception they’re “risky.” Is that criticism founded? Research analyzes actual outputs and inputs.

The Importance of the Decennial Census to Research

Mandated by the Constitution, the U.S. Census Bureau counts the nation’s residents every 10 years. The data determine seats in the House and federal funds for local communities, as well as inform practical research. Examples from Darden: studies on poverty and race, allocation of opportunity zones, and the effect of technology on rich and poor.

Minority-Owned Banks: Past and Present

From the Civil War and Reconstruction to Martin Luther King Jr. and Richard Nixon to Jay-Z and Killer Mike: Darden experts discuss the history of minority depository institutions, the integral service they provide diverse communities and the challenges that still exist.

Get on Track: The Value of Global Market Diversification

What can railroad bonds from 150 years ago teach us about globalization, portfolio diversification and the cost of financial market segmentation? At a time when markets are increasingly isolated globally and limit opportunities to invest abroad, new research examines what investors are willing to pay to gain access to investment in foreign markets

Mental Accounting: Debt, Financial Nihilism and the Comfortably Numb Effect

High student loan debt has a lingering psychological effect and changes price sensitivity — and spending habits — those with much debt become numb to the prodigious numbers they face on the balance sheet and tend to spend even more. Here’s how regulatory changes can help them face the numbers and keep them from getting insurmountable.

Cooking (and Uncooking) the Books: Corporate Financial Misreporting

After misstating earnings, which companies come clean? In the aftermath of major corporate scandal, Professor Justin Hopkins takes stock of employee stock option misreporting, disincentives to investigate misbehavior and constraints to integrity.

Innovation: Key to Any Green Policy

Ambitious and polarizing, the Green New Deal brought the climate discussion back to the fore of government debate. But federal policy is not the only driver of impact on this crucial challenge.

An Expensive Lesson in Economics: Trump and the WTO

In the midst of the China-U.S. trade dispute, international trade expert Peter Debaere discusses the ramifications of "President" Trump’s threats to leave the WTO.