Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Rochester. William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration, 2010.

This paper argues that academics, politicians, and the media have six commonly held but misguided beliefs about corporate governance. While Armstrong, Guay, and Weber (2010) discuss some of these misconceptions, a wider recognition that these beliefs are actually “myths” is important. They...

We present an economic analysis of the American Mafia's organizational design elements that promote its survival. Over nearly one hundred years, Mafia crime syndicates adapted their task assignments, performance measures, rewards and punishments, and culture to constantly shifting external...

U.S. business schools are locked in a dysfunctional competition for media rankings that diverts resources from long-term knowledge creation, which earned them global pre-eminence, into short-term strategies aimed at improving their rankings. MBA curricula are distorted by quick fix, look good...

This paper provides evidence about the unintended consequences arising when small companies are exempted from costly regulations - these firms have incentives to stay small. Between 2003 and 2008, the SEC postponed compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) for...

Economics challenge the specification of discretionary accrual models. Because rent-seeking firms pursue differentiated business strategies, firms in the same industry experience idiosyncratic shocks due to heterogeneous economic fundamentals and hence have different accrual generating...

Economists have long recognized that government regulations often generate unintended consequences.1 The initial Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 exempted small firms from certain filing requirements. The SEC expanded these exemptions in implementing the Sarbanes...

U.S. business schools are locked in a dysfunctional competition for media rankings. This ratings race has caused schools to divert resources from investment in knowledge creation, including doctoral education and research, to short-term strategies aimed at improving rankings, such as placement...