Present Value Podcast

Latest Episodes:

New Tech vs. New Deal May 10, 2019

Show notes

Professor Saule Omarova of Cornell Law School joins Present Value to discuss the mechanics of financial system regulation and the systemic risks posed by the development of financial technology ("fintech"). The sources of systemic risk in the modern, globalized financial system are numerous and often ill-understood. Omarova details how the fundamental logic of the U.S. financial regulatory structure focuses on the risk of individual financial institutions, but fails to adequately monitor the system-wide sources of risk that result from the increasing interconnectedness of financial institutions. She also outlines the risks to consumer privacy, currency, and financial system stability that the continued development of fintech poses to the modern economy. An expert in the financial regulatory regime in the United States following the Great Recession of 2008, Omarova has testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and previously served as a Special Advisor to the U.S. Department of the Treasury to the Under Secretary for Domestic Finance.

Greenifying the Economy Apr 09, 2019

Show notes

Professor Robert Hockett, Edward Cornell Professor of Law at Cornell Law School, returns to Present Value to discuss the Green New Deal. Hockett is a regular advisor to Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Hockett explains that the U.S. has lost its manufacturing and technological advantage to countries like China and Germany. He argues that despite political polarization, both Republicans and Democrats can agree on major policy initiatives around the Green New Deal to benefit every congressional district in an effort to greenify the U.S. economy while also instituting a federal jobs guarantee and delivering environmental justice. In the episode, Hockett addresses concerns about how Green New Deal initiatives will be paid for and forecasts two main hurdles he sees in delivering GND.

Contradictory Optimality Mar 27, 2019

Show notes

David Easley, Henry Scarborough Professor of Social Science at Cornell University, delves into his theoretical research that identifies externalities in the banking system which can lead to a contagion of bad events. He also shares new research detailing how financial market participants with different sets of beliefs can produce suboptimal market outcomes, illustrated through a simple example about renovating the Ithaca Commons: what should the Mayor do if everyone agrees to renovate the Commons but they want to do so for contradictory reasons? Easley also shares his research about bitcoin transaction fees and then sheds some light on what it is like to work with one’s spouse; Easley’s spouse is Maureen O’Hara, who was previously featured on Present Value!

Links from the Episode at presentvaluepodcast.com Episode Article: David Easley on financial contagion and the effect of contradictory beliefs on market optimality Faculty Page: David Easley - College of Arts and Sciences, Cornell MOOC: Networks, Crowds and Markets (edX online course) Book: Networks, Crowds and Markets: Reasoning About a Highly Connected World (amazon link)

Women in Leadership Feb 21, 2019

Show notes

Dr. Susan Fleming currently sits on the board of directors of both RLI Corp. and Virtus Investment Partners. Our conversation focuses on gender bias in the workplace, what organizations can do to counter it, and women in leadership. We cover several important issues including the double bind, the motherhood penalty, similarity attraction bias, and what men can do to counter gender bias in the workplace.

Senior Lecturer at Cornell from 2010-2018, teaching women in leadership and entrepreneurship.

Fraud: Past and Future Jan 29, 2019

Show notes

Infamous accounting fraud cases: how managers slide down the "slippery slope" to accounting fraud by justifying their own actions. Will new revenue recognition standards make fraud more difficult to catch? Listen and find out.

Calculated Lies | Truths Revealed Dec 21, 2018

Show notes

Steven Strogatz is the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor of Applied Mathematics at Cornell University. Strogatz’s academic interests include nonlinear dynamics and complex systems. Our conversation begins with a discussion about his 2019 book Infinite Powers: How Calculus Reveals the Secrets of the Universe, which includes a fascinating discussion about how math can be thought of as “a lie that reveals the truth” and a story about the advancement of HIV treatments in the 1990s. We also delve into circadian rhythms and his seminal paper on “small-world” networks.

Links from the Episode Episode Article: Present Value: Steven Strogatz on the importance of calculus and the power of mathematical lies Faculty Page: Steven Strogatz - Jacob Gould Schurman Professor of Applied Mathematics Personal Website: stevenstrogatz.com Twitter: @stevenstrogatz Book: Infinite Powers: How Calculus Reveals the Secrets of the Universe

A Wartime Leader | Gen. George Casey Nov 29, 2018

Show notes

General George Casey had a successful 41-year career in the US Army, which concluded with four-years as the Army Chief of Staff under President Bush and President Obama. Our conversation centers on leadership, covering the complexity of leading during the Iraq War, why the world today is VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous), and his bygone days working for Vince Lombardi.

Jr. is a Distinguished Senior Lecturer at Johnson.

Episode Article: General George Casey, Jr. reflects on his career and leading in a VUCA world

Faculty Page: George W. Casey, Jr. - Johnson, Cornell

eCornell Course: VUCA Leadership - Cornell Certificate Program

Book: Strategic Reflections: Operation Iraqi Freedom (Amazon link)

Stealth Scandals & Blurred Boundaries Oct 31, 2018

Show notes

We welcome Professor Maureen O’Hara, the Robert W. Purcell Professor of Finance at Cornell. Our conversation begins with a conversation about her foundational work on market microstructure theory and moves on to a discussion about the effects of ETFs and high frequency trading on market stability. We delve into the nuances of ethical behavior on Wall Street, explored in her most recent book “Something For Nothing,” and ponder what new regulatory mechanisms may be necessary as artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies continue to evolve and dominate market trading. Listen and subscribe now!

Links from the Episode at presentvaluepodcast.com Episode Article: Maureen O’Hara on market microstructure and ethics on Wall Street Faculty Page: Maureen O’Hara - Johnson, Cornell Book: Something for Nothing: Arbitrage and Ethics on Wall Street Book: Market Microstructure Theory (Amazon link)

Stop & Go: Consumer Signals Sep 07, 2018

Show notes

We welcome Manoj Thomas to Present Value this month! Thomas holds the Breazzano Family Term Professorship of Management at Johnson. He earned a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology in India, an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, and a PhD in marketing from the Stern School of Business at NYU. His research focuses on consumer behavior and the motivations behind purchasing decisions. In this episode, we discuss pitfalls in the traditional economic model of human behavior, why people will pay 3X more for 100 calorie cookie packs, and how credit cards affect our purchasing behavior at the grocery store. Listen and subscribe now!

Links from the Episode at presentvaluepodcast.com Faculty Page: Manoj Thomas - Johnson, Cornell Personal Website: manojthomascornell.blogspot.com

The Media, Creators, and Consumers Jun 29, 2018

Show notes

Tune in as we discuss the vital role creators, producers, and intermediaries play in creative industries, fake news, and why consumers should be wary of online reviews. Originally from India, Mukti holds a B.S. in microbiology and an M.S. environmental science from the University of Pune, and a Master of Management from the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai. Her research focuses on value construction for cultural goods.

Faculty Page: Mukti Khaire - Cornell Tech, Cornell

Book: Culture and Commerce: The Value of Entrepreneurship in Creative Industries (Amazon link)