Report for Finansmarkedsfondet: Conference on Frontiers of Corporate Finance Organizers: Bernt Arne Ødegaard and Lorán Chollete June 20, 2013
This document summarizes the Conference on Frontiers of Corporate Finance. We approach this report in 3 steps: summary of activities; benefits to Norway and Finansmarkedsfondet, and evaluation.
1. Summary The Conference on Frontiers of Corporate Finance was held on June 13-14, 2013. The conference program is in the attached file.1 The keynote speakers were Professors Espen Eckbo from Dartmouth College, http://mba.tuck.dartmouth.edu/pages/faculty/espen.eckbo/ , and David Yermack from New York University, http://people.stern.nyu.edu/dyermack/ . Both professors are internationally renowned experts in the field of corporate finance, and Directors of important Centers for Corporate Governance at their universities. This was the first time that both keynote speakers attended the same conference in Norway.
The conference was motivated by outstanding challenges in corporate finance research, as well as the practical issue of understanding the exploding salaries for CEOs in North America and Western Europe versus the more sedate salary growth in Scandinavia. In particular, such rapidly increasing salaries may have been partially funded by excessively risky investments, hence precipitating the recent financial crisis. Moreover, large CEO salaries exacerbate the wealth inequality that plagues much of the global economy.
We were privileged to receive participation from both Norwegian and international researchers. Norwegian participants included colleagues from the University of Bergen, University of Stavanger, and Norwegian School of Business (BI). International participants attended from City University of New York, Copenhagen Business School, Dartmouth College, Fordham University, Hunter College, and New York University. The topics concerned theoretical, empirical and policy approaches to understanding executive compensation and financial markets. This focus was timely, given the recent large changes in European legislation (“say on pay”) regarding executive compensation, as well as turbulence in financial markets. We had many lively discussions, and generated good ideas for research and policy. We also made progress on joint research projects. By all accounts, the conference was a success.
The conference also generated interesting, valuable research spinoffs. Espen Eckbo and David Yermack gave extensive feedback on research of Norwegian Researchers such as Qianqian Du, Bernt Arne Ødegaard, Svein Olav Krakstad, and Danielle Zhang. In addition, the researchers from Fordham and City University New York invited Lorán Chollete to present a seminar at their universities in New York, and to discuss further improvements for future corporate finance conferences. Such spinoffs will help Norwegian research by keeping a strong international connection.
To summarize, the conference and international feedback has enabled our research to flourish. We feel confident that the conference benefits will allow us to produce important scientific knowledge and add value to future projects from Finansmarkedsfondet.
2. Benefits to Finansmarkedsfondet and Norway The Conference delivered several benefits to Finansmarkedsfondet, and to Norwegian researchers. The main benefit was that by bringing together top researchers, we enriched the Norwegian intellectual environment and made progress on important scientific questions. For example, in the Conference, both of the keynote speakers, Eckbo and Yermack, outlined key issues at the very frontier of corporate finance, and suggested specific ways that young PhDs and professors can address these issues. Such hands-on advice is extremely beneficial for enhancing the level of research in Norway, and for improving the quality of research grants submitted to Finansmarkedsfondet.
Another area of benefit was the conference participants’ interaction and generation of further spinoffs. For example, the participants suggested topics for future research projects, and invited each other for seminar presentations and to discuss further ideas for conferences and collaboration. This interaction provided feedback from research, funding and policy perspectives, which will enrich future Norwegian research and generate future projects for Finansmarkedsfondet. Such cross-fertilization of ideas is of both intellectual and practical benefit, and keeps Norwegian research grounded in timely, real world considerations.
3. Evaluation Our evaluation of the conference is that was a big success. It exceeded expectations for research synergies and also generated substantial dissemination of research benefits to Norwegian researchers and Finansmarkedsfondet.
1 See website http://www.uis.no/faculties-departments-and-centres/faculty-of-social-sciences/uis-business-school/events-at-the-uis- business-school/corporate-finance-conference-2013/?categoryID=11237&s=11237 .
1 Program for Frontiers of Corporate Finance Conference Organizers: Lorán Chollete and Bernt Arne Ødegaard
DATES: June 13-14, 2013
LOCATION: University of Stavanger, Ellen & Axel Lunds hus H-317 Wireless network: UIS konferanse password: corpo.2013!
DAY 1 (Thursday, June 13)
8:30 – 8:40 Bernt Arne Ødegaard Welcome
SESSION 1. Chair: Qianqian Du
8:40 – 9:30 Devra Golbe & Ingmar Nyman: Share Repurchases and Ownership Structure
9:30 – 10:20 Qianqian Du: Cost Structure and Capital Structure
10:20 – 10:35 Coffee Break
10:35 – 11:25 Hans Hvide: Do Entrepreneurs Matter?
11:30 – 12:30 BRUNCH
SESSION 2. Chair: Svein Olav Krakstad
12:30 – 1:20 Svein Olav Krakstad: SEO Cost Differences between Europe and US
1:20 – 2:10 Lin Peng: Managerial Incentives and Stock Price Manipulation
2:10 - 2:25 Coffee Break
2:30 – Optional hike to Ullandhaug
Taxi to the hotel at 04:00
6:30 pm DINNER at Bølgen og Moi http://www.bolgenogmoi.no/ DAY 2 (Friday, June 14)
SESSION 3. Chair: Bernt Arne Ødegaard
8:30 – 9:20 An Yan: Convertible Securities and Heterogeneity of Investor Beliefs
9:20 – 10:10 Bernt Arne Ødegaard: Why Do Listed Firms Pay for Market Making in Their Own Stock?
10:10 – 10:25 Coffee Break
10:25 – 11:25 Distinguished Lecture: David Yermack (New York University) http://people.stern.nyu.edu/dyermack/
11:30 – 12:30 BRUNCH
SESSION 4. Chair: Danielle Zhang
12:30 – 1:20 David Lando: Financial Sector Linkages and the Dynamics of Sovereign and bank Credit Spreads
1:20 – 2:10 Danielle Zhang: CEO Dividend Protection
2:10 – 2:25 Coffee Break
2:30 –3:30 Keynote Speech: Espen Eckbo (Dartmouth ) http://mba.tuck.dartmouth.edu/pages/faculty/espen.eckbo/
Taxi to the hotel at 03:45
6:30 pm DINNER at Stavanger Konserthus http://www.stavanger-konserthus.no/mat-og-drikke/ SPEAKERS 1. Espen Eckbo (Dartmouth College) http://mba.tuck.dartmouth.edu/pages/faculty/espen.eckbo/ 2. David Yermack (New York University) http://people.stern.nyu.edu/dyermack/ 3. Qianqian Du (UiS Business School) [email protected] 4. Devra Golbe (Hunter College) [email protected] http://econ.hunter.cuny.edu/people/economics-faculty/dgolbe 5. Hans Hvide (University of Bergen) [email protected] https://sites.google.com/site/hanshvide/ 6. Svein-Olav Krakstad (UiS Business School) [email protected] 7. David Lando (Copenhagen Business School) [email protected] http://www.cbs.dk/forskning/institutter-centre/department-of-finance/medarbejdere/dlfi 8. Ingmar Nyman (Hunter College) [email protected] http://econ.hunter.cuny.edu/people/economics-faculty/inyman/ 9. Lin Peng (Baruch College) [email protected] http://faculty.baruch.cuny.edu/lpeng/ 10. An Yan (Fordham Business School) [email protected] http://150.108.69.10/faculty/ayan/ 11. Danielle Zhang (BI) [email protected] http://www.bi.edu/research/employees/?ansattid=A1210112 12. Bernt Arne Ødegaard (UiS Business School, Norges Bank) [email protected] http://finance.bi.no/~bernt/
INVITED GUESTS and ATTENDEES Lorán Chollete, UiS Business School Morten Staude, Finansmarkedsfondet, Research Council of Norway Siri Valseth, UiS Business School