Fiscal blackmail: Lessons from behavioural economics can boost tax compliance

Fiscal blackmail: Lessons from behavioural economics can boost tax compliance

May 24th 2014 | From the print edition

PEOPLE go to great lengths to avoid paying tax. One popular trick in the Middle Ages was to become a monk; these days, shell companies in the Caribbean are a more common retreat. The gap between what is owed and what is paid is nearly $400 billion a year in America, and about £40 billion ($70 billion) in Britain. To keep the shortfall in check, governments design taxes to be tough to weasel out of. The value-added tax, for instance, allows firms to deduct tax paid on inputs from their sales-tax bill, in effect encouraging them to police their suppliers. Then there are the sticks: audits and penalties. Promising new research in behavioural economics could give governments another tool for boosting payment: the psychological nudge. Read more of this post

Germans concede that in humour they need professional help

Germans concede that in humour they need professional help

May 24th 2014 | BERLIN | From the print edition

EVA ULLMANN took her master’s degree in 2002 on the part that humour has to play in psychotherapy, and became hooked on the subject. In 2005 she founded the German Institute for Humour in Leipzig. It is dedicated to “the combination of seriousness and humour”. She offers lectures, seminars and personal coaching to managers, from small firms to such corporate giants as Deutsche Bank and Telekom. Her latest project is to help train medical students and doctors. Read more of this post

Nazi pork and popularity: How Hitler’s roads won German hearts and minds

Nazi pork and popularity: How Hitler’s roads won German hearts and minds

Hans-Joachim Voth, Nico Voigtländer, 22 May 2014

The Hitler government built the world’s first nationwide motorway network. We examine the impact of road-building on the popularity of the Nazi regime. Using shifts in electoral support between 1933 and 1934, we conclude that ‘pork-barrel’ spending worked in reducing opposition to the regime – wherever the new roads ran, fewer Germans voted against the government in elections and plebiscites. At least part of the regime’s popularity after 1934 can be explained by the popularity of the Autobahn. Read more of this post

50 Blogs Every Serious Trader Should Read

50 Blogs Every Serious Trader Should Read

By Justin Kuepper May 22, 2014

Financial blogs can provide a great source of information for both new and veteran traders, whether they’re providing general market commentary, educational content, or actionable trade ideas. Many of these blogs are maintained by some of the top investors, traders, and economists in the world, with insights that can help traders formulate ideas and enhance long-term returns. In this article, we’ll take a look at the top 50 financial blogs that every trader should be following to learn and profit. Read more of this post

A desire to love and be loved

Updated : 2014-05-23 17:14

A desire to love and be loved

Kim Song-rhei

It is said that every person has a desire tolove and to be loved in return. However, Ihave heard from a philosopher whoemphasized that those who desire to lovesomeone more than to be loved feel muchhappier.  Read more of this post

Engineers seen as ‘less intelligent’, warns Royal Academy; Children are ‘natural engineers’, says Royal Academy of Engineering report, but warns these innate skills are not valued by education system

Engineers seen as ‘less intelligent’, warns Royal Academy

Children are ‘natural engineers’, says Royal Academy of Engineering report, but warns these innate skills are not valued by education system

By Alan Tovey, Jobs Editor

7:01AM BST 23 May 2014

Britain will never solve its skills crisis unless the education system is redesigned to stop it “extinguishing” engineering abilities in youngsters. Read more of this post

Beware Path Dependence: Being cognizant of the mental paths that constrain us is crucial if our individual thinking is to be rigorous

Beware Path Dependence

by Ted Cadsby | May 23, 2014

Being cognizant of the mental paths that constrain us is crucial if our individual thinking is to be rigorous

In workplace groups, cognitive diversity usually trumps IQ; but not unconditionally.  Research by complexity scientist Scott Page demonstrates that a team of diverse thinkers tackling a problem will outperform the smartest individual in a group. The cognitive biases and limitations of even the smartest individual are usually no match for a group of minds correcting and building on one another. But this impressive benefit of team thinking is completely lost if its members are unwilling to challenge each other.  Read more of this post

Here’s Why Some Apple Employees Didn’t Get Along With Steve Jobs; He was just passionate about making every Apple product the best it could be, and was confused when others working at the company didn’t share his vision

Here’s Why Some Apple Employees Didn’t Get Along With Steve Jobs

LISA EADICICCO TECH  MAY. 23, 2014, 12:32 AM

Mark Kawano, who worked as a senior designer at Apple for seven years before taking on the company’s User Experience Evangelist role, debunked a few key design myths about Apple in a recent interview with Fast Company.  Read more of this post

This Simple Technique Can Supercharge Your Productivity

This Simple Technique Can Supercharge Your Productivity

RICHARD FELONI STRATEGY  MAY. 22, 2014, 11:58 PM

When he was still a college student in the late 1980s, Italian entrepreneur Francesco Cirillo developed a simple study habit that maximized his productivity and reduced a feeling of burnout. Read more of this post

Scientists Warn of Melting Ice Sheet, Rising Sea Level; Melt Happening Faster Than Expected; Researchers Point to Broad Climate Change as Cause

Scientists Warn of Melting Ice Sheet, Rising Sea Level

Melt Happening Faster Than Expected; Researchers Point to Broad Climate Change as Cause

ROBERT LEE HOTZ

Updated May 12, 2014 7:34 p.m. ET

Six rapidly melting glaciers in Antarctica are destabilizing one of the world’s largest ice sheets, a process which, if unchecked, could release enough water to raise sea levels world-wide significantly in centuries to come, two groups of scientists said Monday. Read more of this post

10 Cognitive Biases that Can Trip Up Finance; CFOs should urge their teams to consciously try to overcome these dangerous predispositions

May 22, 2014

CFO.com | US

10 Cognitive Biases that Can Trip Up Finance

CFOs should urge their teams to consciously try to overcome these dangerous predispositions.

David McCann

Because CFOs are not actually superhuman, but just people like everyone else, they too are subject to a lengthy list of cognitive biases that influence our decisions and actions. In the corporate finance context, these biases, if unchecked, can have devastating consequences for company performance. Read more of this post

Thinking & Writing: CIA’s Guide to Cognitive Science

Thinking & Writing: CIA’s Guide to Cognitive Science

by VW StaffMay 21, 2014, 9:03 pm

This CIA Monograph (re-released in 2010 by Robert Sinclair) presents “the implications of growing knowledge in the cognitive sciences for the way the intelligence business is conducted – in how we perform analysis, how we present our findings, and even its meaning for our hiring and training practices”. In other words, this paper is about, “thinking and writing [and] the complex mental patterns out of which writing comes, their strengths and limitations, and the challenges they create, not just for writers but for managers”. Via simoleonsense.com Read more of this post

Charlie Munger’s Favorite Human Misjudgment

Charlie Munger’s Favorite Human Misjudgment

May 21, 2014, 3:15 pm

Notes on Charlie Munger’s favorite human misjudgment by Whitney Tilson Via Value Investing World

Charlie Munger’s Opening Remarks

I feel a duty in these later years to talk a little bit because so many of you have come so far and therefore I’m going to talk a little about current change conditions in corporate governance, the investment world, how we’re adapting at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) (NYSE:BRK.B) and WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE:WCC), and how you might face these challenges. Read more of this post

Joseph Finder Explores the ‘Alien Worlds’ of Business and Drugs; Joseph Finder’s latest novel ‘Suspicion’ juxtaposes the world of posh private schools with drug cartels

Joseph Finder Explores the ‘Alien Worlds’ of Business and Drugs

Joseph Finder’s latest novel ‘Suspicion’ juxtaposes the world of posh private schools with drug cartels

STEVE DOUGHERTY

May 21, 2014 2:24 p.m. ET

To write his thrillers, author Joseph Finder usually does a lot of research. Best known for suspense novels set in the business world, he’s never worked for a large company, but sees himself as “an anthropologist exploring an alien world.” Read more of this post

Child of Light a shining example of indie innovation

Child of Light a shining example of indie innovation

May 11, 2014

Calum Wilson Austin

Chances are, if you take a look at any bricks-and-mortar video game store, you’re going to find a lot of death, destruction and explosions. So many explosions they soon become meaningless. On the other hand, online game distribution platforms such as Steamare inundated with simpler – but no less effective – indie experiences usually created on a budget of paint fumes and dreams. The indie development scene is generally limited to a certain type of game, often side-scrollers, due to their financial situation. It’s strange that, until recently, large publishers have not taken advantage of the relatively smaller budgets, (compared to most AAA top releases)and potentially larger profit margins, these games afford. Read more of this post

Read, Kids, Read: It’s not a chore. It’s a path to fulfillment that fewer are traveling

Read, Kids, Read

MAY 12, 2014

Frank Bruni

As an uncle I’m inconsistent about too many things.

Birthdays, for example. My nephew Mark had one on Sunday, and I didn’t remember — and send a text — until 10 p.m., by which point he was asleep. Read more of this post

The Problem With Confidence: The best advice for self-confidence is not “believe in yourself” but rather “look at what you’ve done in the world.”

The Problem With Confidence

MAY 12, 2014

David Brooks

The current issue of The Atlantic carries a fascinating summary of “The Confidence Code” by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman. The essay runs through the evidence suggesting that women tend to have too little self-confidence. When asked how well they did on tests, women tend to estimate that they got fewer answers correct than they actually did. In one British study, a business school professor asked students how much they would deserve to earn five years after graduation. The women’s estimates were 20 percent lower than the men’s. Read more of this post

Scientists Warn of Rising Oceans From Polar Melt

Scientists Warn of Rising Oceans From Polar Melt

By JUSTIN GILLIS and KENNETH CHANGMAY 12, 2014

A large section of the mighty West Antarctica ice sheet has begun falling apart and its continued melting now appears to be unstoppable, two groups of scientists reported on Monday. If the findings hold up, they suggest that the melting could destabilize neighboring parts of the ice sheet and a rise in sea level of 10 feet or more may be unavoidable in coming centuries. Read more of this post

The Trust Agenda: CEOs are increasingly seeking “good growth,” aligned with business ethics and sustainability

Published: May 5, 2014 / Summer 2014 / Issue 75

The Trust Agenda

CEOs are increasingly seeking “good growth,” aligned with business ethics and sustainability.

by Dennis Nally

As the global economic recovery gathers momentum, optimism among CEOs is increasing. The postrecession period challenged many companies, and their chief executives focused their attention on survival. But they are now switching into growth mode. This drive for growth is shaped by fundamental external forces that are transforming business and society. Read more of this post

Michael Gerson: Americans’ aversion to science carries a high price

Michael Gerson: Americans’ aversion to science carries a high price

By Michael Gerson, Tuesday, May 13, 7:45 AM

Americans have something of a science problem. They swallow, for example, about $28 billion worth of vitamins each year, even though the Annals of Internal Medicine recently concluded that “[m]ost supplements do not prevent chronic disease or death, their use is not justified, and they should be avoided.” Americans often fear swallowing genetically modified plants (and Vermont recently required labeling of food containing genetically modified organisms, known as GMOs), though GMOs have “been consumed by hundreds of millions of people across the world for more than 15 years, with no reported ill effects,” according to theJournal of the Royal Society of Medicine. Read more of this post

2014 Money Masters: Profiting in a Slow-Growth Economy

MAY 08, 2014

2014 Money Masters: Profiting in a Slow-Growth Economy

The winners of our fifth annual U.S. Investment Management Awards have an uncanny ability to make money regardless of the strength of the economy. Read more of this post

Crony Capitalism and the Oracle of Omaha

Crony Capitalism and the Oracle of Omaha

08 MAY 2014 – VITALIY KATSENELSON

I am back from the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, and my brain is still spinning from the dozens of meetings and stimulating conversations. In a series of articles over the next few weeks, I’ll try to download the thoughts that were triggered by this trip, a lot of them unrelated to the main event — the Warren Buffett & Charlie Munger show — but rather by-products of the conversations I had. Read more of this post

Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting ‘Full Notes’

Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting ‘Full Notes’

by VW StaffMay 10, 2014, 4:36 pm

Notes from Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) (NYSE:BRK.B)’s annual meeting 2014. We have previously covered more from the annual meeting, Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting extensive notes can be found here. Read more of this post

Tilson Angry At NY Times For Calling Buffett ‘Ordinary’; Confirms ATHN Short

Tilson Angry At NY Times For Calling Buffett ‘Ordinary’; Confirms ATHN Short

by Jacob WolinskyMay 12, 2014, 2:03 pm

The following is from an email which Whitney Tilson sent to ValueWalk. He attacks the NY Times for stating that Buffett was ordinary. He also confirms that he is short ATHN and briefly mentions his FNMA long, which we first reported. Read more of this post

Mastering the Soft Skills: How to “bend” time, keep the boss happy, say “no” to budget requests (gently) – and more

May 12, 2014

Mastering the Soft Skills

How to “bend” time, keep the boss happy, say “no” to budget requests (gently) — and more.

CFO Staff

Some years ago, CFO published a story on the “essential skills” that a finance chief needs to be effective — in particular, the skills that go beyond core corporate finance and accounting training. Little has changed since 2007, when the article first appeared. The abilities the story describes are rarely taught in business school or in a corporate setting. In the eyes of veteran CFOs, though, they are just as critical as the ability to forecast earnings, value an acquisition or weigh an investment opportunity. Read more of this post

The head of the Italian eyewear maker Luxottica has a fresh and international perspective

THE MONDAY INTERVIEW

May 11, 2014 3:59 pm

An eye on the future of luxury  

By Rachel Sanderson

The head of the Italian eyewear maker has a fresh and international perspective

©Alessia Pierdomenico

Read more of this post

Say one thing to say something else: Frame a debate by implying some point is so obvious that it can be taken as given

THE ART OF PERSUASION

May 12, 2014 4:05 pm

Say one thing to say something else

By Sam Leith

Frame a debate by implying some point is so obvious that it can be taken as given

Lord Myners, a former financial services minister, was interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme last Wednesday morning. He was talking as his report into the – ahem – suboptimal governance of the Co-operative Group was about to be published, and setting out what he thought should happen. Read more of this post

Brain science fires up the neurons of managers; Neuroscientists are in demand for their insights into business

May 12, 2014 3:42 pm

Brain science fires up the neurons of managers

By Alicia Clegg

Neuroscientists are in demand for their insights into business

Every day David Amodio comes face to face with prejudice − not in the form of insults and put-downs – but as hotspots and squiggles on PC screens depicting the brain behaviour of people shown pictures of strangers from other racial groups. Read more of this post

History of Law and Economics

History of Law and Economics

Martin Gelter 

Fordham University School of Law; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

Kristoffel R. Grechenig 

Max-Planck-Institute for Research on Collective Goods
April 1, 2014
MPI Collective Goods Preprint, No. 2014/5

Abstract: 
The roots of law & economics lie in late 19th century continental Europe. However, this early movement did not persist, having been cut off in the 1930s. After World War II, modern law & economics was (re-)invented in the United States and subsequently grew into a major field of research at U.S. law schools. In continental Europe, law & economics was re-imported as a discipline within economics, driven by economists interested in legal issues rather than by legal scholars. Hence, the European discourse was more strongly influenced by formal analysis, using mathematical models. Today, research in the U.S., Europe, and in other countries around the world, including Latin America and Asia, uses formal, empirical, and intuitive methods. New subfields, such as behavioral law & economics and experimental law & economics, have grown in the U.S. and in Europe during the past two decades.

Don’t Be Evil.or Creepy: Earning-and Keeping-Trust in a Transparent World

May 12, 2014, 11:01 AM ET

Don’t Be Evil…or Creepy: Earning—and Keeping—Trust in a Transparent World

By Malcolm Frank,

Our world is rapidly digitizing, creating new economic opportunity and redefining the boundaries of privacy. Read more of this post