Simon Constable

Many people are worried about AI taking their jobs. The companies making AI tools are also concerned, notably about the public’s trust in the new technology. Ideas to Action checked in with UVA Darden faculty to learn more about trust and AI.

Some economists urge countries to embrace government borrowing — but can too much debt prove a problem in a crisis? Yes, determines new research. The COVID-19 pandemic has had vastly different economic impact on governments that are fiscally constrained as opposed to those that are fiscally robust. Professor Tomio discusses the details of his study

Conventional wisdom is that active-fund managers are paid to be contrarians; they take risks and go against trends. But new research shows that sometimes they’re the herd: In the bear market of February and March 2020, institutional investors amplified price crashes and volatility by fire-selling, and they focused on cash rather than ESG metrics.

Darden Professor Rich Evans recently published study of mutual fund managers’ performance which demonstrates that significantly different outcomes occur when employees get paid to compete against each other — versus when they are compensated for cooperating.

Shadow banking is on the rise in China. This begs some important questions. Among them: Why? How is the shadow banking scene different in China vs. the U.S.? Do government regulations do what they intend to? Given the nature of shadow banking and the importance of the Chinese economy to the global economy, the situation bears examination.