Category Archives: education

Whither This Year’s MBAs?

Posted on March 30, 2009 by Felix

One thing drilled into every MBA student is that sunk costs are irrelevant, while opportunity costs are paramount. Which is a lesson this year’s graduating class will put to good use. Let’s say that in any given year, there’s a … Continue reading →

Posted in education | 13 Comments

What they Used to Teach You at Stanford Business School

Posted on March 29, 2009 by Felix

Chris Wyser-Pratte, who got his MBA from Stanford in 1972 and then spent the next 23 years as an investment banker, sent me the following note last night. I’m reprinting it here with his permission: I learned exactly seven things … Continue reading →

Posted in banking, education, investing | 3 Comments

Harvard: Still Rich

Posted on December 3, 2008 by Felix

Let’s put this in perspective, shall we. Yes, a 22% drop in 4 months is pretty gruesome. But Harvard’s endowment is still ginormous, by any standards, even those of the relatively recent past. Here’s how Harvard’s endowment has grown of … Continue reading →

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Endowments Dump Private Equity Stakes

Posted on December 1, 2008 by Felix

University endowments such as Harvard’s are almost uniquely well-suited to invest in private-equity funds: since they’re permanent pools of capital, they can ride out market fluctuations and illiquidity, and hold their stakes for decades if necessary until they mature. Or, … Continue reading →

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Even Harvard’s Feeling the Pinch

Posted on November 11, 2008 by Felix

Harvard president Drew Faust is worried about the university’s endowment: As a result of strong returns and the generosity of our alumni and friends, endowment income has come to fund more than a third of the University’s annual operating budget. … Continue reading →

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When Colleges Speculate, Part 2

Posted on November 6, 2008 by Felix

David Turner reports on a deal structured by Clare College, Cambridge: One of Cambridge’s oldest colleges has borrowed money for the first time in its 700-year history in a "sensational deal" devised to take advantage of the investment opportunities presented … Continue reading →

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Footnote of the Day

Posted on August 8, 2008 by Felix

As cited by Z (a/k/a Olivier Fouquet), a commenter at Crooked Timber: In fact, almost all non trivial results of […] can be put in the following tripartite classification: (a) Results for which a (sound) reference is given, but of … Continue reading →

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Shareholder Activism, K-12 Edition

Posted on June 26, 2008 by Felix

The shareholder-activist playbook is simple. "You are working for us," say a group of outspoken people who know how to throw their weight around and how to apply pressure to the board. Pretty soon, the board is putting pressure on … Continue reading →

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The Public School vs Private School Debate

Posted on June 6, 2008 by Felix

Tyler Cowen brings up one of my favorite subjects: the dollar value (as opposed to the dollar cost) of private schooling. And I’m happy he comes down on my side of a question which will never be resolved to everybody’s … Continue reading →

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Google’s Top 10 Universities

Posted on June 4, 2008 by Felix

Vanity Fair has a wonderful oral history of the internet, full of real gems. About 11,000 words in, we get to Google’s Larry Page: One of the first things we did was just understand the relative importance of things. It … Continue reading →

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Why do Universities Have Tax-Exempt Endowments?

Posted on May 12, 2008 by Felix

The debate over the proposed tax on Harvard’s endowment continues, with my favorite contribution coming from one of Brad DeLong’s commenters: Harvard is an investment bank with a mom-and-pop non-profit enterprise attached to it for tax purposes. It’s a good … Continue reading →

Posted in education | 6 Comments

Taxing the Harvard Endowment

Posted on May 10, 2008 by Felix

John Hechinger reports that lawmakers in Massachussetts are considering a 2.5% tax on the portion of college endowments that exceed $1 billion. Such a tax would raise $1.4 billion a year, with 60% of it coming from Harvard. Greg Mankiw … Continue reading →

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Why Some Countries Find it So Hard to Get Rich

Posted on April 30, 2008 by Felix

Nobel laureates are always a big draw at the Milken Conference, so it wasn’t much of a surprise that the room was full when Michael Spence moderated a panel on the relationship between growth and development featuring Myron Scholes. It … Continue reading →

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Costs and Benefits in Education

Posted on April 20, 2008 by Felix

It’s that time of year again, when students are deciding where they’re going to go to college. And the NYT is on the case. Today Greg Mankiw tells us that "the financial return to education" has never been higher: In … Continue reading →

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Middle-Class Kids do Very Well at Bad Schools

Posted on February 21, 2008 by Felix

Please let there be more research along these lines. Do kids who go to "good schools" (either schools in expensive school districts or private schools) do better, academically, than kids who go to underperforming schools in the inner city? Are … Continue reading →

Posted in education | 7 Comments

Sino-African Datapoint of the Day

Posted on January 7, 2008 by Felix

Pascal Zachary: There are roughly 2,000 African students in China, most of whom are pursuing engineering and science courses. According to Juma, that number is expected to double over the next two years, making China “Africa’s leading destination for science … Continue reading →

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Tax the Privately Educated

Posted on December 14, 2007 by Felix

Chris Dillow wants to tax the privately educated more heavily. I think this is a great idea. And in fact it’s not all that far from one idea which really has been taken seriously in the UK: a higher rate … Continue reading →

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Solving the Dim White Kids Mystery

Posted on October 3, 2007 by Felix

Andrew Samwick is very smart, in an academic way. What he values is some combination of analytical intelligence, imagination, open-mindedness, and insight. If you’re looking for that combination, the academy is a good place to start, and graduate programs are … Continue reading →

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