Here are the latest announcements from SSRN:

Review of Environment, Energy & Economics (Re3) Joins ERN Partners in Publishing Journals

We are pleased to announce Review of Environment, Energy & Economics (Re3) has joined our ERN Partners in Publishing Journals within the Economics Research Network (ERN).

REVIEW OF ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY & ECONOMICS (Re3)
View Abstracts: http://www.ssrn.com/link/Review-Environment-Energy-Economics.html
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The Review of Environment, Energy and Economics, in short Re3, is a tool for the dissemination of the work and research-based policy analysis of FEEM researchers and leading international scholars, covering the areas of the environment, energy and economics, and offering new insights into the challenges ahead.

The target readership spans from researchers and academics to policy makers, journalists, professionals, firms, and a general audience of readers wishing to understand the intricacies of the environment-energy-economics challenge. Re3 publishes non technical scientific articles and policy-oriented contributions, selected presentations, literature surveys, interviews to leading scholars and experts, short briefs on FEEM research areas and book reviews.

It collects both invited contributions and unsolicited submissions, and readers will have the opportunity to comment on the posts. Re3 aims at a steady flow of contributions, and it publishes new submissions as they become available, rather than collecting articles for release as an issue. Open access is provided to all readers, and the processes of submission, evaluation, and publication are electronic.

MultiRights Joins Law Research Centers Papers

We are pleased to announce MultiRights has started a Law Research Centers Papers series within the Legal Scholarship Network (LSN).

MULTIRIGHTS RESEARCH PAPER SERIES
View Papers: http://www.ssrn.com/link/MultiRights-RES.html
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The MultiRights Research Paper Series examines the legitimacy of multi-level human rights judiciary. The MultiRights project scrutinizes claims of legitimacy deficits, and considers reform proposals for global and European human rights organs. The staff of the MultiRights project is interdisciplinary (Law, Philosophy, Political Sciences, etc.) and the papers cover topics such as plausible models for Human Rights Judiciary assessed by Contested Constitutional Principle of Legitimacy: Human Rights values, the Rule of Law, Subsidiarity, and Democracy. The MultiRights project is funded by an Advanced Grant of the European Research Council.

Here are the latest announcements from SSRN:

Announcing Paris December 2011 Finance Meeting EUROFIDAI – AFFI Abstracting eJournal

In cooperation with EUROFIDAI (European Financial Data Institute) and AFFI (French Finance Association), the Financial Economics Network (FEN) is pleased to announce the Paris December 2011 Finance Meeting Abstracting eJournal. This abstracting eJournal is available to all subscribers at no charge and contains abstracts of the meeting papers with links to the full text in the SSRN eLibrary.

The traditional annual Paris December International Finance Meeting is organized by EUROFIDAI (European Financial Data Institute, which develops European stock exchange databases that are useful to finance researchers) and AFFI (French Finance Association, a network of researchers, teachers and practitioners specialized in financial management), and jointly sponsored by the CDC Institute for Economic Research, CNRS (French National Center for Scientific Research) and Fondation Banque de France pour la Recherche en Economie Monetaire, Financiere et Bancaire.

This abstracting eJournal provides a data warehouse for all abstracts and papers presented at the meeting. Abstracts of the papers will also be distributed in subject-specific eJournals within FEN and, where appropriate, in the eJournals of our sister networks.

View Papers: http://www.ssrn.com/link/Paris-2011-AFFI-EUROFIDAI.html
Subscribe: http://hq.ssrn.com/jourInvite.cfm?link=Paris-2011-AFFI-EUROFIDAI
Conference URL (information & registration): http://www.eurofidai.org/december2011.html

While I was at the Kauffman Economics Bloggers Forum, Bryan Caplan, Professor of Economics at George Mason University gave me an advance copy of his book “Selfish Reason to Have More Kids.” Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids is a thought provoking look into the  nature vs. nurture argument with a refreshing and interesting research foundation.

It was released today (buy a copy) and you can check out Bryan on twitter and the EconLog blog.

Thanks Bryan for your research and insight into the everyday exercise of  parenting (I definitely agree that kids are more fun than I originally thought).

I’m in Kansas City today looking forward to attending the Kauffman Foundation’s Economic Bloggers Forum. I met some great thinkers and friends at the inaugural conference in ’09 and I am sure this year will only be more of the same.

Stream the presentations live today (Friday, April 1 2011) from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (CST)

The Kauffman foundation explains:

The Forum brings together select economics, finance, and technology bloggers for an event in Kansas City to discuss key policy issues and cutting-edge research on topics related to entrepreneurship, innovation, and growth. It will feature a dozen talks by well-known bloggers, including Tyler Cower, Virginia Postrel, Felix Salmon, and Dean Baker.

On Sunday the revealing documentary “Inside Job” won an Oscar for Best Documentary (trailer, official site). This work has made waves by analyzing the financial collapse in 2008 and points the finger at corrupt politicians, financial advisers, journalists and economists.

And rather fittingly, a lot of people have recently been asking economists:

“Why are you one of the few professions left that operate without a code of ethics?”

While “Inside Job” was winning awards for exploring the financial tsunami of the last few years, economists reacted with an internal debate over disclosure. While some practice areas, including health economics (iHEA), do have disclosures and policy, the profession overall does not.  According to this NYT article, there is lots of room for improvement.

Tom Getzen, Professor of Risk, Insurance and Health Management at the Fox School of Business, Temple University and Executive Director and CEO of iHEA, has difficulty understanding how scientists who study incentives cannot understand why payments as consultants, etc.  shouldn’t be revealed in a public forum. (Disclosure: Professor Getzen is Network Director for SSRN’s Health Economics Network)

ICMJE (The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors) is concerned about the issue and has a well thought-out policy about conflicts of interest. This type of involvement shows that these type of standards are becoming an expectation.

A sweeping change was recently proposed to Economists. Over 300 economists urged President Robert Hall that the AEA (American Economic Association) should adopt a code of ethics that would enforce:

“Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest that can arise between economists’ roles as economic experts and as paid consultants, principals or agents for private firms.”

The letter also emphasized additional disclosure requirements, making ethical transparency not only expected, but required.

Earlier this year the AEA’s annual meeting, the group stated:

“The executive committee of the American Economic Association voted unanimously to create a committee to consider the association’s existing disclosure and other ethical standards and potential extensions to those standards”

While this is a welcome first step, some say a code of conduct is long overdue. Yet others are more skeptical saying such a regulation would have no positive impact on credibility.

In light of “Inside Job”and the challenges specific to the AEA, what do you think? Is disclosure a no-brainer or is the issue more complex than everyone is making it?

Here are the latest announcements from SSRN:

Announcing 46th Annual AREUEA Conference Abstracting eJournal on SSRN

In cooperation with The American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association (AREUEA), the Financial Economics Network (FEN) is pleased to announce the 46th Annual AREUEA Conference Abstracting eJournal. This abstracting eJournal is available to all users at no charge and contains abstracts of the meetings papers with links to the full text within the SSRN eLibrary.

You can browse abstracts and download the full text of all papers given at the 46th Annual AREUEA Conference in the SSRN database by clicking on the following link. There are currently more than 80 such papers in the system. You may wish to bookmark it in your browser.

View Papers: http://www.ssrn.com/link/AREUEA-2011.html
Conference URL: http://www.areuea.org/conferences/details.phtml?id=86

Here are the latest announcements from SSRN:

Announcing 3 New LSN Research Paper Series Journals

We are pleased to announce that a consortium of Nordic Business Schools and Universities has started Nordic & European Company Law, a Law Research Centers Papers series; University of Cambridge Faculty of Law, and University of Oslo Faculty of Law have each started a Law School Research Papers – Legal Studies series, all within the Legal Scholarship Network (LSN).

NORDIC & EUROPEAN COMPANY LAW WORKING PAPER SERIES
View Papers: http://www.ssrn.com/link/Nordic-European-Company-Law-RES.html
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Nordic and European Company Law Working Paper Series aims to publish abstracts and working papers on matters that deal with European and Nordic company law and finance. The aim of the series is to promote the research in European company law undertaken by Nordic researchers and to expand the knowledge of Nordic company law in a European context. The series will cover topics in all areas of company law, including financial market law and corporate governance. The series is published by a consortium consisting of the following Nordic Business Schools and Universities: Aarhus University, Department of Business Law; Copenhagen University, Faculty of Law; Joenkoeping International Business School, Department of Commercial Law; Oslo University, Faculty of Law; and University of Turku, Faculty of Law.

UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE FACULTY OF LAW LEGAL STUDIES RESEARCH PAPER SERIES
View Papers: http://www.ssrn.com/link/U-Cambridge-LEG.html
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The University of Cambridge Law Faculty Legal Studies Series presents the Faculty’s scholarly research across a wide range of disciplines in the form of abstracts and working papers.

UNIVERSITY OF OSLO FACULTY OF LAW LEGAL STUDIES RESEARCH PAPER SERIES
View Papers: http://www.ssrn.com/link/U-Oslo-LEG.html
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The Faculty of Law at the University of Oslo is the leading research institution in law in Norway, with a variety of ongoing research projects. The Faculty has extensive international networks, and several international journals and book series are edited from and based here. The Pantheon of internationally well-known scholars from the Faculty’s modern history includes Nils Christie, Thomas Mathiesen, Torstein Eckhoff, Vilhelm Aubert and Johannes Andenaes. The Faculty of Law has some 300 employees and 4,500 students.

The University of Oslo Faculty of Law Legal Studies Research Paper Series publishes on legal scholarship in all subject areas from Faculty members and participants in research projects based at the Faculty. The papers are published electronically and are available online or through email distribution.

Announcing Finsia-Australian Centre for Financial Studies Banking & Finance Conference 2010 Abstracting eJournal

In cooperation with the Australian Centre for Financial Studies the Financial Economics Network (FEN) is pleased to announce the Finsia-Australian Centre for Financial Studies Banking & Finance Conference 2010 Abstracting eJournal. This abstracting eJournal is available to all subscribers at no charge and contains abstracts of the meeting papers with links to the full text in the SSRN eLibrary.

View Papers: http://www.ssrn.com/link/Finsia-Australian-Centre-Conf-2010.html
Subscribe: http://hq.ssrn.com/jourInvite.cfm?link=Finsia-Australian-Centre-Conf-2010

Here are the latest announcements from SSRN:

Announcing AFFI/EUROFIDAI Paris December 2010 Finance Meeting Abstracting eJournal on SSRN

In cooperation with AFFI (French Finance Association) and EUROFIDAI (European Financial Data Institute), the Financial Economics Network (FEN) is pleased to announce the Paris December 2010 Finance Meeting Abstracting eJournal. This abstracting eJournal is available to all subscribers at no charge and contains abstracts of the meeting papers with links to the full text in the SSRN eLibrary.

The French Finance Association (www.affi.asso.fr) is a network of researchers, teachers and practitioners specialized in financial management. The European Financial Data Institute (www.eurofidai.org) develops European stock exchange databases that are useful to finance researchers.

This abstracting eJournal provides a data warehouse for all abstracts and papers presented at the meeting. Abstracts of the papers will also be published in subject-specific journals within FEN and, where appropriate, in the journals of our sister networks.

View Papers: http://www.ssrn.com/link/Paris-2010-AFFI-EUROFIDAI.html
Subscribe: http://hq.ssrn.com/jourInvite.cfm?link=Paris-2010-AFFI-EUROFIDAI
Conference URL (information & registration): http://www.eurofidai.org/december2010.html

1. A Quantitative Approach to Tactical Asset Allocation
by Mebane T. Faber (Cambria Investment Management)

2. The Federal Circuit and Inequitable Conduct: An Empirical Assessment
by Lee Petherbridge (Loyola Law School Los Angeles) and Jason Rantanen (University of California, San Francisco – Hastings College of the Law) and Ali Mojibi (United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit)

3. Macroeconomics after the Crisis: Time to Deal with the Pretense-of-Knowledge Syndrome
by Ricardo J. Caballero (Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER))

4. Regulating the Shadow Banking System
by Gary B. Gorton (Yale School of Management; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)) and Andrew Metrick (Yale School of Management; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER))

5. The Longer Tail: The Changing Shape of Amazon’s Sales Distribution Curve
by Erik Brynjolfsson (Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – Sloan School of Management; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)) and Yu Jeffrey Hu (Purdue University – Krannert School of Management) and Michael D. Smith (Carnegie Mellon University – H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management)

Here are the latest announcements from SSRN:

Jerusalem Review of Legal Studies Joins LSN Partners in Publishing Journals

We are pleased to announce that Jerusalem Review of Legal Studies, has joined our Partners in Publishing Journals within the Legal Scholarship Network (LSN).

JERUSALEM REVIEW OF LEGAL STUDIES
View Abstracts: http://www.ssrn.com/link/Jerusalem-Review-Legal-Studies.html

The Jerusalem Review of Legal Studies is a law journal dedicated to in-depth discussions of recent important studies of and in law. Typically, each issue consists of two symposia on a recent or forthcoming book, or on a research-project that is not quite a book. Each symposium consists of critical comments by several commentators (the first of which includes an overview of the relevant work), and a response by the person whose research project it is. The published version of the symposia is based on actual, real-life symposia held at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Law, where initial versions of the comments and responses are discussed in person. The written versions of the comments and responses are then subject to a review process that ensures not just the quality of the critical exchange, but also that the texts incorporate the lessons of the oral discussion at the symposium. The JRLS fills a gap in the current legal literature by offering a stage for the kind of sustained and focused critical discussion of influential theoretical research-projects.

The JRLS engages books and other research projects in all methodological disciplines of legal theory, and of all legal areas. The projects discussed are chosen by the editors based on their importance, theoretical significance, interest, and influence. The JRLS ensures that the selection of commentators is such as to encourage critical examination of the relevant work both from within the relevant sub-discipline, and from related fields and sub-disciplines.

Announcing New MRN Business History & Nonprofit Organizations Research Network

We are pleased to announce the creation of the Business History & Nonprofit Organizations Research Network (BHNP) within the Management Research Network.

BUSINESS HISTORY eJOURNAL
View Papers: http://www.ssrn.com/link/Business-History.html
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Description: This eJournal distributes working and accepted paper abstracts that focus on the creation, evolution, and emergence of industries and business entities throughout history. Submitted papers may be conceptual or empirical in nature and emphasize a chronological orientation. The purpose of the eJournal is to describe, explain, and better understand the origin, development, and progression of events and issues that lead to the success or failure of these industries or business entities. To accomplish this purpose, submitted papers may focus on the recording and analysis of past events related to specific business issues related to finance, accounting, marketing, economics, administration, production, ethics, management, policy development, human resources, and international business. Specific topics within this journal include industry development, management theory and practice, global firms, governmental policy, macroeconomic policy, microeconomic policy, social policy, and other business history topics.

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS eJOURNAL
View Papers: http://www.ssrn.com/link/Nonprofit-Organizations.html
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Description: This eJournal distributes working and accepted paper abstracts related to all aspects of management important to nonprofit organizations and foundations. The eJournal welcomes research with a focus on the best practices and most forward thinking advice on the special needs, challenges, and opportunities of nonprofit organizations. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, insights on the common concerns of nonprofit organizations in all settings such as social services and social work, community initiatives and development, compensation and benefits, donor issues, diversity, disaster response, employment law, ethics, fiscal governance, fundraising and charitable giving, human services, healthcare issues, higher education administration, leadership, new legal and tax issues, public policy and legislation, religious philanthropy, technology, volunteers, veteran’s charities, board governance and issues, arts management, and other nonprofit organizations topics.