Does the gender diversity of boards of directors matter? A
recent research report from Credit Suisse (click here) suggests that the
presence of women on boards is correlated with better firm performance. This
raises an interesting economic question: why should the presence of women on
boards matter? Are women more empathetic
with employees and therefore better managers?
Are women better at selecting successful firms? Are successful firms able to have the luxury
of having more women on their boards?
Are women better at multi-tasking (a key skill for modern corporate
managers)? Are women on boards so good
at their job because they have been toughened up by constant male chauvinism on
their rise up the corporate ladder? This subject would be a great PhD topic for
someone! Click here to read an older post on this issue.
My colleague and former PhD student Gareth Campbell has created a website about the British Railway Mania - click here . This episode has been described by the Economist as probably the greatest bubble in human history. Gareth's website provides background on the Mania and posits some explanations for the 'bubble'. In his explanation of why the bubble happened, Gareth places a lot of emphasis on investor myopia regarding future dividends and uncalled capital. His study of investors during the episode does not support the view that this episode was fuelled by naive and irrational investors.