Educational ties,social capital and the translocal (re)production of MBA alumni networks

Research on elite, transnational networks has identified social and cultural capital associated with particular academic credentials as being an important element in network formation. How and why such networks are reproduced after graduation, however, has received less attention. In response, in this article I combine work on social capital and personal networks to explore the reproduction of MBA alumni networks in London's financial services district that were created in leading business schools in the USA and UK. My analysis documents the ways in which business schools and individual alumni combine forms of virtual and corporeal co‐presence to reproduce translocal educational ties. I then argue that the motivation for sustaining these educational ties lies in the potential to convert the social and cultural capital of MBA alumni networks into different types of value ranging from enhanced career progression to increased alumni donations. In doing so, I develop debates on the intersections between social capital, academic credentials and the reproduction of elite networks.     

HETEROGENEOUS FIRMS: A CONSUMER'S REPORT

The august title 'the theory of the firm' is well known to every student of economics. Less well known is what a firm is exactly, what it may do, or of what use this 'theory' may be in understanding the world. W.Y. Oi adds substance to our vague outline of a 'theory' in his analysis of heterogeneous firms, while posing a definite challenge of explanation for it. If the result falls short of the mark, it is an interesting attempt, nevertheless.     

MARKET ENFORCED INFORMATION ASYMMETRY: A STUDY OF CLAIMING RACES

This is a study of complementary markets. The race track polices the betting market with information revealed in a 'claiming horse' market. This policing reduces the adverse consequences of asymmetric information: experts in identifying horses and fraud are deterred from biasing betting odds against bettors at large. Consequently, bettors specialize in evaluating published race information. This 'monitoring' theory is compared to a competing theory of claim races as a self-assessed horse market. Parametric data is used to evaluate each theory. Institutional details also provide a test of each theory.     

Student Projects in Medicine: A Lesson in Science and Ethics

Regulation of biomedical research is the subject of considerable debate in the bioethics and health policy worlds. The ethics and governance of medical student projects is becoming an increasingly important topic in its own right, especially in the U.K., where there are periodic calls to change it. My main claim is that there seems to be no good reason for treating student projects differently from projects led by qualified and more experienced scientists and hence no good grounds for changing the current system of ethics review. I first suggest that the educational objectives cannot be met without laying down standards of good science, whatever they may be. Weak science is unnecessary for educational purposes, and it is, in any case, unlikely to produce good researchers in the future. Furthermore, it is curious to want to change the system of ethics review specifically for students when it is the science that is at stake, and when the science now falls largely outside the ethics remit. I further show that ethics review is nevertheless important since students carry a new potential conflict of interests that warrants independent oversight which supervisory support does not offer. This potential conflict may become more morally troublesome the greater the risks to the subjects of the research, and students may impose greater risks on their subjects (relative to professional researchers) by virtue of being inexperienced, whatever the nature of the project. Pragmatic concerns may finally be allayed by organizing the current system more efficiently at critical times of the university calendar.     

WHY DON'T ELIGIBLE FIRMS CLAIM HIRING SUBSIDIES? THE ROLE OF JOB DURATION

Only a small fraction of firms that hire disadvantaged workers claim the federal subsidies for which they qualify, namely, the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) and Welfare‐to‐Work Tax Credit (WtW). Subsidy benefits depend partially on job duration, with higher subsidy rates above certain job‐duration thresholds. I estimate the relationship between a firm's WOTC/WtW participation and its eligible workers' job durations. Using unique Wisconsin administrative data, I find that workers' subsidy rates (determined by hours worked) have the expected relationship to participation: Firms with a larger fraction of workers exceeding the programs' job‐duration thresholds are more likely to claim the WOTC/WtW. I also find no evidence that firms systematically modify the job duration of their workers to maximize subsidy payments. (JEL J3)     

Executives’ Views of Factors Affecting Governance Change in a Not‐for‐Profit Setting

Knowing the factors that executives deem critical to governance change can improve our understanding of how such changes come about and can help us evaluate those changes. Interviews with business and finance executives at 11 colleges reveal the importance to governance change of chief executive and board member leadership and interactions, as well as executive communication style. Costs are clear constraints to action, particularly since benefits are not quantified and are difficult to describe. Efforts to discuss governance with internal stakeholders require persistence to overcome narrow, individualized concerns. Communication about governance to external stakeholders is rare and represents a missed opportunity for stakeholder feedback and the development of trust. Executives appear willing to adopt governance forms without considering the idiosyncrasies of their institutional field, limiting the working definition of governance and its potential. For corporations and not‐for‐profit enterprises these findings hold implications for the context in which leadership is exercised and the shape of governance structures. They also pose a fundamental ethical dilemma for leaders to address.     

A middle‐class global mobility? The working lives of Indian men in a west London hotel

In this article we examine the working lives of young, single, middle‐class Indian men employed in the increasingly global hospitality sector in London, UK. Using a case study of a single hotel, we investigate a particular form of Indian middle‐class global mobility that differs from both the well‐documented ‘low status’, unskilled migrant as well as the highly‐skilled, science oriented migrants. We explore how their jobs both reinforce and challenge middle‐class Indian notions of masculinity, as well as how the recruitment process is both gendered and economically selective. We suggest that the transnational formation of Indian middle‐class identity is drawn from four main categories: a middle‐class lifestyle in India, class‐based motivations, the gendered and class based recruitment process of the UK hospitality industry, and the performance of class‐based gender identities.