Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics Commons^™

The Wall Street Gap: A Theoretical Analysis Of Company Valuation Discrepancy, Peter Twomey

Undergraduate Economic Review

Examination of prior research suggests that affiliated sell-side analysts are subject to conflicts of interest that cause them to issue optimistically biased stock recommendations for investment banking clients. Using a sample of public technology companies, I find that analysts have a theoretical discrepancy of up to 26% when valuing companies using a discounted cash flow model, and a 19-22% theoretical discrepancy when using comparable company analysis. I showcase how conventional valuation methodologies can allow sell-side analysts significant leeway that can be used to further unethical agendas and draw conclusions around the usefulness of regulatory intervention in the financial services industry.

The Impact Of Sustainability Reporting On Firm Profitability, Lancee L. Whetman

Undergraduate Economic Review

Using a hand-collected representative sample of 95 publicly traded American firms from various sectors in 2015-2016, I examine how corporate sustainability reporting affects the financial performance of firms. I find a positive and significant effect of sustainability reporting on a firm’s return on equity, return on assets, and profit margin in the subsequent year. However, this relationship is found only for firms with low institutional ownership. These results suggest that sustainability reporting would be a worthwhile use of corporate resources for this subset of firms. Further, corporate sustainability reporting is shown to be an effective substitute for monitoring by institutional …

The Growing Concern Of Poverty In The United States: An Exploration Of Food Prices And Poverty On Obesity Rates For Low-Income Citizens, Catherine Gillespie, Kathy Gray, Ethan Bailey, John Zivalich

Undergraduate Economic Review

Studies demonstrate the link between income and obesity, determining factors to explain the strong correlation between high body mass index and low socioeconomic status. Many focus on uncovering predictors but few use a systems approach: identifying the interaction among predictors and their relative magnitude concerning obesity. This study asks: do poverty or food price indicators have a statistically stronger relationship with obesity?

By collecting data, evaluating trends, and analyzing statistics, this study extends research by revealing a stronger relationship between obesity and food prices as opposed to obesity and poverty.