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Martin C. Schmalz

Martin Schmalz is a German financial economist. He is a professor of Finance, Economics, and Real Estate at the University… more

H-index: 22
Economics 62%
Business 35%
martincschmalz.bsky.social
Which market failure is it that prevents centralized exchange of information on invoice factoring?

The efficiency gains from preventing (alleged) double pledging fiascos like First Brands seem clear. So why don't they get realized?

And, yes, this *could* be done with #blockchain -- but why.
martincschmalz.bsky.social
Lots of discussion about disclosing genAI contributions in research.

Are we sure we want to debate this before having concluded authors should disclose their direct and indirect *funding* sources, along with sanctions mechanisms for non-compliers?
martincschmalz.bsky.social
ICYMI Sen Blumenthal's report on KPMG's auditing of various banks is titled "This industry is a joke". That's not Blumenberg's personal opinion but a quote ***from an auditor***, from internal communications.

www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/u...
www.hsgac.senate.gov
martincschmalz.bsky.social
I'm old enough to remember that when I presented our paper on the effect of political pressures on central banks on inflation almost ten years ago, the establishment told me not to worry about the U.S. Fed, because professionalism of their staff.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
martincschmalz.bsky.social
What are the competitive effects of having a common auditor?

ht to Francine McKenna
martincschmalz.bsky.social
Harald's research suggests that simple nudges may create spillover effects into other energy behaviors. But which behaviors and why? 🤔
Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/2x13...
YouTube: youtu.be/xAX5XlFUeOc
#RealEstate #Sustainability #BehavioralEconomics 2/2
martincschmalz.bsky.social
🧵 Ep4 of The Property Pod: Would you expect that informing tenants about hot water usage could lead to much broader savings?
University of Zurich economist Harald Mayr (@haraldmayr.com) explores behavioral interventions in energy conservation.
1/2➡️
martincschmalz.bsky.social
I kid you not. The German news, after lamenting the unfavorable outcome of the tariff negotiations.

"But maybe there is a consolation: other countries like India and Switzerland got punished with even higher tariffs."

youtu.be/0bdA3Vvb-S4?...
tagesschau 20:00 Uhr, 21.08.2025
Die 20-Uhr-Ausgabe der tagesschau im Livestream und früher auf Abruf: https://ardmediathek.de/tagesschau und https://tagesschau.de Themen der tagesschau-Sendung: 00:00 Guten Abend 00:21…
youtu.be
martincschmalz.bsky.social
That's why you come to Oxford, not Harvard. I've said for many years that mainstream economists are wrong in claiming #Bitcoin had no fundamental value.

Academic economists tend to confound what they think is socially useful with what is factually true.

x.com/krogoff/stat...
Kenneth S Rogoff (@krogoff) on X
Almost a decade ago I was the Harvard economist that said that bitcoin was more likely to be worth $100 than 100k. What did I miss? I was far too optimistic about the US coming to its senses about sensible...
x.com
martincschmalz.bsky.social
I haven't read the paper, but it seems fair to say the common ownership literature has quite powerful enemies by now. capmktsreg.org/wp-content/u...
martincschmalz.bsky.social
Note: MLex reports BlackRock cites a "Harvard study" across 52 industries over 24 years, showing "no evidence that common ownership has an anticompetitive impact on prices" - but it appears to be this CCMR report: capmktsreg.org/wp-content/u...
Mlex article: www.mlex.com/mlex/article...
8/8
martincschmalz.bsky.social
BlackRock spokesperson tells MLex the case is based on "absurd theory that coal companies conspired with their shareholders to reduce coal production," claiming "forced divestment" would raise energy prices
7/8➡️
martincschmalz.bsky.social
Research context: Ederer's new study (accepted by Review of Economic Studies) estimates common ownership "raises aggregate profits by $1.133 trillion...but lowers consumer surplus by $2.399 trillion" in 2021
6/8➡️
martincschmalz.bsky.social
Economist Florian Ederer tells MLex that while "the common ownership theory here has been used to get some political leverage," the case also addresses a "legitimate and widespread problem" across the US economy
5/8➡️
martincschmalz.bsky.social
MLex reports DOJ lawyer David Lawrence argued in court that protecting consumers from "harmful asset management strategies" is "critically necessary." DOJ and FTC leadership "cheered" the ruling.
4/8➡️
martincschmalz.bsky.social
According to MLex, the judge found that joining Net Zero Asset Managers and Climate Action 100+ "plausibly" provides ability to influence coal companies - rejecting defendants' arguments these were just trade associations
3/8➡️
martincschmalz.bsky.social
MLex reports Judge Kernodle called this "a close call" but ruled the case can proceed. The Republican state attorneys general allege these firms used 24-34% ownership of major coal companies to reduce competition.
2/8➡️
martincschmalz.bsky.social
🧵 MLex reports that the "first of its kind" antitrust case against BlackRock, Vanguard & State Street alleging coordination through climate initiatives survived a motion to dismiss and will proceed.
1/8➡️
martincschmalz.bsky.social
Congratulations to Inga Heiland and the Review of Corporate Finance Studies for publishing this first-rate paper on common ownership in public AND PRIVATE firms watermark.silverchair.com/cfaf017.pdf?...
martincschmalz.bsky.social
The antitrust suit against the Big 3 asset managers for raising consumer prices is going ahead www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
martincschmalz.bsky.social
The lack of knowledge what economics actually teaches seems like the main problem with most critiques of modern economics. Strange that the @financialtimes.com would publish this. 5/6 ➡️
martincschmalz.bsky.social
viewfromoxford.com/yoga-for-eco... Don't get me wrong: there are entry barriers to the profession: mostly, math skills. Those are necessary to even understand what economics does teach, and thus be able to criticize the discipline. 4/6 ➡️
martincschmalz.bsky.social
shouldn't maximize their own value. I -- on paper rather part of the establishment -- have even written that thinking like an economist causes unhappiness -- hardly advertisement to outsiders to emulate this kind of thinking, except in specific circumstances. 3/6 ➡️
martincschmalz.bsky.social
"think like an economist or not think at all". What utter nonsense. The past 30 years of Nobel prizes are all about how markets are NOT efficient, how markets fail, how economic agents aren't rational, and Nobel laureates have evangelized for years that firms 2/6 ➡️
martincschmalz.bsky.social
🧵 "How economics teaching became the Aeroflot of ideas" -- great title by Ha-Joon Chang. But the content? We supposedly teach "variations of the failed theme of efficient markets", that the system is "fundamentally fair, rational, and efficient" and folks should 1/6 ➡️
martincschmalz.bsky.social
Are you, or do you have, a PhD student who plans to be on the market this fall and works on a topic related to real estate?

We're attempting to create a top-notch opportunity for you here.

www.linkedin.com/posts/uzh-df...

Please spread the word.
martincschmalz.bsky.social
One reason it can be depressing to be an academic is when politics trumps policy. We know since 25+ years ago that having private prisons is mostly a bad idea. scholar.harvard.edu/files/shleif...

FT now gives attention to the issue
ig.ft.com/us-immigrati...

Stock markets anticipated it.
martincschmalz.bsky.social
The world isn't black & white, 17 July 2025 edition:
- Kennedy infamously questioned vaccine safety. Meanwhile, vaccine hesitancy in Europe (!) --> 6k (2022) to 300k whooping cough cases. www.ft.com/content/bfbc...
- U.S. makes Coke w/ sugar, not high-fructose corn syrup. www.ft.com/content/f3c7...
Measles cases soar in Europe as vaccine coverage falls short
The World Health Organization says infections more than doubled in Europe and Central Asia between 2023 and 2024
www.ft.com
martincschmalz.bsky.social
The research uses a passive house at New College, Oxford as a case study, exploring how applying IFRS principles to carbon flows might create a unified framework for evaluating both financial returns and carbon impacts over time. #RealEstate #SustainableFinance #CarbonAccounting 3/3

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