Russ Ray

Personal and Institutional Characteristics Affecting Research Productivity of Academic Accountants

Abstract Accounting research and publication have taken on a role far beyond the advancement and dissemination of knowledge. Academics and institutions now focus on publications in major journals for funding, prestige, merit, and tenure decisions. This article attempts to identify institutional and individual variables that correlate with accounting research productivity. The results could benefit new PhDs, current faculty, and institutions wishing to foster more favorable research environments. Authors publishing a main article in The Journal of Accounting Research or The Accounting Review during 1984 through 1988 were surveyed to ascertain factors associated with their success. These factors were compared with the results of a survey of a randomly selected control group of accounting educators. The data reveal significant differences in work profiles for the two groups. Critical factors include hours of teaching per year compared with hours of research, reasons for topic selection, and choices of journa...

Work Profiles of Research Statisticians

Analysis of work profiles of 138 persons who had published in the Journal of the American Statistical Association showed this study group published more often than 128 members of the Association and tended to enjoy research, being less interested in the theoretical contribution of their work and more interested in the likelihood of work being published. Administrative and committee duties were impediments for those who published.

Econophysics: finance, economics and physics

This article examines the new science of ‘econophysics’ that utilizes physics models to explain economic and financial behaviour. First neologized in 1995, this innovative research methodology combines non-linear models, scaling laws, statistical mechanics and the Cauchy and Levy distributions to explain economic and financial behaviour more robustly than traditional economic and financial tools, which predominantly utilize linear models and Gaussian distributions. The conclusion of this article is that economics and finance will eventually absorb the powerful tools of econophysics as they continue to evolve as dominant social sciences.

Managing Financial Risk via Prediction Markets

This article examines the recent innovation of prediction markets, a new genre of financial markets, and how such markets can be utilized to assess, manage, and plan for risks of all types, including economic and financial risks. A comprehensive study of these markets concluded that prediction markets possess an “uncannily accurate” ability to predict future events in finance, business, politics, science, natural catastrophes, and virtually every other realm of human and natural activity. In finance, risks include recessions, stock-market crashes, stock-price collapses, interest-rate spikes, oil-price increases, adverse currency movements, and myriad other detrimental risks. As a risk assessment and risk-management tool, knowing the probability of an event happening in the future significantly facilitates the assessment and management of risks associated with that event.

The Making of A Research Economist

Abstract In this article, we attempt to identify the personal and institutional variables that correlate with the productivity of research economists. A study group of prolific research economists was compared with a randomly selected control group. The data reveal some significant group differences in attitudes and work habits of economists, suggesting changes that both individuals and institutions could make to increase research output. Suggestions on how to improve doctoral programs in economics are also offered.

Work profiles of research statisticians.

Analysis of work profiles of 138 persons who had published in the Journal of the American Statistical Association showed this study group published more often than 128 members of the Association and tended to enjoy research, being less interested in the theoretical contribution of their work and more interested in the likelihood of work being published. Administrative and committee duties were impediments for those who published.