All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions

Feb 26 2025 70 ep. 27 mins 155

All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast artwork

Join Stanford GSB finance professor Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen of The Wharton School in a conversation with prominent business leaders about common flaws in the decision making process and what to do about them. Learn more at AllElseEqualPodcast.com.All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of Stanford Graduate School of Business and is produced by University FM.

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Ep57 “Effective Communication: Trump vs. Reagan” with Peter Robinson

Feb 26 2025 36 mins

One key to effective negotiation is to keep your opponent guessing by randomizing your strategy. And right now, there might not be a more prolific example of this kind of strategy than President Donald Trump’s communication style. In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen are joined by Peter Robinson, a research fellow at the Hoover I

Ep56 “When Should We Lie for the Greater Good?” with John Ioannidis

Feb 12 2025 34 mins

Is it acceptable for doctors to lie to their patients, or withhold some of the truth, if it’s in the patient’s best interest? In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen welcome back John Ioannidis, professor of medicine at Stanford University, to discuss the ethical implications of concealing the truth in the medical world, even when i

Ep55 “The Future Of The MBA: From 3 Top Business Schools” with Madhav Rajan

Jan 29 2025 32 mins

As more and more universities move away from full-time MBA programs, what does the future of business education look like? How should it look? In this episode, hear perspectives from three of the top business schools in the U.S.: Stanford Graduate School of Business, The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicag

Ep54 “The Rise And Fall of Great Societies: Lessons from History” with Victor Davis Hanson

Jan 15 2025 29 mins

History shows that as societies rise to greatness, the scales eventually tip back and those societies fall. But what leads to that fall and are we heading toward one? In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen speak with historian Victor Davis Hanson, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution who specializes in classics and military hist

Rerun: Ep48 “Why CEOs are Underpaid” with Dirk Jenter

Jan 02 2025 29 mins

As we ring in the new year, we’re bringing back one of our favorite episodes! Handpicked by Jules and Jonathan, this previous conversation is perfect for starting your year with thought-provoking insights. Are CEOs overpaid? It’s easy to see million-dollar (or even billion-dollar) salaries and jump to conclusions. But those figures might not capture the full picture. So, what

Ep53 “The Truth About Inflation and Price Caps: Learn From Argentina” with Veronica Rappoport

Dec 18 2024 26 mins

During the 2024 U.S. presidential election, inflation was one of the most talked about issues, and there was one policy idea to get inflation under control that kept coming up: price caps. But history has shown time and time again that price caps do anything but reduce inflation. So why do policymakers still want to try it? In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Be

Ep52 “Should Legacy Admissions at Universities Be Illegal?” with Patrick Awuah

Dec 11 2024 26 mins

Should legacy admissions at colleges and universities be banned? What are the benefits and tradeoffs of admitting students based on their legacy status? In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen speak with guest Patrick Awuah, president of Ashesi University, about the Ghanaian university’s unique economic engine and the place for legac

Ep51 Celebrating 50 Episodes: The Biggest All Else Equal Mistakes

Nov 14 2024 27 mins

The All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions podcast has officially done 50 episodes! To commemorate the milestone, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen look back on some of the major all else equal mistakes they’ve covered on the show. With highlights from past guests like Google CFO Ruth Porat and former SEC chair Jay Clayton, Jonathan and Jules

Ep50 “Is Proxy Advising a Catch-22?” with Chester Spatt

Oct 30 2024 24 mins

If the purpose of a proxy advisory firm is to gather information and advise shareholders on how to vote, then how do the firms handle the many different goals and incentives each shareholder brings to the table? Where do the proxy advisory firms’ interests truly lie? In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen speak with guest Chester Sp

Ep49 “Making Regulation Work” with Jay Clayton

Oct 16 2024 27 mins

Regulation is meant to fix problems in the market, but as more and more regulation is introduced, those issues have a tendency to evolve into new ones. So is all this regulation even accomplishing what it set out to do? And how do you even measure the success of regulation to begin with? In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen sit down