Master limited partnerships (MLPs) are limited partnerships that trade on public exchanges in the form of units, similar to common stock. MLPs have several advantages relative to traditional C corporations (C-corps) that have resulted in their frequent use to finance energy-infrastructure assets. The general partners (GPs) retain control of the assets placed in the MLP, can drop down assets to the
Individuals' judgement of probabilities—the likelihood of different events to occur, or the attribution of likely causes to what has occurred—is plagued by numerous biases and errors. This note focuses on Bayesian updating and the base rate neglect, and also provides a brief overview of other biases, including overconfidence, reversion to the mean, the law of small numbers, the conjunction fallacy
When proposing new or modified economic policies, it is important to understand the distributional implications of such policies. Do they potentially affect everyone in the same way? Or can we expect different impacts for different segments of the population? The specific factors model is a canonical model that is very well suited to address distributional questions related to a range of economic
This technical note is used in management communications or strategic communication courses in MBA or executive education programs where students are learning to develop their ability to persuade others through oral and written communication. It includes a framework for assessing the various skill sets that characterize accomplished communicators and guidance for both extroverts and introverts on
This technical note is employed in MBA, executive education, and undergraduate courses that cover the art of persuasion. It is used in the core Management Communication course at Darden. Employing the canons of rhetoric devised by Aristotle and his classical contemporaries, the objective of the note is to provide students with a clear and usable map to guide them as they seek to understand the dyn
Many decisions involve trade-offs between present and future costs and benefits. We procrastinate difficult tasks, and we forgo larger rewards for smaller ones if we can get them sooner. Why do we change our minds about the value of upcoming events? The traditional discounting model, which predicts how individuals discount future consequences and resolve trade-offs between present and future costs
This note presents a short description of balance of payments (BOP) and international investment position (IIP) data. It works through examples using data for the United States and Mexico while providing guidance for understanding the data of just about any country.
Despite the hierarchical power structures in the military and government, as they reach more senior levels, leaders routinely operate in peer-to-peer teams. These environments require the ability to negotiate complex group dynamics?a skill which often goes undeveloped in typical hierarchies. Groups that succeed over time have three things in common: (1) they meet their performance goals, (2) their
This note provides a few basic facts about the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and its successor, the World Trade Organization (WTO). We also investigate why we need those institutions from an economic perspective. In other words, we seek to understand what problems the GATT/WTO solve, and why without them the trade liberalizations that they seek would not emerge.
This note provides context regarding financial inclusion in the Philippines. It discusses the nature of poverty in the country; provides details on the financial system, especially the financial organizations that serve the poor; and presents some initiatives to broaden access to finance.
This note summarizes some important learnings from the study of behavioral economics of which service organizations should be aware in order to enhance customers' emotional experiences and help direct their decision making?in an ethical manner.
Organizational design is one of the basic building blocks of control, because it reflects the division of resources and the assignment of responsibility throughout the firm. In particular, each organizational unit headed by a manager can be considered a responsibility center.
