Subject: AP news
From: John Cochrane (jcochran@anderson.ucla.edu)
Date: Thu Feb 15 2001 - 17:42:48 EST
Dear Asset Pricing Program members:
You should be getting the invitation and program for the spring program
meeting today or tomorrow. The meeting will be here in Los Angeles on March
24. This is a bit of an expermient. As many of you know, the bureau really
likes to have its meetings in Boston, and Chicago is considered the Far
West. I hope those of you who like the idea of meetings in different places
will vote with your feet and join us. I think on balance that the bureau is
more worried about "nobody will go" than they are about "it will cost too
much."
Owen Lamont and Kent Daniel have agreed to organize the summer institute. I
changed the schedule to just two days after many discussions with the group
last summer. Most of us felt that the ratio of conference to time was too
low, and that the vision of the summer institute as a focus for
collaborative research and cross-pollination between groups was not working
well enough to justify a week-long conference. I am happy to hear opinions
pro or con on this, and adjust accordingly for 2002. (I'm happy to hear
opinions on any aspect of running the group.)
I had a nice talk with Martin Feldstein (NBER president) about our program
recently. I'd like to pass along a few reminders that came out of this meeting
1) One of the benefits of being an NBER member is issuing your working
papers in the yellow jacket series. You may not know that it is something
that the NBER values. Please send in your working papers!
2) If you haven't done so, consider applying for an NSF grant through the
NBER. I can attest that this is quite painless. You have to write up a few
pages on what you plan to do for the next few years, and the excellent
bureau staff does the rest. Most of the money for plane fares, hotels and
other expenses of our conferences come from grant overheads. The asset
pricing program is notorious for being a financial drag on the NBER, since
few of us even apply for NSF grants. I know that the NSF isn't all that hot
for asset pricing proposals, but if we at least try occasionally, it will
be good for the health of our group.
3) The bureau does keep track of conferences attended, presentations,
discussions, working papers issued, grants applied for, and so forth. There
is an annual review for each member. Thus there is a mild stick as well as
carrot -- if you don't do anything for a long time, eventually there is
some pressure to free up the slot for someone who will contribute more to
the group.
In a few weeks I get to nominate new members for our group. I am alas
limited to 3 new FRF (basically, nontenured) members each year, and one or
two RA (basically, tenured) new members. I have received a few nominations
already, and thanks to those who sent them in. There is still time for
additional nominations, and I especially need help identifying promising
younger people as FRFs. We are looking for the people who do the best work,
of course, but also whose work in line with the interests of the group, and
people who will contribute actively to the group. We don't want to just
hand out a decoration for people's vitas, we want active members. Send me
an email (john.cochrane@anderson.ucla.edu); a link to a vita would help a
lot. If your candidate doesn't get in this time, keep trying.
Thanks to all of you for your contributions to this group.
Sincerely
John H. Cochrane
Nominations
-----------------------------
John H. Cochrane
2000-2001 Academic year:
Anderson Graduate School of Management C416
UCLA
110 Westwood Plaza
Los Angeles CA 90095-1481
john.cochrane@anderson.ucla.edu
310 825 3309
web page:
http://gsbwww.uchicago.edu/fac/john.cochrane/research/Papers/
