12 of Our Favorite Research Stories of 2023

A proposal by professor of political economy Bård Harstad uses international trade to create incentives to protect endangered rainforest.

A series of experiments with large language models finds that they are developing unexpected problem-solving skills. Is that cool or creepy?

A large study of Facebook users during the 2020 election finds that the social media giant’s algorithms did not significantly affect users’ political views.

A linguistic analysis of routine traffic stops reveals new clues about how some police stops escalate and what Black drivers’ hear in officers’ language.

Just after the collapse of SVB, finance professor Amit Seru released a study that found unrealized losses at many more U.S. banks. SVB, he said, was “not an outlier.”

Looking at statements on racial equity issued by U.S. corporations, professor of organizational behavior Sarah Soule finds that admitting to mistakes may improve a company’s reputation.

Retail investors often assume corporate bonds with the same rating are alike, overlooking wide variation in their financial health.

“ESG pay” does not have a positive impact on companies’ financial performance, but it’s also not the drag on profitability that detractors assume it is.

Rebecca Diamond, a professor of economics, finds that immigrant inventors are more productive than their U.S.-born counterparts.

A blockchain startup gave users $28 million in tokens to encourage them to get involved in its governance. Could a similar approach work for offline politics?

When India tried to replace most of its cash, consumers found clever ways to dodge “demonetization” — and avoid more than $1 billion in taxes.

From VC and ESG to China and crypto — these are some topics and trends that Stanford GSB finance professors have been watching closely.