Monday, October 10, 2016
Economists from Finland and Britain win Nobel Economics Prize 2016
Finnish-born Bengt Holmstrom and British Oliver Hart won the Nobel Economics Prize on Monday for work that addresses a host of questions from how best to reward executives to whether schools should be privately owned.
Their findings on contract theory have implications in such areas as corporate governance, bankruptcy law and political constitutions, said the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which announced the 8 million Swedish crown ($928,000) prize.
"This theory has really been incredibly important, not just for economics, but also for other social sciences," said Per Stromberg, a member of the prize committee and professor at the Stockholm School of Economics. Contract theory considers, for example, whether managers should get paid bonuses or stock options, or whether teachers or healthcare workers should be paid fixed rates or by performance-based criteria.
Holmstrom, a 67-year-old professor of economics and management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said he had been friends with Hart for decades and was thrilled to be sharing the award with him. "He's my closest intellectual friend here and a personal friend also. And he has been important for my thinking and I hope I have been important for his thinking," he told Reuters Television at his home in Boston. Holmstrom has studied the setting of contracts for workers from teachers to corporate bosses. He concluded that in high-risk industries, pay should lean toward a fixed salary, while in more stable sectors pay should be more biased toward performance rewards.
Asked at a Cambridge, Massachusetts, news conference about the current high level of executive pay, Holmstrom said, “It is somehow demand and supply working its magic.” Asked at a Cambridge, Massachusetts, news conference about the current high level of executive pay, Holmstrom said, “It is somehow demand and supply working its magic.”
But he said he was concerned about the state of income distribution and the unhappiness of many workers about stagnant wages and incomes. “I’d much rather live in a society where this wasn’t happening,” he said. “But I’m not prepared to speak about the question about how to repair it” because it would mean tinkering with complex markets.
Hart, an economics professor at Harvard University, has focused on understanding which companies should merge and with what mix of financing, and when institutions such as schools, prisons and hospitals should be privately or publicly owned.
The nine academics who won Nobel prizes this year in medicine, physics, chemistry and economics included five Britons, a Frenchman, a Dutchman, a Japanese and a Finn.
Labels:
Finland,
Holstrom,
Nobel Prize 2016,
Oliver Hart,
Sweden
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Slush 2016 Music & Tech in Helsinki
I remember last year´s Slush event in Helsinki back then I
had the pleasure to meet Andreas Liffgarden and Rasheed
Richmond top tech and music influence's, we had a brief conversation last
year and we all came to the conclusion that it was only a matter of time in
which Tech and Music eventually would collide to create...Magic... it seems
that it might be happening soon at Slush
2016 a two-day music and technology conference in Helsinki.
Slush Helsinki 2016 welcomes 1,500 music and tech
influences to Helsinki, and most importantly, encourages honest discussion of
building the future of the music industry together. Slush wants to help
entrepreneurs in the music industry to bridge the gap between tech, music and
entrepreneurship. “Technology both interests and frightens music people, yet
many find that there are opportunities embedded in it. Since we have had
requests from both music and tech influencers for this type of a catered
program, it is easy, and not to mention relevant, to bring the discussion to
Slush,” says Nicolas Dolenc, President and Executive Producer at
Slush.Slush Music, brings together startups, innovative
technologies, new platforms and plenty of entrepreneurial artists.
“Entrepreneurs of the music industry are the center of the
event. Slush Music aims to be a place where you can discuss these things
together, find the best parts of both music and tech worlds and maybe discover
common ways to reach the future.”
Slush Music is a two-day music and technology conference, on
Nov 30–Dec 1 in Helsinki. Day 1 at Cable Factory offers Slush
Music attendees an exclusive platform to discuss the most striking topics in
the music industry, including direct investment in music, block chain
technology, tracking music ownership and live vs. VR streaming. On Day
2, the Slush Music crowd will blend in with the rest of Slush attendees at
the Exhibition and Convention Center of Helsinki, and they will find five stages
filled with tech experts sparking a dialogue on the future, and up to
15,000 people to connect with.
Among the announced speakers are Benji Rogers,
Founder & Chief Strategy Officer at PledgeMusic, Sam Lake,
Creative Director at Remedy Entertainment, Chris Thur, Co-founder
and CEO at Yousician, Andreas Liffgarden, Co-founder of Soundtrack
your Brand, Julie Knibbe, Head of Product Strategy at Deezer, and Samu
Haber, Artist at Sunrise Avenue and Manager at Comusic Ltd.
The main partner of Slush Music is Finnish Composers’
Copyright Society Teosto. Other announced partners include Warner Music Group,
Universal Music Group, Sony Music, Sennheiser, Radiot.fi, Nordic Music Export
Office, Music Finland, Genelec and Bauer Media.
Held during the darkest time of the
year, Slush has always been characterized by a unique energy and
enthusiasm, and Slush Music will not be an exception. The revolutionary event
will be a music festival without any musical showcases – the creativity, desire
to succeed and entrepreneurial aspects will sing for themselves, turning the
event into a phenomenon every music industry professional should make sure to
track. Make sure you attend this year's Event and I might find you there. You can register for the Event here: slush.org/music
Labels:
Andreas Liffgarden,
Helsinki,
Music,
Rasheed Richmond,
Slush 2016,
Tech
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