Fisher Research and Insights
Read More about America’s best midsize companies of 2025
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Forefront
America’s best midsize companies of 2025
Who better to provide context about top middle market companies that Doug Farren, the executive director of the National Center for the Middle Market. Farren explains the middle market's outsized influence on the U.S. economy, areas that are surging and challenges faced by middle market companies.
How have gas stations grown and affected our current way of life?
Brian Hipsher, senior lecturer in marketing and logistics, discusses the proliferation and impact of convenience stores such as Buc-ee's, Sheetz and Wawa.
One of the most attractive — and sometimes secretive — ways the wealthy donate money could soon get even more popular
A provision in President Trump's tax bill could make donor-advised funds (DAFs) an even more popular form of giving, but they're not without potential problems. Fisher Professor and Nonprofit Expert Brian Mittendorf and his colleague, Helen Flannery, an associate fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, found through a study that DAFs distribute grants to politically engaged organizations 1.7 times more than other funders.
April 2, 2021
CBC
CBC
The pandemic blurred our sense of time, and getting back to normal won't be easy, say experts
The COVID-19 pandemic has blurred many people's sense of time thanks to more than a year of acute and long-term stress and the home becoming a place of both work and leisure.
March 25, 2021
The Consumer Researcher
The Consumer Researcher
Author Interview: Evan Weingarten and Joe Goodman by The Consumer Researcher
It's been said experiences, not material purchases, provide consumers with greater happiness. Joe Goodman, chair of the Department of Marketing and Logistics, talks with The Consumer Researcher, a podcast produced by the Journal of Consumer Research, about his newest paper. The project explores the relevance of this "experiential advantage."
March 18, 2021
ThinkAdvisor
ThinkAdvisor
Some health insurers fudged medical spending numbers: researchers
About 14% of U.S. health insurers impacted their Affordable Care Act medical loss ratio rebate bills before 2016 by overestimating how much they spent on health care, according to a new accounting research by Associate Professor of Accounting Andy Van Buskirk and his colleagues.
March 17, 2021
MoneyGeek
MoneyGeek
The high toll of distracted driving and staying safe on the road
While many of us believe we are safe drivers, about eight people die in crashes involving a distracted driver every day in the United States. Phil Renaud, executive director of the the Risk Institute, provides insights into why distracted driving is such a dangerous problem and what can be done to prevent it.
March 16, 2021
Max M. Fisher College of Business
Max M. Fisher College of Business
Health insurers are over-reporting the cost of benefits — why it matters
The Affordable Care Act requires insurance companies to report the benefits they pay out to policyholders. Accounting research by Associate Professor Andrew Van Buskirk and his colleagues reveals just how off these reported estimates can be — and why.
March 16, 2021
Bloomberg Law
Bloomberg Law
Obamacare insurers inflate claims to reduce refunds, study says
Research by Associate Professor of Accounting Professor Andy Van Buskirk and his colleagues details how some Obamacare insurers have used estimating practices to short-change their consumers by hundreds of millions of dollars.
March 8, 2021
Harvard Business Review
Harvard Business Review
The middle market is stressed, but resilient
Middle-market companies aren’t unique in facing the many challenges brought on by the pandemic, but many of them have the resiliency to emerge from it successfully. Anil Makhija, dean and John W. Berry, Sr.
March 8, 2021
The Ohio State University
The Ohio State University
Strict environmental laws ‘push’ firms to pollute elsewhere
Research by Itzhak Ben-David, the Neil Klatskin Chair in Finance and Real Estate at Fisher, shows that tough environmental laws in one country can lead to "carbon leakage" to other nations. The findings underscore the importance of "worldwide collective action to combat climate change."
March 5, 2021
VoxEU
VoxEU
Exporting pollution
Anti-pollution laws penalize firms whose activities emit CO2. Itzhak Ben-David, the Neil Klatskin Chair in Finance and Real Estate, talk about his research that shows well-intentioned regulation may be causing multinationals to push polluting activities to poorer countries where regulation isn’t so strict.
March 3, 2021
The Academic Times
The Academic Times
Corporations facing strict environmental laws move pollution overseas
Research by Itzhak Ben-David, the Neil Klatskin Chair in Finance and Real Estate, and his colleagues shows how countries' strict environmental regulations factor into companies' decisions to locate facilities.
February 23, 2021
Investors' Chronicle
Investors' Chronicle
Further Reading: The drawbacks of thematic ETFs
Thematic ETFs are one of the big investment stories of the last year, with major success in areas such as clean energy. Yet niche investments come with risks, including the prospect of buying in at the top and structural complications, according to new research from Itzhak Ben-David, the Neil Klatskin Chair in Finance and Real Estate, and his colleagues.
February 12, 2021
Harvard Business Review
Harvard Business Review
Research: We’re losing touch with our networks
With personal and professional networks shrinking by as much as 16% during the pandemic, research is pointing to ways to help prevent us from withdrawing too much. A study by Tanya Menon, professor of management and human resources, says having a strong identity and core values can overcome the tendency to "turtle in."
February 11, 2021
WBNS-10TV
WBNS-10TV
'People are dying because of it': DeWine looks to strengthen Ohio's distracted driving laws
Phil Renaud, executive director of the Risk Institute, said the governor's new distracted driving measures are part of a larger strategy for eliminating the problem. Through research and building partnerships, The Risk Institute is addressing distracted driving through legislation, behavior, technology, and urban planning/infrastructure design.
February 5, 2021
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
New ETFs, forced to chase trends, shorten their own lives
A study by Itzhak Ben-David, the Neil Klatskin Chair in Finance and Real Estate, and Fisher PhD candidate Byung Wook Kim finds that many new ETFs invest in overvalued stocks, and then lag behind the broad market’s returns.
February 3, 2021
WBNS-10TV
WBNS-10TV
Working women dropping in droves due to pandemic
A new study with ties to Ohio State details just how many working women are sacrificing their own careers to help with childcare during the pandemic. Associate Professor of Management and Human Resources Tracy Dumas discusses the disproportionality as well as ways employers can help accommodate employees who are responsible for childcare.
January 28, 2021
NBC4
NBC4
Ohio State finance professor explains what’s happening with Robinhood and GameStop
Finance lecturer Matt Sheridan on the Robinhood and GameStop situation: "This is so crazy that if this was the plot of an episode of Showtime’s "Billions," people would think it’s too unrealistic." He explains the factors at play in the unique investing situation.
January 27, 2021
Max M. Fisher College of Business
Max M. Fisher College of Business
Latest Middle Market Indicator reveals a market poised for recovery
After a tumultuous year, a more optimistic outlook prevails for the middle market segment of the U.S. economy, according to the latest research from the National Center for the Middle Market.
January 26, 2021
Financial Times
Financial Times
Thematic ETFs can deliver significant losses, academics find
Research conducted by Itzhak Ben-David, the Neil Klatskin Chair in Finance and Real Estate, and his colleagues, shows average returns underperform the market by about four percentage points a year. The researchers argue that the huge growth in the ETF industry has intensified competition to the point that issuers are “competing for investors’ attention by emphasizing either the low price or the product’s unique features."
January 22, 2021
The Conversation
The Conversation
The NRA declares bankruptcy: 5 questions answered
While declaring bankruptcy, the gun group confusingly said it was in great financial shape. Brian Mittendorf, the Fisher Designated Professor in Accounting, and his colleagues answer questions about the organization's recently announced move.
January 21, 2021
Bloomberg
Bloomberg
Day-trader frenzy for trendy stocks is defying decades of losses
New research from Itzhak Ben-David, the Neil Klatskin Chair in Finance and Real Estate, doctoral student Byungwook Kim and their colleagues found that “Demand for specialized ETFs comes from unsophisticated investors who chase investment ideas that, in their view, will produce higher expected returns.” The result are overvalued stocks that actually lost as much as 5% per year on a risk-adjusted basis between 2000 and 2019.
January 18, 2021
The NonProfit Times
The NonProfit Times
NRA trying to change venue with bankruptcy filing
Brian Mittendorf, the Fisher Designated Professor of Accounting, tracks NRA finances and says signs from the NRA’s announcement indicate that the bankruptcy filing has little to do with restructuring debt but rather a legal strategy.
January 15, 2021
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The story behind the market’s hottest funds
Research from a pair of finance faculty members, including Itzhak Ben-David, the Neil Klatskin Chair in Finance and Real Estate, provides context to a closer look at the performance of specialized — or thematic — Exchange Trade Funds (ETFs).
January 15, 2021
The Ohio State University
The Ohio State University
Want a hot stock tip? Avoid this type of investment fund
Are specialized Exchange Trade Funds (ETFs) that are built around hot industries like cannabis, cybersecurity, and work-from-home businesses good ideas? Research from Itzhak Ben-David, the Neil Klatskin Chair in Finance and Real Estate, and PhD candidate Byungwook Kim provides a cautionary tale for investors.
January 14, 2021
Bloomberg
Bloomberg
Research affiliates quant warns of Bitcoin market manipulation
In 2017, Alex Pickard had made so much money from Bitcoin that he quit his job in finance and moved to Washington state to mine digital coins full time. Less than a year later, the venture had failed and he was back at quant firm Research Affiliates.
January 13, 2021
LexBlog
LexBlog
Shareholder lawsuits and CEO turnover decisions
In a recent study, Xue Wang, associate professor of accounting and management information systems, and her colleagues move the debate on shareholder lawsuits forward by studying the impact of shareholder litigation threats on CEOs’ employment.