Monday, June 9, 2008

Back In The Research Saddle Again

What a relief to have the CFA exam behind me. So far today, I've worked on two projects and talked with two coauthors. They should make for interesting projects - both are using existing data in entirely new settings, and both seem to have the potential for ending up in good quality journals.

One project is with a former grad school classmate that I've wanted to do a paper with since we graduated. On this one, I get to play "data monkey" (it involves a LOT of data manipulation, and he'll be responsible for the initial writeup. On the other project, I get to use some stuff I worked on several years ago that never went anywhere, but with a new data set. The paper is with a new coauthor that I met at a recent conference. In this one, I'll end up doing some data work on the front end, and will probably end up doing more of the writing.

I have high hopes for both projects. They're both "core" finance (dividend policy and bankruptcy), but both papers approach the issues in what I think are novel ways. And to make it more fun, I get to work with two new data sets, and with two new coauthors. I'll have to be careful not to say too much more, since both are regular readers of the blog.

So, as far as I'm concerned, the summer research season is now officially open. So, as Elmer Fudd would say, "Be vewwy vewwy qwiet. I'm hunting data."

Time to close up shop for the day and go on a bike ride. Either that, or rent advertising space on my overly large posterior.