Print VersionA Sampling of CIBER-Funded Research
Fall 2004 Spring 2005 Fall 2005 Spring 2006 Fall 2006 Spring 2007 Spring 2008
The Politics of Consumption/The Consumption of Politics: Perspectives on the Intersection of Consumer and Civic Culture Conference
Michelle Nelson, assistant professor of journalism, UW-Madison
“The Politics of Consumption/The Consumption of Politics: Perspectives on the Intersection of Consumer and Civic Culture” was a three-day conference bringing together scholars from the United States and Europe to discuss the growing use of marketing in politics and the consideration of political motives in consumption behaviors. The conference helped foster knowledge about the interrelationships of marketing, media and politics in a global context by providing opportunities to share perspectives and stimulate new theoretical developments. Critics traditionally argue that consumption attitudes and behavior lead people to become less politically or civically engaged. More recently, scholars believe that consumer culture and politics may not be oppositional but instead may be intrinsically linked, as the consumption associated with “lifestyle politics” increasingly functions as a form of civic participation. Further, more and more political campaigns are using sophisticated marketing techniques (e.g., narrowcasting, database marketing). This conference explored these perspectives by focusing on connections between electronic media and consumption; lifestyle politics, socially conscious consumption and community; politics of marketing and marketing of politics; political institutions, world-views and cross-cultural consumption; and youth culture, marketing and civic engagement.
Comparative Examination of U.S. and Foreign Stock Exchanges
Elizabeth Odders-White, associate professor of finance, UW-Madison
Well-functioning financial markets are critical to economic growth. They ensure that investors can manage their portfolios to suit their future needs, and that capital flows freely from investors to firms needing funds to implement their business plans. Like U.S. markets, European markets are changing rapidly in response to increased competition. Recent regulatory changes, including the so-called MiFID, strengthen connections among markets throughout Europe. Understanding securities markets in other countries is essential for investors, regulators and academics as the number of securities cross-listed in multiple countries grows and a truly global financial marketplace emerges. The Helsinki Stock Exchange is operated by OMX, an integrated securities marketplace that provides investors access to roughly 80 percent of all publicly traded Nordic and Baltic securities. Despite much interest, this degree of integration is not present currently in the United States. This project will examine the Helsinki Stock Exchange to determine the impact of the market structure on the type of information reflected in stock prices and the process by which that information is impounded into prices. Comparisons of information such as price discovery, trading activity and volatility between the Helsinki and U.S. stock exchanges have important implications for ongoing regulatory debates in the United States regarding the optimal degree of integration and transparency for financial markets.