2010 Annual Report • SMU Cox O'Neil Center for Global Markets and Freedom

"Looking for the 'New' New World," the O'Neil Center's second annual report essay, started with a relatively simple question: Why are so many people moving from states like California to places like Texas?

W. Michael Cox, O'Neil Center director, and writer Richard Alm looked at a range of possible reasons - from crime rates and unemployment to tax rates and schools. When all was said and done, they found that just six factors drive most net migration within the United States, all but one of them related to differences in state policies.

open 2010 O'Neil Center Annual Report>>

FACULTY AND ACADEMIC Excellence

On Being a Brand:
Shout It Out or Be Subtle?

Consumers often spend lavishly to communicate wealth and status to those around them.  Explicit branding through recognizable and obvious logos aids this goal. The idea of conspicuous consumption refers to consumers spending on products that display visible markers of status. Since consumers are motivated to express social status, it follows that higher priced items should have more explicit branding and low-end products should have fewer explicit markers. Right? Not exactly.

In new research, Assistant Marketing Professor Morgan Ward of SMU Cox and co-author Jonah Berger reveal a new twist in the conventional wisdom surrounding our product iconography and branding.

more >>

COX at Work

Honors Marketing Practicum class, Cox Alumni Association and Cox BBA Career Services team up to present Cheers to Careers

April 13 from 4 to 6 PM.
Ernst & Young Gallery

Cheers to Careers is designed to allow Cox juniors to network with Cox alumni, BBA career services representatives, faculty, and newly
employed students. The event will also incorporate information from BBA Career Services and the Cox Alumni Association. Dean Niemi will speak in addition to greeting students. Cheers to Careers will also feature food and raffle prizes.

more >>