FACULTY, CENTER FOR GRADUATE STUDIES

Dr. Johnston is the Chair of the Economics and Finance Department, for the Center for Graduate Studies at Baker College. I developed and continue to direct the MBA concentration in Finance. I developed and directed the MBA concentration in International Business, before it was dropped. I also helped to develop our DBA degree program, and currently teach part-time in that program. I've been teaching finance and economics courses on-line and on-ground in our MBA program since we first offered that program in 1995. On-ground, I’ve taught at many of our college campuses and at corporate sites. I was the Director of the certified financial planner (CFP) program on-line and taught some of those six finance courses, before we discontinued that certificate program. I previously taught at the University of Michigan at Flint, and at the University of Texas at Austin. In most years since 1986, I have participated in several academic conferences, presenting my research papers in economics and finance, reviewing and discussing other professors' research papers, and chairing sessions. My publications include a managerial economics textbook, three editions of the study guide for Abel and Bernanke’s Macroeconomics textbook, conference proceedings, and journal articles. For 2007-2010, I was a managing editor of the Journal of International Finance and Economics (JIFE), published by the International Academy of Business and Economics (IABE).

Ph.D - Economics - 1988, University of Texas - Austin

Redistribution of Estate Wealth: A Positive Stimulus to Economic Development
UMI: AAT 8901343

• Journal of International Finance and Economics (Fall, 2013)
  Will the New Banking Regulations Prevent the Next U.S. Financial Crisis?
  This paper examines new banking regulations in the U.S. and evaluates their effectiveness. The research method is primarily theoretical, using the fundamental principles of finance and economics, supported by the empirical evidence of major U.S. events in recent decades. The most important research finding is that the new banking regulations won’t prevent most future financial crises in the U.S. and their negative effects on other countries.

• Journal of International Business and Economics (December, 2011)
  Causes of the recent contraction in the U.S. credit card market
  This paper uses economic and financial principles to explain how changes in government regulations, corporate practices, and financial markets have collectively increased the cost and reduced the expected benefits of issuing and using credit cards. These inefficient changes in government policies and corporate practices demonstrate public sector failure and private sector failure, which are causing the credit card market to sharply contract. Unexpectedly high default rates have made credit cards unprofitable to issue; while high debt levels at high interest rates have made credit cards unaffordable to use by many consumers. This paper also examines projected future changes which could help revive the credit card market for consumers' use. The data, analysis, explanations, evaluations, and predictions provided by the author, are partly based on researched sources, including journal articles, government publications, and corporate news reports.

• Review of Business Research (Jan 2009; vol. 9; p115(9)
  Creative Destruction: Has Globalization Been Good for GM?
  This research paper examines both the positive and negative economic effects of globalization on General Motors Corporation, to evaluate whether or not globalization has been good for GM, since 1970. The author uses economic principles and analysis to identify important changes in global market conditions, explain how each of these changes helped or hurt GM, and evaluate how GM efficiently or inefficiently changed its management practices to adjust to these changing market conditions. The findings of this research paper will help most readers to better understand the economic benefits and costs of the ongoing globalization process for companies and other market participants, and highlights their need to efficiently adjust to changing market conditions in a dynamic global economy.

• Journal of the Academy of Finance (Summer/Fall, 2009)
  Fundamental Stock Investment Strategies for Bull and Bear Markets
  This research paper provides a stock investment model using both value and growth strategies for bull and bear markets. The model is based on fundamental principles of finance and can be efficiently used by individual investors and professional stock portfolio managers, in markets with high or low volatility, in the U.S. and internationally. The author initially developed the model primarily as a teaching tool, to demonstrate a profitable use of financial ratio analysis.

• International Academy of Business and Economics: 2013-2014
  Reviewer of papers submitted for presentation at the IABE conferences, and for academic research journals

• Academy of Finance Conference: 2013-2014
  Reviewer of papers submitted for presentation at the MBAA International Conference and for the Journal of Financial Issues

• Journal of International Finance and Economics (JIFE) Managing Editor: 2008-2010
  This is a double-blind peer-reviewed academic journal, indexed, and available in print and in online research databases.

Midwest Business Administration Association (MBAA)

• April 2008; Chicago, IL
  Managing a Portfolio of Common Stocks: Is It Important to Adjust for Changes in the Macroeconomic Data?
  This paper describes data on macroeconomic variables that are highlighted in the headline news for stock market performance, and evaluates whether stock investors can profitably use these data in making stock investment decisions

• March 2010; Chicago, IL
  Killing the Credit Card Market: Public Sector and Private Sector Failure
  This presentation focused on how changes in government regulations, corporate practices, and financial markets have collectively increased the cost and reduced the expected benefits of issuing and using credit cards. These inefficient changes in government policies and corporate practices demonstrate public sector failure and private sector failure, which are killing the credit card market. Currently, unexpectedly high default rates have made credit cards unprofitable to issue; while high debt levels at high interest rates have made credit cards unaffordable to use by many market participants. Projected future changes which could help revive the credit card market for consumers’ use were also examined.

• March 2012; Chicago, IL
  Social Security Retirement Income Program: Reform versus Privatize
  This paper compares recommended reforms to improve the Social Security retirement income program to the expected benefits of privatizing it. The research method is primarily theoretical, applying fundamental principles of finance and economics to analyze and evaluate each alternative. However, enough empirical data is also provided to test the author’s arguments and conclusions. The most important conclusion is that partial privatization would be better than the recommended reforms, but total privatization would be best financially and economically for society. However, given government policymaker’s lack of political will to privatize the program, it’s most likely that they will continue to reform it in ways to make it more financially sustainable. The paper primarily adds to the existing literature by providing a strong theoretical and empirical argument for privatizing the Social Security retirement income program, rather than continuing to reform it.

• March 2014; Chicago, IL
  Monetarist Critique of the Federal Reserve’s Keynesian Expansionary Monetary Policy in the 2008-2013 Period in Response to the Great Recession and Financial Crisis
  This paper uses the Monetarist model to critique the Federal Reserve’s use of a very expansionary monetary policy from 2008 to 2013 to help the U.S. economy recover from the 2007-2009 Great Recession and 2008-2009 financial crisis, while keeping the U.S. inflation rate low and stable. The paper also provides the Keynesian model’s response to each element of the Monetarist critique of this monetary policy. U.S. macroeconomic data is also researched and analyzed; it largely supports the Keynesian model and the Fed’s monetary policy.

International Academy of Business and Economics (IABE)

• October 2008; Las Vegas, NV
  Creative Destruction: Has Globalization Been Good for GM?
  This presentation analyzed how General Motors Corporation has been helped in some ways and hurt in other ways, in recent decades, by the globalization of markets and its efforts to adjust to these changing market conditions.

• October 2011; Las Vegas, NV
  Causes of the Recent Contraction in the U.S. Credit Market
  This paper uses economic and financial principles to explain how changes in government regulations, corporate practices, and financial markets have collectively increased the cost and reduced the expected benefits of issuing and using credit cards. These inefficient changes in government policies and corporate practices demonstrate public sector failure and private sector failure, which are causing the credit card market to sharply contract. Unexpectedly high default rates have made credit cards unprofitable to issue; while high debt levels at high interest rates have made credit cards unaffordable to use by many consumers. This paper also examines projected future changes which could help revive the credit card market for consumers' use. The data, analysis, explanations, evaluations, and predictions provided by the author, are partly based on researched sources, including journal articles, government publications, and corporate news reports.
  Full-text: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/Journal-International-Business-Economics/272739734.html

• October 2013; Las Vegas, NV
  Will the New Banking Regulations Prevent the Next U.S. Financial Crisis?
  This session reviews research examining new banking regulations in the U.S. and evaluates their effectiveness. The research method is primarily theoretical, using the fundamental principles of finance and economics, supported by the empirical evidence of major U.S. events in recent decades. The most important research finding is that the new banking regulations won’t prevent most future financial crises in the U.S. and their negative effects on other countries.