E. Scott Mayfield

Senior Lecturer of Business Administration

Scott Mayfield is Senior Lecturer of Business Administration in the Finance Area of the Harvard Business School. He currently teaches Corporate Financial Management in the second-year MBA program. He also teaches in a variety of executive education programs, including Valuation, Creating Value through Corporate Restructuring, and Finance for Senior Executives.

 

His current research investigates the dynamic nature of the market risk premium when markets are characterized by discrete changes in the level of risk and growth opportunities. His articles have been published in the Journal of Financial Economics, the Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, the Journal of Economics and Business, The Energy Journal, Economics Letters, and the Physical Review A.

Professor Mayfield received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor's degree in Economics with Highest Honors from Williams College. Prior to joining the HBS Faculty, Professor Mayfield was a Principal at Charles River Associates where he consulted to corporate clients on a variety of valuation issues.

 

Journal Articles

  1. Estimating the Market Risk Premium

    Keywords: Markets; Risk and Uncertainty;

    Citation:

    Mayfield, E. Scott. "Estimating the Market Risk Premium." Journal of Financial Economics 73, no. 3 (September 2004): 465โ€“496.
  2. Alternative Models of Uncertain Commodity Prices for Use with Modern Asset Pricing Methods

    This paper provides an introduction to alternative models of uncertain commodity prices. A model of commodity price movements is the engine around which any valuation methodology for commodity production projects is built, whether discounted cash flow (DCF) models or the recently developed modern asset pricing (MAP) methods. The accuracy of the valuation is in part dependent on the quality of the engine employed. This paper provides an overview of several basic commodity price models and explains the essential differences among them. We also show how futures prices can be used to discriminate among the models and to estimate better key parameters of the model chosen.

    Keywords: Asset Pricing; Goods and Commodities; Price; Risk and Uncertainty; Valuation; Production; Projects; Cash Flow;

    Citation:

    Baker, Malcolm, E. S. Mayfield, and John Parsons. "Alternative Models of Uncertain Commodity Prices for Use with Modern Asset Pricing Methods." Energy Journal 19, no. 1 (1998): 115โ€“148.
  3. Explaining the Term Structure of Interest Rates: A Panel Data Approach

    Keywords: Interest Rates; Data and Data Sets;

    Citation:

    Mayfield, E. S., and R. Murphy. "Explaining the Term Structure of Interest Rates: A Panel Data Approach." Journal of Economics and Business 48, no. 1 (February 1996): 11โ€“21.
  4. Interest Rate Parity and the Exchange Risk Premium

    Keywords: Interest Rates; Risk and Uncertainty;

    Citation:

    Mayfield, E. S., and R. Murphy. "Interest Rate Parity and the Exchange Risk Premium." Economics Letters (1993).
  5. On Determining the Dimension of Real-Time Stock Price Data

    Keywords: Price; Data and Data Sets; Stocks;

    Citation:

    Mayfield, E. S., and B. Mizrach. "On Determining the Dimension of Real-Time Stock Price Data." Journal of Business & Economic Statistics 10, no. 3 (July 1992).
  6. Nonparametric Estimation of the Correlation Exponent

    Citation:

    Mayfield, E. S., and B. Mizrach. "Nonparametric Estimation of the Correlation Exponent." Physical Review, A (1991).

Cases and Teaching Materials

  1. Creating the First Public Law Firm: The IPO of Slater & Gordon Limited, Spreadsheet Supplement

    Citation:

    Esty, Benjamin C., and Scott Mayfield. "Creating the First Public Law Firm: The IPO of Slater & Gordon Limited, Spreadsheet Supplement." Harvard Business School Spreadsheet Supplement 213-702, March 2013. (Revised from original October 2012 version.)
  2. L'Occitane en Provence

    Cosmetics company L'Occitane en Provence must decide if it is the right time to go public, and, if so, where to list. The firm could list on Euronext in Paris, close to the firm's headquarters in southern France, on one of the large exchanges in the U.S., or perhaps in Asia, where much of the firm's future growth is expected. The case provides opportunities to discuss the benefits and costs of going public, including valuation implications, and illustrates the choices faced by a prospective IPO firm that operates in a global setting.

    Keywords: Initial Public Offering; France;

    Citation:

    Becker, Bo, Daniela Beyersdorfer, Scott Mayfield, and Mayuka Yamazaki. "L'Occitane en Provence." Harvard Business School Case 212-051, November 2012. (Revised from original November 2011 version.)
  3. L'Occitane en Provence

    Citation:

    Becker, Bo, Daniela Beyersdorfer, Scott Mayfield, and Mayuka Yamazaki. "L'Occitane en Provence." Harvard Business School Spreadsheet Supplement 212-707, June 2012. (Revised from original March 2012 version.)
  4. Underwater Engineer at Intel Corporation

    Keywords: Semiconductor Industry;

    Citation:

    Mayfield, E. Scott. "Underwater Engineer at Intel Corporation." Harvard Business School Case 212-047, September 2012. (Revised from original November 2011 version.)
  5. NetFlix.com, Inc.

    The CEO of a successful Internet start-up must decide whether to delay the company's initial public offering following a significant decline in the NASDAQ market during the spring of 2000. The company's CFO is asked to reevaluate the company's projected cash flow needs in light of the new requirement that in order to go public, Internet companies must show positive cash flows within a 12-month horizon. While examining ways to extend the company's working capital, the CFO considers various changes to the company's existing business model, including changes in the company's contractual relationships with both its suppliers and its customers.

    Keywords: Business Model; Contracts; Initial Public Offering; Cash Flow; Service Delivery; Financial Strategy; Web Services Industry;

    Citation:

    Mayfield, E. Scott. "NetFlix.com, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 201-037, October 2006. (Revised from original September 2000 version.)
  6. Provident Life and Accident Insurance: The Acquisition of Paul Revere TN

    Teaching Note for (9-202-044).

    Keywords: Insurance Industry; Service Industry;

    Citation:

    Desai, Mihir A., E. Scott Mayfield, and Mark Veblen. "Provident Life and Accident Insurance: The Acquisition of Paul Revere TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 202-046, November 2001.
  7. NetFlix.com, Inc. TN

    Teaching Note for (9-201-037).

    Citation:

    Mayfield, E. Scott. "NetFlix.com, Inc. TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 202-058, October 2001.
  8. Netflix.com

    Citation:

    Mayfield, E. Scott. "Netflix.com." Harvard Business School Spreadsheet Supplement 201-705, October 2000.