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Stefan J. Reichelstein

Stefan J. Reichelstein
Professor, Accounting
Contact Info
StefanJ.Reichelstein
William R. Timken Professor of Accounting
Senior Fellow, Woods Institute for the Environment
Academic Area: 
Accounting
Additional Administrative Titles
Faculty Research Director, Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance
Director, Sustainable Energy Initiative

Research Statement

Stefan Reichelstein is known internationally for his research on the interface of management accounting and economics. Much of his work has addressed issues in cost- and profitability analysis, decentralization, internal pricing and performance measurement. His research projects have spanned analytical models, empirical work and field studies. Reichelstein’s papers have been published consistently in leading management and economic journals. Insights from his research have been applied by a range of corporations and government agencies. In recent years, Reichelstein has also studied the cost competitiveness of low-carbon energy solutions, with a particular focus on solar PV and carbon capture by fossile fuel power plants.

Bio

Stefan Reichelstein received his Ph.D. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in 1984. Prior to that, he completed his undergraduate studies in economics at the University of Bonn in Germany. Over the past 30 years, Reichelstein has served on the faculties of the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, the University of Vienna in Austria, and the Stanford Graduate School of Business. His teaching has spanned financial and managerial accounting courses offered to undergraduate, MBA, and doctoral students. In recent years, he has introduced new courses on Sustainability and Clean Energy at the Stanford Business School. Reichelstein’s research has been supported by the National Science Foundation and a range of private foundations; several of his papers have won “Best-Paper” awards. Reichelstein serves on the editorial boards of several journals; he is also currently an editor of the Review of Accounting Studies and Foundations and Trends in Accounting. Until 2010, he served as the Department Editor for Accounting at Management Science. Professor Reichelstein has been a consultant to select companies and non-profit organizations. He has received honorary doctorates from the Universities of Fribourg (2008) and Mannheim (2011). In 2007, Reichelstein was appointed a Honorar-Professor at the University of Vienna.

Academic Degrees

  • PhD, Northwestern University, 1984
  • MS, Northwestern University, 1980
  • Pre-Diploma, University of Bonn, Germany, 1978

Academic Appointments

  • At Stanford University from 1986-90 and since 2001
  • Professor, Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley, 1993-2001
  • Associate Professor, Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley, 1990-1993
  • Assistant – Associate Professor, Stanford GSB, 1986-1990
  • Assistant Professor, Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley, 1982-1986

Awards and Honors

  • Graduate School of Business Trust Faculty Fellow for 2014-2015

Publications

Journal Articles

Stephen Comello, Stefan J. Reichelstein. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. March 2016, Vol. 55, Issue March 2016, Pages 591–602.
Stephen Comello, Stefan J. Reichelstein. Energy Policy. November 10, 2014, Vol. 74, Pages 579 – 588.
Madhav V. Rajan, Maureen McNichols, Stefan J. Reichelstein. Review of Accounting Studies. February 4, 2014.
Stefan J. Reichelstein, Michael Yorston. Energy Policy. April 2013, Vol. 55, Pages 117-127.
Özge Islegen, Stefan J. Reichelstein. Management Science. January 2011, Vol. 57, Issue 1, Pages 21 – 39.
Stefan J. Reichelstein, Sunil Dutta. Review of Accounting. September 2010, Pages 442-478.
Stefan J. Reichelstein, Tim Baldenius. Journal of Accounting Research. March 2006, Vol. 44, Issue 1, Pages 1-28.
Tim Baldenius, Nahum D. Melumad, Stefan J. Reichelstein. The Accounting Review. July 2004, Vol. 79, Issue 3, Pages 591-615.

Working Papers

Enabling Mini-grid Development in Rural India | PDF
Stephen D. Comello, Stefan J. Reichelstein, Anshuman Sahoo, Tobias S. Schmidt, December 2015
Cost and Price Dynamics of Solar PV Modules | PDF
Stefan J. Reichelstein, Ansu Sahoo, November 12015
Capital Investments and Financial Ratios | PDF
Madhav V. Rajan, Stefan J. Reichelstein, Alexander Nezlobin, April 2014
Time of Use Pricing and the Levelized Cost of Intermittent Power Generation
Stefan J. Reichelstein, Ansu Sahoo, September 2013
Levelized Product Cost: Concept and Decision Relevance | PDF
Stefan J. Reichelstein, Anna Rohlfing-Bastian, August 2013
Dynamics of Rate-of-Return Regulation | PDF
Madhav V. Rajan, Stefan J. Reichelstein, Alexander Nezlobin2011
Stability Properties of the Rate-of-Return Regulation Process | PDF
Madhav V. Rajan, Stefan J. Reichelstein, Alexander Nezlobin2010
Carbon Capture by Fossil Fuel Power Plants: An Economic Analysis | PDF
Stefan J. Reichelstein, Ozge Islegen2009
Conservatism, Growth, and Return on Investment | PDF
Madhav V. Rajan, Stefan J. Reichelstein, Mark Soliman2006
Accrual Accounting for Performance Evaluation
Stefan J. Reichelstein, Sunil Dutta2005
External and Internal Pricing in Multidivisional Firms | PDF
Stefan J. Reichelstein, Tim Baldenius2003

Courses Taught

Degree Courses

2015-16

This course provides an introduction to the concepts and tools of managerial accounting. The first part of the course covers alternative costing methods and illustrates how the resulting cost information can be used to analyze the profitability...

This course is aimed at doctoral students in accounting and neighboring fields including economics, finance, political economics and operations management. The course seeks to provide an introduction to the role of accounting information in (i)...

This course examines trends and opportunities in the sustainable energy sector with a particular focus on low carbon energy. We examine these trends in the context of technological change, emerging business opportunities and the parameters set by...

2014-15

This course provides an introduction to the concepts and tools of managerial accounting. The first part of the course covers alternative costing methods and illustrates how the resulting cost information can be used to analyze the profitability...

The course will consist of three set of topics. The first part of the class will examine a set of applied econometric topics that are useful in empirical accounting research. Each of these topics will be illustrated using contemporary examples...

This course examines trends and opportunities in the sustainable energy sector with a particular focus on low carbon energy. We examine these trends in the context of technological change, emerging business opportunities and the parameters set by...

Stanford Case Studies

SolarCity: Rapid Innovation | SM232
Stefan Reichelstein, Davina Drabkin2015
Global Carbon Emissions: An Interactive Illustration | SM234
Stefan Reichelstein, Christos Makridis2014
KiOR - The Quest for Cellulosic Biofuels | E427
Stefan Reichelstein, Sara Rosenthal, Anshuman Sahoo2013
REI's Solar Energy Program | BE17
David Hoyt, Stefan Reichelstein2011
Transfer Pricing At Timken | A190
Nicole Bastian, Stefan Reichelstein2004

Conferences, Talks, and Speaking Engagements

Stanford University Affiliations

Stanford GSB

Greater Stanford University

Insights by Stanford Business

December 8, 2015
A Stanford scholar shows why the critics are wrong.
April 21, 2015
A change to a tax credit could kill the nascent industry.
December 15, 2014
Learn more about risk and other related topics.
October 17, 2014
Not as much as you might think, according to two scholars.
June 6, 2012
A conversation with Stefan Reichelstein on the economics of solar power.
October 1, 2009
A study says the financial impact of regulating coal-fired power plants under a cap-and-trade system will be much less than previously projected.
January 1, 2007
A group of scholars explore a term that "has only been vaguely understood."
October 1, 2004
A prize-winning paper presents a real-world method for transfer pricing that incorporates both management and tax considerations.
May 1, 2002
Researchers establish that residual income, or economic value added, is indeed an efficient performance metric.