Stefan J. Reichelstein

Stefan J. Reichelstein
Professor Emeritus, Accounting
Contact Info
StefanJ.Reichelstein
Senior Fellow, Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford
Senior Fellow, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research
Senior Fellow, Precourt Institute for Energy
Academic Area: 
Accounting

Additional Administrative Titles

Faculty Research Director, Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance
Director, Energy Business Innovations (EBI)

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

  • Visiting Professor, Department of Business Administration, University of Mannheim, 2016-present
  • Professor, Stanford GSB, 2002-present
  • 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 D. Comello, Stefan J. Reichelstein. Nature Communications. May 2019, Vol. 10, Issue 1, Pages 2038.
Stefan J. Reichelstein, Gunther Glenk. Nature Energy. February 25, 2019, Vol. 4, Pages 216-222.
Stephen Comello, Stefan J. Reichelstein, Anshuman Sahoo. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. September 2018, Vol. 92, Pages 744-756.
Peter C. Psarras, Stephen Comello, Praveen Bains, Panunya Charoensawadpong, Stefan J. Reichelstein, Jennifer Wilcox. Environment Science Technology. August 2017, Vol. 51, Issue 19, Pages 11440-11449.
Stefan J. Reichelstein, Anshuman Sahoo. Contemporary Accounting Research. May 31, 2017.
Madhav V. Rajan, Stefan J. Reichelstein, Alexander Nezlobin. Review of Accounting Studies. June 2016, Vol. 21, Issue 2, Pages 438-472.
Stephen Comello, Stefan J. Reichelstein. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. March 2016, Vol. 55, Issue March 2016, Pages 591–602.
Karim Farhat, Stefan J. Reichelstein. Applied Energy. February 15, 2016, Vol. 164, Pages 857–870.
Stefan J. Reichelstein, Anna Rohlfing-Bastian. The Accounting Review. July 2015, Vol. 90, Issue 4, Pages 1653-1682.
Anshuman Sahoo, Stefan J. Reichelstein. Stanford Energy Journal. May 5, 2015, Issue 6.
Stefan J. Reichelstein, Anshuman Sahoo. Energy Economics. March 2015, Vol. 48, Pages 97–108.
Madhav V. Rajan, Maureen McNichols, Stefan J. Reichelstein. Review of Accounting Studies. December 2014, Vol. 19, Issue 4, Pages 1393-1435.
Stephen Comello, Stefan J. Reichelstein. Energy Policy. November 10, 2014, Vol. 74, Pages 579 – 588.
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

Carbon Capture and Utilization in the Industrial Sector | PDF
Peter C. Psarras, Stephen Comello, Praveen Bains, Panunya Charoensawadpong, Stefan J. Reichelstein, Jennifer Wilcox, August 2017
Cost Competitiveness of Residential Solar PV: The Impact of Net Metering Restrictions | PDF
Stephen D. Comello, Stefan J. Reichelstein, September 2016
Enabling Mini-grid Development in Rural India | PDF
Stephen D. Comello, Stefan J. Reichelstein, Anshuman Sahoo, Tobias S. Schmidt, July 2016
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
The Diversification Discount: Fundamentals or Accounting Rules?
Maureen McNichols, Moritz Hiemann, Stefan J. Reichelstein, 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

Teaching

Degree Courses

2019-20

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 business models and opportunities related to clean energy, specifically to low-carbon energy. We examine emerging trends for this sector in the context of technological change, business opportunities and the parameters set by...

2018-19

This course develops tools from information economics to study the strategic interactions between different agents inside a firm. Common to these studies is that agents acquire private information that is valuable to other parties. The range of...

This course examines business models and opportunities related to clean energy, specifically to low-carbon energy. We examine emerging trends for this sector in the context of technological change, business opportunities and the parameters set by...

2017-18

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 business models and opportunities related to clean energy, specifically to low-carbon energy. We examine emerging trends for this sector in the context of technological change, business opportunities and the parameters set by...

Executive Education & Other Non-Degree Programs

Stanford Case Studies

Restructuring a Utility: RWE's Carve-out of innogy | SM278
Stefan Reichelstein, Donna Bebb, Stephen Comello2017
ENGIE: Strategic Transformation of an Energy Conglomerate | SM256
Stefan Reichelstein, Debra Schifrin2016
Sustainable Investing at Generation Investment Management | SM257
Stefan Reichelstein, Donna Bebb2016
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
Environmental Sustainability at REI | SM196
David Hoyt, Stefan Reichelstein2011
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

July 16, 2019
A new study finds that hydrogen could address a major drawback of solar and wind power.
October 17, 2016
Stanford researchers weigh in on a contentious debate around changes to an important renewable energy incentive.
August 30, 2016
Stanford GSB professors suggest articles and books related to the concept of “equity.”
April 6, 2016
A change in the law could extend electricity to millions of people.
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.