Proxy (as a verb)

[Sepmre]

Hi,

Could anyone please tell me what "proxy" means in the sentence below?

Malmendier and Tate (2005a, b) proxy for a CEO’s overconfidence in two ways, one based on beliefs revealed from managerial share option exercise behaviours, and the second one based upon outsiders’ perception.

Thanks

 

[emsr2d2]

I believe it is a noun in that sentence. Mind you, I don't understand the entire sentence so I'm ready to be corrected!

 

[Skrej]

I think it is being used as a verb. I don't see anything else that could be a verb in that clause.

That being said, I've never heard 'proxy' used as a verb, and several different dictionaries I checked don't list it as a verb, so I'm inclined to think it's non-standard usage.

To address the OP's question - a proxy is of course a substitute or representative for another person or party. Used as a verb, I guess it would mean something like to speak or urge a particular viewpoint on behalf of an industry or organization.

But I'm just guessing at that from context. I honestly don't like it being used as a verb, seems nonstandard to me.

 

[Eckaslike]

I think, in this instance, it is being used as a specialist noun in calculations, in Maths, Finance and Economics. It seems mainly to be used in the forms "proxy" or "proxy for" = "represent":
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/proxy (Definition 2.).

Here it is being used in a sentence relating to the calculation of managerial optimism as determined from the results of the quoted papers. Apparently this calculation produces a value to proxy for (or represent) managerial optimism. The result is a dichotomy value of either one, to represent that they are confident, or zero, to say that they are not.

I have found it used in the relevant context to the OP's question in the following paper: (page 3. penultimate paragraph, use of "proxy for", and ultimate paragraph discussing the measuring of managerial optimism). I think it means, that if the value is one, they are more likely to buy shares in the company of which they are CEO):

http://apps.elsevier.es/watermark/c...s&lan=en&fichero=352v19n37a90363506pdf001.pdf

 

[Skrej]

I still can't see 'proxy' as anything other than a verb used in an independent clause. If it's being used as a noun, where's the verb in this clause?

Malmendier and Tate (2005a, b) proxy for a CEO’s overconfidence in two ways

The following clauses represent the two ways that Malmendier and Tate (the compound subject of this sentence) proxy (the verb) for a CEO's overconfidence (prepositional phrase which is the direct object of the sentence).

one based on beliefs revealed from managerial share option exercise behaviours, and the second one based upon outsiders’ perception.


Otherwise, we've just go a run-on sentence fragment.

Also, Sempre, please post the source of your quotation. That should have been addressed before we started answering the question.


Edit: I could also see 'proxy for' being a phrasal verb, and 'a CEO's overconfidence' being the direct object.

 

[Eckaslike]

I agree that, grammatically, it doesn't work in that sentence, even when you know what version of proxy they are using.