Conference Details
The Department of Finance Ph.D. Alumni Conference brings together leading scholars and alumni for a full day of cutting-edge research across the frontiers of modern finance. From the mechanics of financial intermediation and credit markets to the evolving roles of technology, labor, and capital, the program spans the ideas shaping markets right now.
Across four focused sessions, participants will explore topics such as leveraged lending and private equity, financial frictions and fintech, geopolitical risk and labor productivity, natural disasters and asset pricing, and the changing dynamics of corporate and municipal bond markets. Papers from top universities and the Federal Reserve will be paired with expert discussants, creating a lively laboratory of debate, critique, and discovery.
Program
8:00-8:45 am
Breakfast & Registration
8:45-10:25 am
Session 1: Financial Intermediation
“What Do Lead Banks Learn from Leveraged Loan Investors?”
Authors: Max Bruche, Ralf Meisenzahl and David Xu (SMU)
Discussant: Natham Swem (Federal Board)
“Credit Without Proximity: Informational Frictions and Unequal Gains from Technology”
Authors: Erica Jiang (UCLA), Yeonjoon Lee and Quinn Maingi
Discussant: Malcolm Wardlaw (University of Georgia)
10:25-10:45 am
Break
10:45 am – 12:30 pm
Session 2: Special Topics
“Leverage Dynamics and Liquidity Management without Commitment”
Authors: Jangwoo Lee (CUHK) and Chao Ying
“Clustering in Natural Disaster Damages”
Authors: Jacob Kim-Sherman and Lee Seltzer (New York Fed)
“Do Buyouts Create Value? Measuring Value Added in Private Equity”
Authors: Reiner Braun, Mark Jansen (University of Utah), Victor Lyonnet, and Constantine Yannelis
“Facial Trustworthiness, Flows, and Performance: Evidence from Hedge Funds”
Authors: George Aragon, Yuxiang Jiang, Juha Joenväärä, Ruijie Liu, and Cristian Tiu (SUNY-Buffalo)
12:00-2:30 pm
Lunch
2:00-3:40 pm
Session 3: Finance & Labor Markets
“Foreign Geopolitical Risk and U.S. Firm Productivity: The Role of Immigrant Labor”
Authors: Danny Qin and Ben Zhang (USC)
Discussant: Carlos Parra (PUC Chile)
“Financial Technologies, Labor Markets, and Wage Inequality: Evidence from Instant Payment Systems”
Authors: Carlos Burga, Jacelly Cespedes (University of Minnesota), Carlos Parra and Bernardo Ricca
Discussant: Zack Liu (University of Houston)
3:40-3:50 pm
Break
3:50-5:30 pm
Session 4: Bond Markets
“The Growing Index Effect in the Corporate Bond Market”
Authors: Sean Shin, Alex Zhou and Qifei Zhu (NU Singapore)
Discussant: Jordan Nickerson (University of Washington)
“Rising Investor Sophistication and Declining Revenues in Municipal Bond Underwriting”
Authors: John Hund (University of Georgia), Christian Lundblad, Christos A. Makridis, and Giang Nguyen
Discussant: Gonzalo Maturana (Emory University)