Teaching
Current Courses
28620 - Crony Capitalism
The economic system prevailing in most of the world today differs greatly from the idealist version of free markets generally taught in economic classes. This course analyzes the role played by corporate governance, wealth inequality, regulation, the media, and the political process in general in producing these deviations. It will explain why crony capitalism prevails in most of the world and why it is becoming more entrenched also in the United States of America. The course, which requires only basic knowledge of economics, welcomes undergraduates.
35123 - The Fintech Revolution
Between the 11th and the 14th century three legal innovations changed the economic and financial history of the world: fiat money (11th century in China), double entry accounting (14th century in Italy), and limited liability corporations (11th century Italy). Accounting, banking, financing, and monetary policy as we know them today were all the result of these innovations. Blockchain, virtual currencies, and smart contracts promise to trigger an-equally important revolution in the 21st century. This course will walk the students through the challenges and the opportunities this technology offers, as well as the regulatory problem it raises. After a brief introduction on the technology itself, the course will focus on 1) the changes digital currencies will bring to monetary policy and financing; 2) the changes the blockchain technology will bring to accounting, trading, and investment banking; 3) the opportunities provided by peer-to-peer lending.
Previous Courses
35903 - Theory of Financial Decisions III
Teaching shared with Amir Sufi.
This course provides an empirical treatment of major topics in corporate finance and financial intermediation, including: capital structure, investment, bankruptcy, internal capital markets, the real effects of bank lending, financial frictions, and corporate finance implications for macroeconomics.
34101 - Entrepreneurial Finance and Private Equity
This course will use the case method to study entrepreneurial finance and, more broadly, private equity finance. The course is motivated by increases in both the supply of and demand for private equity. On the supply side, the amount of private equity under management -- by partnerships investing in venture capital, leveraged buyouts, distressed companies, real estate, etc. -- has increased from under $5 billion in 1980 to over $200 now. Private equity funding is likely to continue to be robust in the near future as pension funds and other institutions continue to diversify their portfolios. On the demand side, an increasing number of MBAs and others are interested in managing their own businesses. The supply and demand for funds are also growing outside of the U.S., albeit although they begin from a much smaller base.
The primary objective of the course is to provide an understanding of the concepts and institutions involved in entrepreneurial finance and private equity markets. To do this, I have purposely designed the course to be broad and comprehensive. We will explore private equity from a number of perspectives, beginning with the entrepreneur / issuer, moving to the private equity partnership, and finishing with investors in private equity partnerships.
35903 - Theory of Financial Decision Making III
Teaching shared with Douglas Diamond.
This course is a topic course intended for Ph.D. students or highly motivated and trained MBA students. For each of the topics covered I will provide a guide to the most recent literature both theoretical and empirical, as well as a discussion of the future opportunities for research in this area.