Dr. Emre Unlu is the associate dean of faculty and research at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Business. He earned his Ph.D. as well as his M.S., M.A. and MBA from the University of Missouri. He joined the college in 2007, and his area of expertise is corporate finance. He has been a CFA® Charterholder since 2011. His teaching interests include theoretical and applied corporate finance.
His research interests focus on payout policy, executive compensation, international finance, analysts and debt contracting. Unlu has published in various academic journals including Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Accounting Research, Management Science, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Contemporary Accounting Research, Journal of Corporate Finance, Journal of Banking and Finance, Financial Analysts Journal, Stanford Journal of Law, Business and Finance, Financial Review, Journal of Business and Finance and Accounting. His work has been cited in the Wall Street Journal, Economist, New York Times, Newsweek and PBS.
Between 2017-24, Unlu served as the executive director of the Center for Executive and Professional Development. The center helps professionals acquire non-degree education in the areas of leadership, management, marketing, financial management, entrepreneurship, innovation and other business topics using the college's expertise. The center is also home to the Nebraska Tax Institute, which has been serving tax professionals for seven decades and reaches out to more than a thousand professionals every year in Nebraska and the surrounding states.
Published Work
[17] “Dividend Smoothing and Firm Valuation”, with Paul Brockman, Jan Hanousek and Jiri Tresl, 2020, Forthcoming at Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis.
[16] “The Effect of Unsuccessful Past Repurchases on Future Repurchasing Decisions” with Geoffrey Friesen and Pavel Jeutang, 2020, Forthcoming at Management Science.
[15] “Does Other Comprehensive Income Volatility Influence Credit Risk and Cost of Debt?”, with May Bao, Matthew Billet and David Smith, 2020, Contemporary Accounting Research 37, 457-484.
[14] “Corporate Lobbying, High-risk Investment and Agency Costs of Debt” with Brandon Lockhart, 2018, Journal of Corporate Finance 50, 128-157.
[13] “The Pattern in Securitization and Executive Compensation: Evidence and Regulatory Implications”, with Jonathan Lipson, Rachel Martin and Ella Mae Matsumura, 2015, Stanford Journal of Law Business & Finance 20:2.
[12] “Insider Trading Laws and Dividend Policy”, with Paul Brockman and Jiri Tresl, 2014, Journal of Corporate Finance 29,263-287.
[11] “An Analysis of the Relation between Share Repurchases and Accruals as Earnings Management Mechanisms”, with Kathleen Farrell and Jin Yu, 2014, at Journal of Corporate Finance 25, 1-15.
[10] “Why are Celebrities Added to Corporate Boards?” with Stephen Ferris, Kenneth Kim and Takeshi Nishikawa, 2011 International Review of Economics. Cited in The New York Times (2011), The Economist (2010), The Wall Street Journal (2010) and Newsweek (2010).
[9] “Earned/Contributed Capital, Dividend Policy and Disclosure Quality: An International Study”, with Paul Brockman, 2011 Journal of Banking and Finance 35, 1610-1625.
[8] “It Takes Two: The Incidence and Effectiveness of Shared Corporate Executive Leadership”, with Stephen Ferris and Matteo Arena, 2011 Financial Review 46, 385-412. Cited in the Wall Street Journal (2014) and Workforce Magazine (2011).
[7] “Executive Compensation and the Maturity Structure of Corporate Debt”, with Paul Brockman and Xiumin Martin, 2010 Journal of Finance 65, 1123-1161.
[6] “The More, the Merrier: The Frequency of Dividend Payment”, with Stephen Ferris and Gregory Noronha, 2009 Journal of Business, Finance and Accounting 37, 148-170.
[5] “The Predictive Content of Aggregate Analyst Recommendations”, with John Howe and Xuemin (Sterling) Yan, 2009, Journal of Accounting Research 47, 799-821.
[4] “The Effect of Analyst Coverage on Firm-Specific Volatility: Less Information or Less Noise?” with Maria Schutte, 2009, Financial Analyst Journal 65, 40-54. Received the Graham and Dodd Scroll Award for distinguished paper in Financial Analysts Journal during 2009.
[3] “Dividend Policy, Creditor Rights, and the Agency Cost of Debt”, with Paul Brockman, 2009, Journal of Financial Economics 92, 276-299.
[2] “An International Analysis of Dividend Payment Behavior”, with Stephen Ferris and Nilanjan Sen, 2009, Journal of Business, Finance and Accounting 36, 496-522.
[1] “IPO Underpricing Over Time: Evidence from UK”, with Stephen Ferris and Gregory Noronha, 2004 Applied Economics Letters, 11:1 Jan.
Research and Teaching Awards and Nominations
UNL College of Business Teaching Award Nomination, 2021
UNL College of Business Teaching Award Nomination, 2020
UNL College of Business Distance MBA Teaching Award Winner, 2019
Pinnacle Bank Faculty Award, 2017
UNL College of Business Distance MBA Teaching Award Winner, 2017
UNL College of Business Distance MBA Teaching Award Winner, 2014
UNL College of Business Distance MBA Teaching Award Winner, 2013
Seacrest Faculty Award Winner, College of Business, 2012
Best Paper Award Winner, Financial Review, 2012
UNL College of Business Distance MBA Teaching Award Winner, 2012
CBA Student Advisory Board Nomination for Exceptional Professor in the Department of Finance, 2011
UNL College of Business Best Paper Award Winner, 2011
UNL College of Business Distance MBA Teaching Award Winner, 2011
Graham and Dodd Scroll Award Winner for “Do Security Analysts Reduce Noise?” in Financial Analysts Journal, 2009
Course Development Grant from UNL Extended Education and Outreach, 2009
Certificate of Recognition for Contributions to Students, 2009
Pinnacle Bank Faculty Award Winner, 2009
Faculty Research Award Winner 2008-2009
Certificate of Recognition for Contributions to Students, 2008
Pinnacle Bank Faculty Award Winner, 2008
Layman Grant Recipient, 2007