Areas of Expertise

• Finance and Innovation
• Corporate Finance
• Corporate Governance
• Political Economy and Finance
• Labor and Finance

Publications

“Labor and Corporate Governance: International Evidence from Restructuring Decisions” (with E. Han Kim, Journal of Finance, February 2009, 64:1)

“Do Hostile Takeovers Stifle Innovation? Evidence from Antitakeover Legislation and Corporate Patenting” (Journal of Finance, June 2013, 68:3)

“Arm's Length Financing and Innovation: Evidence from Publicly Traded Firms”, (Management Science, January 2016, 62:1)

“Corporate Governance and Payout Policy: Evidence from Master Limited Partnerships” (with Aaron Mandell, Journal of Corporate Finance, December 2018, Vol. 53, Pages 106-132)

“Can Corporate Income Tax Cuts Stimulate Innovation” (with Xiaoding Liu, lead article, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, August 2020, 55:5)

“The Bright Side of Political Uncertainty: The Case of R&D” (with Brandon Julio and Tiecheng Leng, lead article and Editors's Choice, Review of Financial Studies, October 2024, 37:10), featured in Fortune Magazine, March, 2025

“Crowding-out Innovation” (with Vikram Nanda), (forthcoming, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis)

“Strategic Cash Portfolio Management in the Face of Policy Uncertainty: Evidence from U.S. Firms” (with Gabriele Lattanzio and Bektemir Ysmailov, forthcoming, Journal of Corporate Finance)

Working papers

“Salary History Bans and Corporate Innovation” (Revise and Resubmit, 5th round, Journal of Corporate Finance, with Lin Deng)

“Going Extreme: The Impact of Political Polarization on Corporate Investment” (with Brandon Julio)

“Patent Litigation Peer Externalities: Evidence from the Quasi-random Assignment of Patent Examiners” (with Vikram Nanda and Yabo Zhao)

“Rival Cash Balances and Corporate Innovation” (with Hoang Nam Le)

“Workplace Gun Rights and Corporate Innovation” (with Lin Deng and Yu He)

“Shareholder Power and Corporate Leases”, (with Lin Deng)

“Corporate Taxation and Merger Activities: Evidence from State Tax Changes” (with Vineet Bhagwat and Xiaoding Liu)

“Governor Political Affiliation and Corporate Innovation” (with Kateryna Holland and Esther Im)

“The Rise of Tax-Exempt Ownership and Corporate Financial Policy” (with Brandon Julio and Jane Danyu-Zhang)

“Dual-class Ownership Structure, the Lifecycle of Firms and Corporate Innovation”

“Corporate Governance, Non-financial Stakeholders and Innovation: Evidence from a Natural Experiment”

“Corporate Governance and the Cash ‘Puzzle’” (with Bektemir Ysmailov)

“Superstar CEOs and Innovation” (with Keun Jae Park)

Courses at the College of Business Administration, University of Nebraska, Lincoln (Fall 2015-present)

• FINA 461 (Advanced Corporate Finance for junior and senior undergraduate students)
• FINA 999 (Doctoral Seminar in Finance)
• GRBA 812 (Managerial Economics of online MBA and M.S. students)

Courses at the Lundquist College of Business, University of Oregon (2006-2015)

• FIN 311 and FIN 311H (Economic Foundations of Competitive Analysis, undergraduate core)
• FIN 613 (Managerial Economics, MBA)
• FIN 673 (Problems in Finance, MBA)
• FIN 607 (Seminar in Current Research in Finance, PhD)

Academic Service

• Founder and co-organizer: Silicon Prairie Finance Seminars and Conference, College of Business, University of Nebraska, Lincoln (Summer 2020, Summer 2021, Spring 2022-2026)
• Academic Rights and Responsibilities Panel (August 2026 – August 2029)
• Ph.D. program director, Finance Department, College of Business, University of Nebraska, Lincoln (July 2020 – October 2025)
• Recruiting committee Chair, Finance department, College of Business, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, October – December 2024
• Ph.D. Committee Member, College of Business, University of Nebraska, Lincoln (July 2020 – October 2025)
• Academic Rights and Responsibilities Panel (October 2021 – August 2022)
• Strategic Task Force Committee Member, College of Business, University of Nebraska, Lincoln (Spring 2021)
• General Committee Chair, College of Business, University of Nebraska, Lincoln (August 2020 – June 2021)
• General Committee Member, College of Business, University of Nebraska, Lincoln (August 2019 – June 2022)
• Executive Committee Member, College of Business, University of Nebraska, Lincoln (August 2020 – June 2021)
• Ph.D. Dissertation Chair and Committee Member, College of Business, University of Nebraska - Lincoln (2017-present): placed all 5 Ph.D. students I chaired at academic institutions
• Ph.D. Dissertation Chair and Committee Member, Lundquist College of Business, University of Oregon (2012-2015), Placed the student I chaired at an academic institution
• Ph.D. program coordinator, Finance Department, Lundquist College of Business, University of Oregon (September 2011- July 2012)
• MBA Committee (2009), Accounting Recruiting Committee (2009), Ph.D. Finance Recruiting Committee (2010, 2011), Finance Recruiting Committee (2015-2016)
• Seminar Engaging China - accompanied MBA students in their annual experience in Beijing and Shanghai, China (September 2010)
• Co-Organizer: Innovation, entrepreneurship, and sustainability conference with Rosemarie Ziedonis, Lundquist College of Business, University of Oregon (June 2011, 2012)
• Organized external speaker seminar series in the Finance department, Lundquist College of Business, University of Oregon (2008, 2009, 2011, 2012)
• Ad hoc referee: Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Management Science, Journal of Political Economy – Micro, Review of Economic Studies, Review of Finance, Journal of Corporate Finance, Journal of Banking and Finance, Journal of Financial Intermediation, Journal of Empirical Finance, Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Financial Management
• Track Chair for Financial Management Association Annual Meeting (2022 and 2026)
• Reviewer for Western Finance Association (2026), Midwest Finance Association (2014-2026) and European Finance Association Annual Meetings (2012-2026)
• Discussant and session chair for Financial Management Association, Midwest Finance Association, Financial Management Association – Europe (, and European Finance Association Annual Meetings

Honors and awards

• Online Graduate Programs Teaching Award, GRBA 812, College of Business, Online MBA Program, University of Nebraska – Lincoln (May 2023)
• John and Emiko Kageyama Research Fund Award, University of Oregon (September 2014)
• Lundquist College of Business Summer Research Award, University of Oregon (Summer 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014)
• Securities Analysis Center Summer Research Award, Lundquist College of Business, University of Oregon (Summer 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014)
• Allan Gilmour Fellowship in Finance as an outstanding student in the Finance Department, Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan (January 2005)
• Charles H. Gessner Fellowship for an outstanding student from a developing nation, Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan (January 2005)
• Two Mitsui Life Grants for research in Emerging Market Countries, Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan (May 2003, October 2004)
• Two William Davidson Institute (WDI) Travel Grants for research in Emerging Market Countries, Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan (April 2003, April 2005)
• Mitsui Life Fellowship for the best incoming student in the Finance Department, Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan (2000-2001)