Itzhak (Zahi) Ben-David

Professor Itzhak ("Zahi") Ben-David is the Neil Klatskin Chair in Finance and Real Estate at The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business. He serves as the Academic Director of the Ohio State University Center for Real Estate. He teaches real estate finance classes to undergraduate and MBA students.

Dr. Ben-David has published in top finance and economics journals, such as Quarterly Journal of Economics, Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, and Review of Financial Studies. His area of specialization is the real estate market, the financial markets, and behavioral finance. In his research on real estate he explores the drivers for the housing bubble and the aftermath of the financial crisis. His research on the financial markets focuses on the behavior and effects of institutions in the equity market. In behavioral finance, Dr. Ben-David writes about behavioral biases of managers, investors, and households.

• PhD, Finance, University of Chicago, Booth School of Business
• MBA, University of Chicago, Booth School of Business
• MS in Finance, London Business School
• MS in Industrial Engineering, Tel-Aviv University
• BS in Industrial Engineering, Tel-Aviv University
• BA in Accounting, Tel-Aviv University

Publications in Refereed Journals

• Baugh, Brian, Itzhak Ben-David, Hoonsuk Park, and Jonathan Parker (2021).   Asymmetric Consumption Smoothing, American Economic Review, 111(1), 192-230.
  • Media: TheStreet
• Beauchaine, Theodore P., Itzhak Ben-David, and Marieke Bos (2020).ADHD, Financial Distress, and Suicide in Adulthood: A Population Study.  Science Advances, 6(4).
• Ben-David, Itzhak, Francesco Franzoni, Rabih Moussawi, and John Sedunov (2021).  The Granular Nature of Large Institutional Investors, Management Science, 67(11). 
  • Media: TheStreet, Chief Investment Officer, VoxEU, ProMarket, Forbes, Financial Times, Seeking Alpha
• Ben-David, Itzhak, and Marieke Bos (2020).  Impulsive Consumption and Financial Wellbeing: Evidence from an Increase in the Availability of Alcohol, Review of Financial Studies, 34(5), 2607-2647.
• Agarwal, Sumit, Gene Amromin, Itzhak Ben-David, Souphala Chomsisengphet, and Douglas Evanoff (2020).  Financial Education versus Costly Counseling: How to Dissuade Borrowers from Choosing Risky Mortgages?, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 12 (1), 1–32, Lead Article.
  • Media: Chicago Sun-Times, New Republic, Columbus Dispatch
  • Awards:
    • Grant award from FDIC
    • Paolo Baffi Fellowship from Bocconi University
    • Award from Networks Financial Institute: Significant and innovative research on financial services (honorable mention award)
• Ben-David, Itzhak, Francesco Franzoni, and Rabih Moussawi (2019).  An Improved Method to Predict Assignment of Stocks into Russell Indexes, Journal of Finance: Replications and Corrigenda (web-only: https://doi.org/10.37214/jofweb.1/)
• Ben-David, Itzhak (2019).  High Leverage and Willingness to Pay: Evidence from the Residential Housing Market, Real Estate Economics, 47(3), 643–684.
• Agarwal, Sumit, Gene Amromin, Itzhak Ben-David, Souphala Chomsisengphet, and Yan Zhang (2019).  Holdup by Junior Claimholders: Evidence from the Mortgage Market, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 54(1), 247–274.
• Ben-David, Itzhak, Justin Birru, and Andrea Rossi (2019).   Industry Familiarity and Trading: Evidence from the Personal Portfolios of Industry Insiders, Journal of Financial Economics, 132, 49–75.
  • Media: Alpha Architect
• Agarwal, Sumit, Gene Amromin, Itzhak Ben-David, Souphala Chomsisengphet, and Douglas Evanoff (2019).    Mitigating Investor Losses due to Mortgage Defaults: Lessons from Global Financial Crisis, in Franklin Allen, Ester Faia, Michalis Haliassos, Katja Langenbucher, eds., Capital Markets Union and Beyond, MIT Press.
  • Media: Washington Post
• Ben-David, Itzhak, Francesco Franzoni, and Rabih Moussawi (2018).  Do ETFs Increase Volatility?, Journal of Finance, 73(6), 2471–2535, Lead Article.
  • Media: Financial Times, 24 Ore, Financial Times, Reuters, Financial News, PBS, Pensions&Investments, MarketWatch, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, The Hill, Bloomberg, TabbFORUM
  • SEC-NYU Discussion (mins 12:00-27:00)
  • Best Paper Award in 20^th Annual Multinational Finance Society Conference, Izmir Turkey
• Ben-David, Itzhak, Justin Birru, and Viktor Prokopenya (2018).   Uninformative Feedback and Risk Taking, Review of Finance, 22(6), 2009–2036.
• Agarwal, Sumit, Gene Amromin, Itzhak Ben-David, and Serdar Dinc (2018).  The Politics of Foreclosures, Journal of Finance, 73(6), 2677–2717.
  • Media: ProMarket, MarketWatch
• Agarwal, Sumit, and Itzhak Ben-David (2018).  Loan Prospecting and the Loss of Soft Information, Journal of Financial Economics, 129(3), 608–628.
  • Media: NAEIL (South Korean Newspaper) Google-translated
• Baugh, Brian, Itzhak Ben-David, and Hoonsuk Park (2018).  Can Taxes Shape an Industry? Evidence from the Implementation of the “Amazon Tax”, Journal of Finance, 73(4), 1819–1855.
  • Media: New York Times, BloombergView, Seattle Times, Business Insider, NPR, Bloomberg Businessweek, Boston Globe, MSN Money, Bloomberg TV (mins 4:16-5:50), Wall Street Journal, Vox, Motley Fool, Reuters, Forbes, Fox News, VoxEU, Washington Examiner, Wall Street Journal, Salon.com, NBER Digest, Chicago Tribune, Slate, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Wall Street Journal, Wall Street Pit
  • Grant award from NBER Household Finance
• Ben-David, Itzhak, Francesco Franzoni, and Rabih Moussawi (2017).  Exchange Traded Funds, Annual Review of Financial Economics, 9, 165–185.
• Ben-David, Itzhak, Ajay Palvia, and Chester Spatt (2017).   Banks’ Internal Capital Markets and Deposit Rates, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 52(5), 1797–1826.
  • Grant award from GARP Foundation
• Agarwal, Sumit, Gene Amromin, Itzhak Ben-David, Souphala Chomsisengphet, Tomasz Piskorski, and Amit Seru (2017).  Policy Intervention in Debt Renegotiation: Evidence from the Home Affordable Modification Program, Journal of Political Economy, 125(3), 654–712.
  • Media: Business Week, Wall Street Journal, ProPublica, CBS, MSN Money, Chicago Tribune, CNN Money, Stanford Business Insights
• Beauchaine, Theodore P., Itzhak Ben-David, and Aner Sela (2017).   Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Delay Discounting, and Risky Financial Behaviors: A Preliminary Analysis of Self-report Data, PLoS One , 12(5), e0176933.
  • Media: CardRates,com, OSU insights
• Agarwal, Sumit, Itzhak Ben-David, and Vincent Yao (2017).   Systematic Mistakes of Borrowers in the Mortgage Market and Lack of Financial Sophistication, Journal of Financial Economics, 123(1), 42–58.
• Agarwal, Sumit, Itzhak Ben-David, and Vincent Yao (2015).   Collateral Valuation and Institutional Pressures: Evidence from the Residential Real-Estate Market, Management Science, 61(9), 2220–2240.
• Ben-David, Itzhak, Michael Drake, and Darren Roulstone (2015).  Acquirer Valuation and Acquisition Decisions: Identifying Mispricing Using Short Interest, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 50(1–2), 1–32, Lead Article.
• Agarwal, Sumit, Gene Amromin, Itzhak Ben-David, Souphala Chomsisengphet, and Douglas Evanoff (2015).   Financial Literacy and Financial Planning: Evidence from India, Journal of Housing Economics, 27, 4–21.
  • Media: Wall Street Journal
• Agarwal, Sumit, Gene Amromin, Itzhak Ben-David, Souphala Chomsisengphet, and Douglas Evanoff (2014).   Predatory Lending and the Subprime Crisis, Journal of Financial Economics, 113, 29–52.
• Ben-David, Itzhak, John R. Graham, Campbell R. Harvey (2013).  Managerial Miscalibration, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 128(4), 1547–1584.
  • Presentation: Managerial Miscalibration
  • Media:
  • CFO.com, CFO.com, New York Times (Richard Thaler), Scientific American, Economico Valor, New Yorker, VoxEU, Wall Street Journal, McKinsey & Company
  • Featured in Daniel Kahneman’s book, Thinking, Fast and Slow, 2011. Discussed in Daniel Kahneman’s interview (mins 25–28), The Motley Fool, 28 June 2013
• Ben-David, Itzhak, Francesco Franzoni, Augustin Landier, and Rabih Moussawi (2013).  Do Hedge Funds Manipulate Stock Prices? Journal of Finance, 68(6), 2383–2434.
  • Media: Wall Street Journal, Wall Street Journal, Wall Street Journal, Consumer Affairs, Jornal de Negócios
• Ben-David, Itzhak, and David Hirshleifer (2012).  Are Investors Really Reluctant to Realize their Losses? Trading Responses to Past Returns and the Disposition Effect, Review of Financial Studies, 25(8), 2485–2532.
  • Media: CNBC, ETF.com, ETF.com
• Ben-David, Itzhak, Francesco Franzoni, and Rabih Moussawi (2012).   Hedge Fund Stock Trading during the Financial Crisis of 2007-2009, Review of Financial Studies, 25(1), 1–54, Lead Article.
• Agarwal, Sumit, Gene Amromin, Itzhak Ben-David, Souphala Chomsisengphet, and Douglas Evanoff (2011).   The Role of Securitization in Mortgage Renegotiation, Journal of Financial Economics, 102(3), 559–578.
• Ben-David, Itzhak (2011).  Financial Constraints and Inflated Home Prices during the Real-Estate Boom, American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 3(3), 55–87.
  • Media:
    • New York Times Magazine (Freakonomics), Freakonomics blog, Freakonomics followup blog, Huffington Post.
    • Featured in Luigi Zingales’ AFA Presidential Address “Does Finance Benefit Society” (mins 32-34), January 4, 2015, Zingales’ Book (Capitalism for the People), Zingales’ interview.
  • Awards:
    • Prize winner at BSI Gamma Foundation, Real Estate, 2008
    • Prize winner at CQA Academic Competition, 2008
• Agarwal, Sumit, Gene Amromin, Itzhak Ben-David, Souphala Chomsisengphet, and Douglas Evanoff (2011).   Financial Counseling, Financial Literacy, and Household Decision Making, in Mitchell, O., and A. Lusardi (eds.), Financial Literacy: Implications for Retirement Security and the Financial Marketplace, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
• Agarwal, Sumit, Gene Amromin, Itzhak Ben-David, Souphala Chomsisengphet, and Douglas Evanoff (2010).  Learning to Cope: Voluntary Financial Education Programs and the Housing Crisis, American Economic Review – Papers and Proceedings, 100(2), 495–500.
• Ben-David, Itzhak (2010).  Dividend Policy Decisions, in H. Kent Baker and John R. Nofsinger (eds.), Behavioral Finance (Robert W. Kolb Series in Finance), John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New Jersey.
• Ben-David, Itzhak, and Jim Schallheim (2007).   The Response to Customer Default: Captive Versus Non-captive Lessors, Journal of Equipment Lease Financing, 25(1), 1-6.
  • Awarded Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation research grant, 2006
• Ben-David, Itzhak (2005).   Company Performance and Leased Assets in Sale-and-Leaseback Transactions, Journal of Equipment Lease Financing, 23(2), 1-8.
  • Awarded Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation research grant, 2005
• Ben-David, Itzhak, and Tzvi Raz (2001).  An Integrated Approach for Risk Response Development in Project Planning, Journal of Operational Research Society, 52, 14-25.

• Ben-David, Itzhak, Justin Birru, and Andrea Rossi, The Performance of Hedge Fund Performance Fees
  • Media: Wall Street Journal, National Review, Wealth Professional, Financial Times, TheMarker, TEBI, Pro Market, Institutional Investor, Wealth Professional, Ohio State News, MarketWatch, Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, Fremont, Naked Capitalism
• Ben-David, Itzhak, Utpal Bhattacharya, and Stacey E. Jacobsen, Do Announcement Returns Contain Information About Value Creation?
• Agarwal, Sumit, Gene Amromin, Itzhak Ben-David, and Doug Evanoff, Loan Steering in Mortgage Markets
• Ben-David, Itzhak, and Darren Roulstone, Idiosyncratic Risk and Corporate Transactions
• Ben-David, Itzhak, Jiacui Li, Andrea Rossi, and Yang Song, What Do Mutual Fund Investors Really Care About?
  • Media: ETF.com, The CLS Blue Sky Blog, ETF.com, CityWire
• Ben-David, Itzhak, Pascal Towbin, Sebastian Weber, Expectations During the U.S. Housing Boom: Inferring Beliefs from Observables
• Ben-David, Itzhak, Yeejin Jang, Stefanie Kleimeier, and Michael Viehs, Exporting Pollution
  • Media: Harvard Business Review, Principles for Responsible Investment
• Harvard Business Review article was selected to be included in book: Climate Change: The Insights You Need from Harvard Business Review (HBR Insights Series)
• Ben-David, Itzhak, Ajay Palvia, and René Stulz, How Important Is Moral Hazard For Distressed Banks?
  • Media: Brookings
• Boutros, Michael, Itzhak Ben-David, John R. Graham, Campbell R. Harvey, and John W. Payne, The Persistence of Miscalibration
  • Media: Institutional Investor, Canadian Investment Review
• Ben-David, Itzhak, Giovanni Cerulli, Franco Fiordelisi, and David Marques-Ibanez, The Burden of Bank Supervision
• Ben-David, Itzhak, The Origin of Business Practices
• Baugh, Brian, Itzhak Ben-David, Isil Erel, Brian Grinnell, Choice-Based Pension Plans and Arbitrary Wealth Accumulation
• Fermand, Elyas, Camelia M. Kuhnen, Geng Li, and Itzhak Ben-David, Expectations Uncertainty and Household Economic Behavior

Articles and Other Working Papers

• Ben-David, Itzhak, Denys Glushkov, and Rabih Moussawi, Do Hedge Funds Really Avoid High Idiosyncratic Stocks?
• Ben-David, Itzhak, 2017, Richard Thaler and the Science of People, ProMarket, 11 October 2017
• Ben-David, Itzhak, and Yoad Shefi, 2004, The New Education System, Globes, 10 November 2004
• Ben-David, Itzhak, and Guy David, 2003, A Pyrrhic Victory – An Economic Analysis of the Corruption in the Likud Party, Globes, 1 January 2003
• Ben-David, Itzhak, Gadi Rabinowitz, and Tzvi Raz, Economic Optimization of Project Risk Management Efforts