Michael Weisbach

Michael S. Weisbach is the Ralph W. Kurtz Chair in Finance, as well as a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research. He has previously taught at the University of Illinois, the University of Chicago, the University of Rochester, and the University of Arizona. Professor Weisbach is a former editor of The Review of Financial Studies, one of the leading academic journals in finance, and has been an associate editor of five other academic journals. Professor Weisbach has broad-ranging research and teaching interests in finance and economics, with specialties in corporate finance, corporate governance, and private equity. He has 48 publications on these and related topics. His work has been cited over 49,000 times according to Google Scholar, and has been downloaded from SSRN.COM over 91,000 times.

• “Discount Rate Risk in Private Equity: Evidence from Secondary Market Transactions” (with Brian Boyer, Taylor D. Nadauld, and Keith P. Vorkink), The Journal of Finance, Volume 78 (April 2023),  pp. 835-885.  Winner of the 2022 Jack Treynor Prize from the Q-Group.
• “Buyouts: A Primer,” (with Tim Jenkinson and Hyeik Kim), to appear in Handbook of the Economics of Corporate Finance: Vol. 1, Private Equity and Entrepreneurial Finance, Edited by Espen Eckbo, Gordon Phillips, and Morten Sorensen.
• “Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions,” (with Yeejin Jang and Isil Erel), to appear in Handbook of Corporate Finance, edited by David Denis.
• “The Cash Flow Sensitivity of Cash: Replication, Extension and Robustness” (with Heitor Almedia and Murillo Campello), Critical Finance Review, forthcoming.
• “Making the Most of Life After Tenure,” Inside Higher Ed, November 15, 2022.
• The Economist’s Craft:  An Introduction to Research, Publishing, and Professional Development, Princeton University Press, November 2021. More information is on the book’s website:  The Economist’s Craft. There will be a Chinese and Turkish translations available in the near future.
• “In Praise of Collegiality,” Inside Higher Ed, November 5, 2021.
• “The Role of Financial Conditions in Portfolio Choices: The Case of Insurers” (with Shan Ge), Journal of Financial Economics, Vol. 142. (November 2021), pp. 803-830.
• “Selecting Directors Using Machine Learning” (with Léa H. Stern, Isil Erel, and Chenhao Tan), Review of Financial Studies, Vol. 34 (July 2021), pp. 3226-3264.
• “Price Risk and Liquidity Management:  Evidence from the Electricity Industry” (with Chen Lin and Thomas Schmid), Management Science, Vol. 67 (April, 2021), pp. 2519-2540.
• “Corporate Liquidity, Acquisitions, and Macroeconomic Conditions” (with Isil Erel, Yeejin Jang, and Bernadette A. Minton), Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Vol. 56 (March 2021), pp. 443-474.
• “The Corporate Finance of Multinational Firms” (with Isil Erel, and Yeejin Jang), in Multinational Corporations in a Changing Global Economy, edited by Fritz Foley, James Hines and David Wessel, Brookings, 2021, pp. 183-226.
• “The Economics of PIPEs” (with Jongha Lim and Michael W. Schwert), Journal of Financial Intermediation, Vol. 45 (January 2021), pp. 1-14.
• “Measuring Institutional Investors’ Skill at Making Private Equity Investments” (with Daniel R. Cavagnaro, Berk A. Sensoy, and Yingdi Wang), The Journal of Finance, Vol. 74, (December 2019), pp. 3089-3134.
• “The Liquidity Cost of Private Equity Investments:  Evidence from Secondary Market Transactions,” (with Taylor D. Nadauld, Berk A. Sensoy and Keith P. Vorkink) Journal of Financial Economics, Vol. 132 (June 2019), pp. 158-181.
• “Understanding Corporate Governance through Learning Models of Managerial Competence,” (with Benjamin E. Hermalin) Asia-Pacific Journal of Financial Studies, Vol. 48 (February 2019), pp. 7-29.
• “How Management Risk Affects Corporate Debt” (with Yihui Pan and Tracy Yue Wang) Review of Financial Studies, Vol. 31 (September 2018), pp. 3491-3531.
• “Could Machine Learning Help Companies Select Better Directors?” (with Isil Erel, Léa H. Stern and Chenhao Tan), Harvard Business Review, April 9, 2018.
• “The Handbook of the Economics of Corporate Governance” (coedited with Benjamin E. Hermalin), published in 2017 by Elsevier.  If you would like a copy, you can purchase one here: https://www.amazon.com/Handbook-Economics-Corporate-Governance-Handbooks/dp/0444635300/ref=mt_hardcover?_encoding=UTF8&me=
• Chapter 1 from the Handbook: “Introduction to the Study of Corporate Governance”
• Chapter 3 from the Handbook: “Assessing Managerial Ability: Implications for Corporate Governance”
• “CEO Investment Cycles” (with Yihui Pan and Tracy Yue Wang) Review of Financial Studies, Vol. 29 (November 2016), pp. 2955-2999.
• “Indirect Incentives of Hedge Fund Managers” (with Jongha Lim and Berk Sensoy), The Journal of Finance, Vol. 71 (April 2016), pp. 871-918.
• “Learning about CEO Ability and Stock Return Volatility” (with Yihui Pan and Tracy Yue Wang), Review of Financial Studies, Vol. 28 (June 2015), pp. 1623-1666.
• “Do Acquisitions Relieve Target Firms’ Financial Constraints?” (with Isil Erel and Yeejin Jang), The Journal of Finance, Vol. 70 (February 2015), pp. 289-328.
• “Corporate Liquidity Management: A Conceptual Framework and Survey” (with Heitor Almeida, Murillo Campello, and Igor Cunha) Annual Review of Financial Economics, Vol. 6 (2014), pp. 135-162.
• “Limited Partner Performance and the Maturing of the Private Equity Industry” (with Berk A. Sensoy and Yingdi Wang), Journal of Financial Economics, Vol. 112 (June 2014), pp. 320-343. Fama/DFA Prize for Best Paper in Capital Markets and Asset Pricing in Journal of Financial Economics, Second Prize, 2014.
• “Syndicated Loan Spreads and the Composition of the Syndicate,” (with Jongha Lim and Bernadette A. Minton), Journal of Financial Economics, Vol. 111 (January 2014), pp. 45-69.
• “Borrow Cheap, Buy High? The Determinants of Leverage and Pricing in Buyouts,” (with Ulf Axelson, Tim Jenkinson, and Per Strömberg), The Journal of Finance, Vol. 68 (December 2013), pp. 2223-2267. Lead Article. Brattle Group Prize for Best Paper in Corporate Finance in The Journal of Finance, Distinguished Paper, 2014.
• “What do Boards Really Do? Evidence from Minutes of Board Meetings,” (with Miriam Schwartz-Ziv), Journal of Financial Economics, Vol. 108 (May 2013), pp. 349-366.
• “Pay for Performance from Future Fund Flows: The Case of Private Equity,” (with Ji-Woong Chung, Berk A. Sensoy, and Léa H. Stern), Review of Financial Studies, Vol. 25 (November 2012), pp. 3259-3304. Wharton-WRDS Award for Best Paper on Empirical Finance at the 2011 Western Finance Association Meetings.
• “Did Securitization Affect the Cost of Corporate Debt?” (with Taylor D. Nadauld), Journal of Financial Economics, Vol. 105 (August 2012), pp. 332-352.
• “Determinants of Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions,” (with Isil Erel and Rose C. Liao), The Journal of Finance, Vol. 67 (June 2012), pp. 1045-1082.
• “Information Disclosure and Corporate Governance,” (with Benjamin E. Hermalin), The Journal of Finance, Vol. 67 (February 2012), pp. 195-233.
• “Macroeconomic Conditions and Capital Raising,” (with Isil Erel, Brandon Julio, and Woojin Kim), Review of Financial Studies, Vol. 25 (February 2012), pp. 341-376.
• “Corporate Financial and Investment Policies when Future Financing is not Frictionless,” (with Heitor Almeida and Murillo Campello), Journal of Corporate Finance, Vol. 17, (June 2011), pp. 675-693.
• “The State of Corporate Governance Research” (with Lucian A. Bebchuk). Review of Financial Studies, Vol. 23, (March 2010), pp. 939-961.
• “The Role of Boards of Directors in Corporate Governance: A Conceptual Framework & Survey” (with Renée Adams and Benjamin E. Hermalin), Journal of Economic Literature, Vol 48 (March 2010), pp. 58-107.
• “Why are Buyouts Levered? The Financial Structure of Private Equity Firms” (with Ulf Axelson and Per Strömberg), The Journal of Finance, Vol. 64 (August 2009), pp. 1549-1582. Brattle Group Prize for Best Paper in Corporate Finance in The Journal of Finance, First Prize, 2009.
• “Motivations for Public Equity Offers: An International Perspective” (with Woojin Kim), Journal of Financial Economics, Vol. 87, (February 2008), pp. 281-307.
• “Optimal Executive Compensation vs. Managerial Power: A Review of Lucian Bebchuk and Jesse Fried’s Pay without Performance: The Unfulfilled Promise of Executive Compensation”, Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. XLV (June 2007), pp. 420-429.
• “World Markets for Raising New Capital” (with Brian J. Henderson and Narasimhan Jegadeesh), Journal of Financial Economics, Vol. 82, (October 2006) pp. 63-101.
• “Horses and Rabbits? Trade-Off Theory and Optimal Capital Structure” (with Nengjiu Ju, Robert Parrino and Allen M. Poteshman), Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Vol. 40 (June 2005), pp. 259-281.
• “Measuring Investment Distortions When Risk-Averse Managers Decide Whether to Undertake Risky Projects” (with Robert Parrino and Allen M. Poteshman), Financial Management, Vol. 34, Issue 1 (Spring 2005) pp. 21-60.
• “Governance, Performance Objectives and Organizational Form: Evidence from Hospitals” (with Leslie Eldenburg, Benjamin E. Hermalin, and Marta Wosinska), Journal of Corporate Finance, Vol. 10, (September 2004) pp. 527-548.
• “The Cash Flow Sensitivity of Cash” (with Heitor Almeida and Murillo Campello), The Journal of Finance, Vol. 59, (August 2004), pp. 1777-1804. Brattle Prize nominee for 2004
• “Private Benefits and Cross-Listings in the United States” (with Evangelos Benos), Emerging Markets Review, Vol. 5 (June 2004), pp. 217-240.
• “The Economics of Has-Beens” (with Glenn MacDonald), Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 112, (February 2004), pp. S289-S310.
• “Boards of Directors as an Endogenously Determined Institution: A Survey of the Economic Literature” (with Benjamin E. Hermalin), Economic Policy Review, Vol. 9, Number 1, (April 2003) pp. 7-26. Reprinted in IJMR, The Icfaian Journal of Management Research, Vol. 3, Number 5 (May 2004) pp. 39-68.
• “Protection of Minority Shareholder Interests, Cross-Listings in the United States, and Subsequent Equity Offerings” (with William A. Reese, Jr.), Journal of Financial Economics, Vol. 66 (October, 2002), pp. 65-104. Reprinted in Governance: An International Perspective, edited by Diane Denis and John McConnell, Edward Elgar publishing, 2005.
• “Financial Flexibility and The Choice Between Dividends and Stock Repurchases” (with Murali Jagannathan and Clifford P. Stephens), Journal of Financial Economics, Vol. 57 (September 2000), pp. 355-384. Reprinted in Recent Developments in Corporate Finance, edited by Jay Ritter, Edward Elgar publishing, 2005.
• “Discussion of Gompers and Lerner’s ‘Corporate Venture Capital, Complementarities, and Success’,” in Concentrated Ownership, edited by Randall Morck, University of Chicago Press: Chicago, IL, 2000.
• “Measuring Investment Distortions Arising from Stockholder-Bondholder Conflicts,” (with Robert Parrino), Journal of Financial Economics, Vol. 53 (July, 1999), pp. 3-42. Jensen Prize for Best Paper in Corporate Finance and Organizations in Journal of Financial Economics, Second Prize 1999.
• “The Influence of Institutions on Corporate Governance through Private Negotiations: Evidence from TIAA-CREF” (with Willard T. Carleton and James M. Nelson), The Journal of Finance, Vol. 53 (August, 1998), pp. 1335-1362. Featured in The Economist, June 21, 1997.
• “Open-End Mutual Funds and Capital Gains Taxes” (with Michael J. Barclay and Neil D. Pearson), Journal of Financial Economics, Vol. 49 (July, 1998), pp. 3-43.
• “Endogenously Chosen Boards of Directors and Their Monitoring of the CEO” (with Benjamin E. Hermalin), American Economic Review, Vol. 88 (March, 1998), pp. 96-118. Reprinted in Governance, Directors and Boards, edited by Mahmoud Ezzamel, Edward Elgar Publishing: United Kingdom, 2005.
• “Actual Share Reacquisitions in Open-Market Repurchase Programs” (with Clifford P. Stephens), The Journal of Finance, Vol. 53 (February, 1998), pp. 313-334. Featured in Bloomberg Business News, June 26, 1996 and Forbes, April 21, 1997.
• “Securities Fraud Lawsuits: A Descriptive Study” (with Willard T. Carleton and Elliott J. Weiss), Arizona Law Review, Vol. 38 (Summer, 1996), pp. 491-511.
• “Institutional Investors and the Governance of Canadian Corporations: An American Perspective,” in Corporate Decision Making in Canada, ed. by R. Daniels and R. Morck, University of Calgary Press: Calgary, Alberta, 1995.
• “CEO Turnover and the Firm’s Investment Decisions,” Journal of Financial Economics, Vol. 37 (February, 1995) pp. 159-188. Featured in The Wall Street Journal, April 20, 1993 and Dec. 2, 1993.
• “Accounting Information and Internal Performance Evaluation: Evidence from Texas Banks” (with David W. Blackwell and James A. Brickley), Journal of Accounting and Economics, Vol. 17 (May, 1994), pp. 331-358.
• “Corporate Governance and Hostile Takeovers,” Journal of Accounting and Economics, Vol. 16 (January/April/July, 1993), pp. 199-208.
• “The Success of Acquisitions: Evidence from Divestitures” (with Steven N. Kaplan), The Journal of Finance, Vol. 47 (March, 1992), pp. 107-138: Smith-Breeden prize nominee for 1992.
• “The Effects of Board Composition and Direct Incentives on Firm Performance” (with Benjamin E. Hermalin), Financial Management, Vol. 20, No. 4 (Winter, 1991), pp. 101-112.
• “The Economic Effects of Franchise Termination Laws” (with James A. Brickley and Frederick H. Dark), The Journal of Law and Economics, Vol. 34 (April, 1991), pp. 101-132. Reprinted in Franchise Contracting and Organization, edited by Francine Lafontaine, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2005.
• “An Agency Perspective on Franchising” (with James A. Brickley and Frederick H. Dark), Financial Management, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Spring, 1991), pp. 27-35.
• “Reversions of Excess Pension Assets After Takeovers” (with Jeffrey Pontiff and Andrei Shleifer), The RAND Journal of Economics, Vol. 21, No. 4 (Winter, 1990), pp. 600-613.
• “The Determinants of Board Composition” (with Benjamin E. Hermalin), The RAND Journal of Economics, Vol. 19, No. 4 (Winter, 1988), pp. 589-606. Reprinted in Corporate Governance in the New Global Economy, edited by Kevin Keasey, Steve Thompson and Mike Wright, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2005.
• “Outside Directors and CEO Turnover” Journal of Financial Economics, Vol. 20, Nos. 1/2 (January/March, 1988), pp. 431-460. Reprinted in The Economics of Executive Compensation, edited by K. Hallock and K. Murphy, Edward Elgar Publishing, 1999, pp. 347-376.

• “Climate Change and Corporate Investments: Evidence from Planned Power Plants” (with Chen Lin and Thomas Schmid).