Research profile and representative publications

Here is a brief outline of my work in academic research, with pointers to representative projects: [T] points to a theory paper, [E] to an empirical analysis.

I contributed to several publications in top finance journals and more general-interest journals such as Management Science and PNAS. Most of my publications are in the literature on financial economics, but I also have done some work in other fields. A relatively recent research interest is decision theory [T].

In my core research, I analyze the wider economic effects ("real effects") of imperfections of the financial system (relative to the ideal of frictionless and complete opportunities for transactions required for the system's functionailty (Bodie and Merton, 1995)). This line of research started with the PhD thesis ("Dissertation") I wrote as a member of Josef Zechner's group at the University of Vienna. The thesis' single-authored paper [T] was the first contribution on anti-competitive effects of financiers internalizing competition between firms they finance. This issue is the subject of a growing literature on anti-competitive effects of common ownership. My paper stands as a contribution on the effects of common creditorship in a model where this arises endogenously.

Starting with the main paper [T/E] of my tenure dossier ("Habilitation", at the University of Vienna), I pursue a research agenda regarding the economic effects of weather risk and weather shocks. This line of research includes my most-cited paper, documenting real effects of financial distress and its resolution on the operating performance of small firms [E].

I currently build on my expertise regarding weather risk by leading a research group which supports the German "Met Office", Deutscher Wetterdienst. The group's broader research agenda is described here.