David A. Matsa
David A Matsa

FINANCE
Assistant Professor of Finance

Print Overview
David Matsa is an Assistant Professor of Finance. Professor Matsa conducts research in the areas of corporate finance and industrial organization, focusing on connections between business and financial strategy. His recent research examines optimal corporate capital structure determination, concentrating on the role of strategic motivations and the impact on business investments.

Professor Matsa received his Ph.D. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Prior to graduate study, he worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Company.



Area of Expertise


Corporate Finance
Print Vita
Education
PhD, 2006, Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
BS, 2000, Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
BS, 2000, Mathematics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Academic Positions
Assistant Professor of Finance, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 2006-present

Grants and Awards
NYU Glucksman Award for the Best Paper in Finance, 2010-2011
CRA International Award for the Best Corporate Finance Paper at the Western Finance Association Meeting, 2009
Marshall Blume Prize in Financial Research, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, 2011

 
Print Research
Research Interests
Corporate finance, industrial organization, regulation

Articles
Agrawai, Ashwini and David A Matsa. Forthcoming. Labor Unemployment Risk and Corporate Financing Decisions. Journal of Financial Economics.
Matsa, David A and Amalia Miller. Forthcoming. A Female Style in Corporate Leadership? Evidence from Quotas. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics.
Matsa, David A. 2011. Competition and Product Quality in the Supermarket Industry. Quarterly Journal of Economics. 126(3): 1539-1591.
Gormley, Todd and David A Matsa. 2011. Growing Out of Trouble? Corporate Responses to Liability Risk. Review of Financial Studies . 24(8): 2781-2821.
Matsa, David A and Amalia Miller. 2011. Chipping Away at the Glass Ceiling: Gender Spillovers in Corporate Leadership. American Economic Review. 101(3): 635-639.
Matsa, David A. 2011. Running on Empty? Financial Leverage and Product Quality in the Supermarket Industry. American Economic Journal: Microeconomics. 3(1): 137-173.
Anderson, Michael and David A Matsa. 2011. Are Restaurants Really Supersizing America?. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics. 3(1): 152-188.
Matsa, David A. 2010. Capital Structure as a Strategic Variable: Evidence from Collective Bargaining. Journal of Finance. 65(3): 1197-1232.
Matsa, David A. 2007. Does Malpractice Liability Keep the Doctor Away? Evidence from Tort Reform Damage Caps. Journal of Legal Studies. 36(2): S143-S182.
Working Papers
Brown, Jennifer and David A Matsa. January 2013. Boarding a Sinking Ship? An Investigation of Job Applications to Distressed Firms.
Matsa, David ABrian Melzer and Joanne W. Hsu. November 2012. Unemployment Insurance and Consumer Credit.
Gormley, Todd, David A Matsa and Todd Milbourn. August 2012. CEO Compensation and Corporate Risk-Taking: Evidence from a Natural Experiment.
Matsa, David A and Todd Gormley. May 2012. Common Errors: How to (and Not to) Control for Unobserved Heterogeneity.
Matsa, David A and Amalia Miller. May 2012. Workforce Reductions at Women-Owned Businesses in the United States.
Book Chapters
Hosken, Daniel, David A Matsa and David Reiffen. 2001. "Pricing Dynamics of Multi-Product Retailers." In Advances in Applied Microeconomics, vol. 10, 129-153. London, UK: Elsevier.

 
Print Teaching
Teaching Interests
Corporate finance
Full-Time / Part-Time MBA
Finance II (FINC-441-0)

This course counts toward the following majors: Analytical Finance, Finance.

This course is the sequel to FINC-430. The primary objective is to examine the financial decisions of firms with regard to their capital budgeting decisions (which investments to make), dividend decisions and capital structure decisions (how to raise capital). We first examine these decisions in an idealized frictionless world in which the firm cannot change its value by altering its dividend or capital structure policy. We then explore the effect of frictions (e.g. taxes, bankruptcy costs, inefficient or uncompetitive financial markets, or self-interested managers) on the firm's financial decisions and how these decisions can affect a firm's value. Prerequisites: FINC-430. Corequisite: DECS-434 or equivalent. ACCT-430 and MECN-430 are recommended.