Scott Ross Baker is an Associate Professor of Finance at the Kellogg School of Management. His research is concentrated in empirical finance and macroeconomics. He is currently engaged in a variety of research projects regarding household financial choices and the measurement of consumption, as well as research regarding the effects of policy uncertainty on financial markets and growth.

Scott joined the Finance Department at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management in July 2014. He was born and raised in San Diego, California and received B.A.’s in Economics and Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley in 2007. He received a Ph.D. in Economics from Stanford University in June 2014.

Empirical Macroeconomics, Household Finance , Economics of Uncertainty, Labor

• Ph.D., 2014, Economics, Stanford University
• M.A., 2011, Economics, Stanford University
• B.A., 2007, Economics, University of California, Berekely, University of California, Berkeley
• B.A., 2007, Political Science, University of California, Berkeley, University of California, Berkeley

• Associate Professor, Finance, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 2018-present
• Assistant Professor of Finance, Finance, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 2014-2018
• Visiting Scholar, Becker Friedman Institute, 2014-2014

• Data Scientist, Intuit, 2011-present

• Campbell Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution, 1 year
• Excellence in Refereeing, American Economic Review
• Donald P. Jacobs Scholar, 2013-2014
• Outstanding Teaching Award, Winter 2012-2013
• Bradley Research Fellowship, 2012-2013
• Addington Prize in Measurement, 2012
• Shultz Graduate Fellowship in Economic Policy, 2010
• Stanford Graduate Fellowship, 2008-2009
• Earl Rolph Prize and Economics Departmental Citation, 2007
• Bachelors of Arts with Highest Honors in Economics, University of California, Berkeley, 2007
• Bachelors of Arts with Highest Honors in Political Science, University of California, Berkeley

• Referee, Various, 2020

Finance, Entrepreneurial Finance

Field Study (FINC-498-0)
Field Studies include those opportunities outside of the regular curriculum in which a student is working with an outside company or non-profit organization to address a real-world business challenge for course credit under the oversight of a faculty member.

Entrepreneurial Finance and Venture Capital (FINC-445-0)
This course uses the case method, alongside selected lectures and guest speakers, to study entrepreneurial finance and venture capital decision focusing on the funding decisions of start-ups (fast growing entrepreneurial firms). The goal is to understand how entrepreneurs can raise funds and how venture capital partnerships choose, value, structure, fund, and manage their investments. The course covers all stages of the financing process, from startup to exit, structuring multi-staged financings, and valuing entrepreneurial ventures. In addition, the course provides insight into how venture capital partnerships work, why they take the forms they do, and where the crucial problems and opportunities for innovation exist. Consideration is given to the incentives faced by venture capital partnerships and the investors in those partnerships, and how to properly make financing decisions and negotiate contractual terms. The course emphasizes high growth start-ups searching for funding in the US and venture capital funding as opposed to more traditional entrepreneurial and family firms operating globally (see FINC945 for these topics) and to Leveraged Buyouts (see FINC-448 for LBOs). The course is aimed primarily at people who may be involved in an entrepreneurial venture at some point in their careers, those interested in pursuing venture capital careers, or those interested in asset management. The coursework will consist of case study write-ups as well as a take-home final exam.