Richard T. Thakor
Contact
Education:
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Ph.D. 2016Financial Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
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M.S. 2015Management Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
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MSc 2008Finance and Economics, London School of Economics
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B.A. 2007Economics and Psychology, Washington University in St. Louis
Expertise:
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Financial Institutions
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Healthcare Finance
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R&D Investments
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Corporate Finance
Biography
Richard T. Thakor is an Associate Professor of Finance at the University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management. He is a Research Affiliate at the MIT Laboratory for Financial Engineering (LFE), and is a Research Affiliate at the WFA Center for Finance and Accounting Research (WFA-CFAR) at Washington University in St. Louis. He joined the finance department at the University of Minnesota in 2016 after earning his PhD in Financial Economics from MIT. He also holds an M.S. in Management Research from MIT, an MSc in Finance and Economics from the London School of Economics (LSE), and a B.A. (summa cum laude) in Economics and Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis. Prior to earning his PhD, he worked in investment management as a Derivatives Trading Analyst.
Professor Thakor does research in empirical and theoretical corporate finance in the areas of R&D and innovation, healthcare finance, financial institutions, and the effects of financial frictions on firm investments. He has published numerous research papers in leading journals in Finance, Economics, Management, and Healthcare.
Professor Thakor is a co-author (with Zvi Bodie and Robert C. Merton) of Principles of Finance, a textbook for introductory and follow-on Finance courses written for undergraduate and MBA audiences. He teaches courses at the undergraduate, MBA, Masters in Finance, PhD, and executive levels. He has won multiple teaching awards, including being named by Poets & Quants as one of the top 50 undergraduate business professors of 2024.
Selected Works & Activities
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Whole BooksPrinciples of Finance (with Zvi Bodie and Robert C. Merton)
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Journal ArticlesPaying off the Competition: Contracting, Market Power, and Innovation Incentives (with Xuelin Li and Andrew W. Lo). Review of Finance (forthcoming)
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Journal ArticlesTrust in Lending (with Robert C. Merton). The Review of Economics and Statistics (forthcoming)
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Journal ArticlesOptimal Financing Design for Drug Development Firms (with Andrew W. Lo). Research Policy (forthcoming)
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Journal ArticlesMerchants of Death: The Effect of Credit Supply Shocks on Hospital Outcomes (with Cyrus Aghamolla, Pinar Karaca-Mandic, and Xuelin Li). American Economic Review 114 (11), 3623-3668 (November 2024)
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Journal ArticlesLiquidity Windfalls and Reallocation: Evidence from Farming and Fracking. Management Science 69 (10), 6224-6250 (October 2023)
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Journal ArticlesTrust, Transparency, and Complexity (with Robert C. Merton). The Review of Financial Studies 36 (8), 3213-3256 (August 2023)
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Journal ArticlesFinancial Intermediation and the Funding of Biomedical Innovation: A Review (with Andrew W. Lo). Journal of Financial Intermediation 54 (April 2023)
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Journal ArticlesProposing An Innovative Bond To Increase Investments In Social Drivers Of Health Interventions In Medicaid Managed Care (with Pinar Karaca-Mandic, Sayeh Nikpay, Susanna Gibbons, David Haynes, and Rahul Koranne). Health Affairs 42 (3), 383-391 (March 2023)
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Journal ArticlesFinancing Biomedical Innovation (with Andrew W. Lo). Annual Review of Financial Economics 14, 231-270 (2022)
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Journal ArticlesSharing R&D Risk in Healthcare via FDA Hedges (with Adam Jørring, Andrew W. Lo, Tomas J. Philipson, and Manita Singh). The Review of Corporate Finance Studies 11 (4), 880-922 (November 2022)
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Journal ArticlesFind and Replace: R&D Investment Following the Erosion of Existing Products (with Joshua L. Krieger and Xuelin Li). Management Science 68 (9), 6355-7064 (September 2022)
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Journal ArticlesCompetition and R&D Financing: Evidence from the Biopharmaceutical Industry (with Andrew W. Lo). Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 57 (5), 1885-1928 (August, 2022)
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Journal ArticlesNo-fault Default, Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, and Financial Institutions (with Robert C. Merton). Journal of Banking and Finance 140 (July, 2022)
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Journal ArticlesDo Mandatory Disclosure Requirements for Private Firms Increase the Propensity of Going Public? (with Cyrus Aghamolla). Journal of Accounting Research 60 (3), 755-804 (June, 2022)
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Journal ArticlesIPO Peer Effects (with Cyrus Aghamolla). Journal of Financial Economics 144 (1), 206-226 (April, 2022)
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Journal ArticlesShort-termism, Managerial Talent, and Firm Value. The Review of Corporate Finance Studies 10 (3), 473-512 (September, 2021)
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Journal ArticlesThe Effect of Cash Injections: Evidence from the 1980s Farm Debt Crisis (with Nittai Bergman and Rajkamal Iyer). The Review of Financial Studies 33 (11), 5092-5130 (2020)
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Journal ArticlesCustomers and Investors: A Framework for Understanding the Evolution of Financial Institutions (with Robert C. Merton). Journal of Financial Intermediation 39 (July), 4-18 (2019)
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Journal ArticlesRisk and Reward in the Orphan Drug Industry (with Andrew W. Lo). The Journal of Portfolio Management 45(5), 30-45 (2019)
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Journal ArticlesJust How Good an Investment is the Biopharmaceutical Sector? (with Nicholas Anaya, Yuwei Zhang, Christian Vilanilam, Kien Wei Siah, Chi Heem Wong, and Andrew W. Lo). Nature Biotechnology 35 (12), 1149–1157 (2017)
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Working PapersAppropriated Growth (with Yuchen Chen, Xuelin Li, and Colin Ward)
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Working PapersWhen Private Equity Comes to Town: The Local Economic Consequences of Rising Healthcare Costs (with Cyrus Aghamolla and Jash Jain)
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Working PapersExplore or Exploit? Labor Market Frictions and the Innovation Choice
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Working PapersThe (Going) Public Option: Equity Market Financing in the Hospital Industry (with Cyrus Aghamolla and Jash Jain)
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Teaching:
- FINA 8812 Corporate Finance I (PhD)
- MSF 6223 Corporate and Entrepreneurial Finance (MSF)
- FINA 6511 Options for Corporate Finance (MBA)
- FINA 6111 Financing over a Firm's Lifecycle (MBA)
- FINA 4221 Principles of Corporate Finance (Undergraduate)
- MBA Essentials, Finance (Executive Education)
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