Bruce C. Petersen
Harvard University, Ph.D., November 1981.
Dissertation: “Capital Market Imperfections and Imperfect Competition”
Northern Michigan University, B.S., June 1976.
R&D investment is arguably particularly prone to capital market imperfections and financing constraints because of lack of collateral and asymmetric information problems. Surprisingly, however, there is relatively little empirical work on this question. The central questions of my research include: i) are financing constraints quantitatively important for R&D and innovation? ii) around the world, what types of financial development work best for funding R&D and the growth of the high-tech sector? iii) how do firms protect R&D investment when confronted with a financial crisis?
New line of research on insights economics provides for evolution of archaic humans.
Professor of Economics, Washington University, 1996-
Associate Professor, Washington University, 1990 – 1996.
Senior Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, 1988-1990.
Assistant Professor, Northwestern University, 1981-88.
Consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, 1987-88.
Visiting Scholar, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, 1986-87.
Consultant to the Department of Energy, 1978-80.
Primary Advisor (Initial Position)
2011 Aleksandr Yankelevich (F.C.C.)
2005 Morgan Rose (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency)
2004 Jamie Brown (Assistant professor, Montana State University)
2004 David Switzer (Assistant professor, Northern Michigan University)
2001 Michael Orlando (Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas)
2000 Jian Sun (Providian Financial, CA)
1996 Sami Al-Suwailem (Economist, Al Rajhi Corporation)
1994 Inhak Hwang (Economist, Samsung Research Institute)
1994 Chi-min Pan (Associate professor, National Chung Cheng Univ.)
Committee Member
2018 Bo Wang
2017 Mushegh Harutyunyan
2017 Nicolas Aguelakakis
2017 Yossef Ghahreman
2016 Duksang Cho
2015 Ceyhun Coban
2013 Lan Xu (University of Delaware)
2013 Hassan Dermi Compass, Lexecon, Washington, D.C.
2012 Carmen Astorne-Figari (University of Memphis)
2010 Burak Uras (Tilburg University)
2009 Daifeng He (College of William and Mary)
2009 Tanika Chakraborty (DIW, Berlin)
2009 Sheng Huang (Singapore Management University)
2009 Kevin Shaver (Duquesne University)
2008 Shilpi Kapur (
2007 Michael Plotzke (ABT Associates, Incorporated)
2007 Jie Pan (University of Arkansas)
2007 Raul Andrade (Grupo de Analisis para el Desarrollo)
2006 Bakhodir Ergashev (Federal Reserve, Richmond)
2005 Mariana Spatareanu (Rutgers)
2005 Liana Jacobi (University of Melbourne)
1997 Andrew Meyer (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis)
1997 Jeanine Koenig (George Mason University, post doc)
1997 Mark Schnitzler (Washington University Medical School)
1996 Bonnie Korenblat (Miles Pharmaceutical Division)
1996 Brian Staihr (Sprint, Kansas City)
1995 Ann Libby (University of California, post doc)
1994 Michael Sykutta (Assistant professor, University of Pittsburgh)
1992 Iacovos Ioannou (Central Bank of Cyprus)
Committee Member (Northwestern University)
David Ross (1984), Scott Dennis (1985), Michael Peddle (1985), David Butz (1986),
Mary Fitzpatrick (1986), Scott McShan (1986), Janet Mitchell (1986),
Craig Paxton (1987), Paula Worthington (1988)
2018 Miles Woodhull
2017 Jay Kaplan
2015 Betty Wang
2014 Luke Choi
2013 Yifan Zhu
2012 Max Bennett: Adam Smith Award
2011 Tim Krah
2010 Josh Charney
2008 Ross Andrese
2007 Richard Thakor: Adam Smith Award
2006 James McClurken: Honors Prize winner
2005 Zack Eckler
2003 Melody Keung: (Won international competition –Taussig Award – for best
undergrad paper; Published in American Economist)
2003 Jie Chen (Yale Ph.D. Program, Economics)
2003 Tracey Gunn
2003 Miranda Muenich
2002 Lauren Lax (Yale Ph.D. Program, Economics, NSF Fellowship)
1996 Tracy Lo
Director of Undergraduate Studies: 2008-
Department Executive Committee: 2005-2010; 2012-2016
Undergraduate Honors Committee: 2008-
Undergraduate Curriculum Committee: 2008-
Chair of Awards Committee: 2007-2008
Department Seminar Coordinator: 2007-2008
Director of Graduate Studies: 2005-2007 (Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award, 2007)
Faculty Research Grants Committee: 2005-2007
Search Committees for Junior Faculty: 1995-1999, 2002, 2007
Search Committee for Economics Department Chair: 2003-2004
Chair of Search Committee for Director of Weidenbaum Center: 1998-1999.
Member of the Environmental Studies Faculty
Admissions Director
Placement Director: 1992-1997, 2002, 2004.
University Judiciary Board: 1992-1997.
International Journal of Industrial Organization (Associate Editor, 2001-2007)
Journal of Industrial Organization (Associate Editor, 2003-2008)
Journal of Small Business Finance (Associate Editor, 1994-1998)
American Economic Review, Journal of Political Economy, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Review of Economics and Statistics, The Economic Journal, National Science Foundation, Rand Journal of Economics, The Journal of Finance, Journal of Industrial Economics, International Journal of Industrial Organization, Journal of Labor Economics, Journal of Business, Journal of Development Economics, European Economic Review, Managerial and Decision Economics, Journal of Economics and Business, Journal of Small Business Economics, Economic Inquiry, Southern Economic Journal, Journal of International Money and Finance, Oxford Economic Papers, Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Money, Banking and Credit, and Journal of Financial Economics, The Manchester School (journal), Games and Economic Behavior, Journal of Banking and Finance, Journal of Corporate Finance, Journal of Business Research, Economic Letters, Management Science, World Development.
American Economic Association Meetings, January 2011
American Economic Association Meetings, January 2008
International Industrial Organization Conference, April 2007 (two presentations).
Tulane University, April 2005.
International Industrial Organization Conference, April 2005.
Department of Finance, Kansas University, September 2004.
International Industrial Organization Conference, Chicago, IL., April 2004.
European Association for Research in Industrial Economics, Helsinki, August 2003.
Keynote Speaker, Conference on “Financing of Innovation,” University of Eastern Piedmont, Italy (May 2003).
European Association for Research in I.O., Lausanne, Switzerland, September 2000.
University of Missouri, April 2000.
European Association for Research in Industrial Economics, Italy, September 1999.
Keynote Speaker, International Conference on Funding Gaps, University of Warwick, U.K., April 1999.
American Economic Association Meetings, January 1999 (two presentations).
Session Organizer, American Economic Association Meetings, January 1999.
European Association for Research in Industrial Economics, Copenhagen, August 1998.
CEPR/DFG/ZEW Conference on Industrial Structure, Mannheim, Germany, May 1998.
American Economic Association Meetings, January 1998.
London School of Economics, Financial Management Group, June 7 – 21, 1997.
University of Michigan, December 1996.
Allied Social Science Meetings, January 1996.
The Brookings Institution, Washington, September 1994.
Top 1% in RePEc citation count
Google Scholar Cites: 19,132 (November 16, 2018)
Google Scholar Cites: 17,455 (November 29, 2017)
Google Scholar Cites: 15,495 (November 27, 2016)
Google Scholar Cites: 13,769 (November 29, 2015)
Google Scholar Cites: 11,984 (November 16, 2014)
Google Scholar Cites: 10,472 (November 15, 2013)
“The Temporary Shutdown Decision,” (with J. Brown and R. Carpenter), Managerial and Decision Economics, forthcoming.
“What Promotes R&D? Comparative Evidence from Around the World,” (with J. Brown and G. Martinsson), Research Policy, 2017, 447-462.
“Stock Markets, Credit Markets, and Technology-Led Growth,” (with J. Brown and G. Martinsson), Journal of Financial Intermediation, 32, October, 2017, pp. 45-59.
“Which Investments Do Firms Protect? Liquidity Management and Real Adjustments When Access to Finance Falls Sharply” (With J. Brown), Journal of Financial Intermediation, 24, December 2015, pp. 441-465.
“Law, Stock Markets and Innovation,” (With J. Brown and G. Martinsson), Journal of Finance, August, 2013, pp. 1493-1524. Reprinted in “The International Library of Critical Writings in Economics: Finance and Growth,” 2018.
“Do Financing Constraints Matter for R&D?” (With J. Brown and G. Martinsson), European Economic Review, 56, 2012, pp. 1512-1529.
“Cash Holdings and R&D Smoothing,” (with J. Brown), Journal of Corporate Finance, 17, 2011, pp. 694-709.
“Public Entrants, Public Equity Finance and Creative Destruction in the High-Tech Sector” (with J. Brown), Journal of Banking and Finance, 34, May, 2010, pp. 1077-1088.
“Financial Market Crises and Natural Resource Production,” (with J. Brown and L. Lax), International Review of Finance, 10.1, 2010, pp. 93-124.
“Why Has the Investment-Cash Flow Sensitivity Declined so Sharply? Rising R&D and Equity Market Developments” (with J. Brown), Journal of Banking and Finance, May, 2009, pp. 971-984.
“Financing Innovation and Growth: Cash Flow, External Equity and the 1990s R&D Boom” (with J. Brown and S. Fazzari), Journal of Finance, February, 2009, pp. 151-186.
(Finalist for the Brattle Group Prize: outstanding paper in finance, 2009). Reprinted in “The International Library of Critical Writings in Economics: Finance and Growth,” 2018.
“Capital Market Imperfections, High-Tech Investment, and New Equity Financing,” (with R. Carpenter), The Economic Journal, February, 2002, pp. 54-72.
“Is the Growth of Small Firms Constrained by Internal Finance?” (with R. Carpenter), Review of Economics and Statistics, May 2002, pp. 298-309. (Reprinted in Financing Entrepreneurship, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2008.)
“Investment-Cash Flow Sensitivities Are Useful: A Comment on Kaplan and Zingales,” (with S. Fazzari and R. G. Hubbard), Quarterly Journal of Economics, May 2000,
pp. 695-705.
“Financing Constraints and Inventory Investment: A Comparative Study with High-Frequency Panel Data,” (with R. Carpenter and S. Fazzari), Review of Economics and Statistics, November 1998, pp. 513-519.
“Sunk Costs, Accommodation, and the Welfare Effects of Entry,” (with J. Nachbar and
I. Hwang), Journal of Industrial Economics, September 1998, pp. 317-332.
“Why Are Some Industries More Cyclical than Others?” (with S. Strongin), Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, April 1996, pp. 189-198.
“Inventory Investment, Internal-Finance Fluctuations, and the Business Cycle,” (with R. Carpenter and S. Fazzari), Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Volume 2, 1994, pp. 75-137.
“The Effect of Rising Foreign Competition on Market Power: A Panel Study of U.S. Manufacturing,” (with M. Katics), The Journal of Industrial Economics, September 1994, pp. 277-286.
“R&D and Internal Finance: A Panel Study of Small Firms in High-Tech Industries,” (with C. Himmelberg), Review of Economics and Statistics, February 1994, pp. 38-51.
“Market Structure and Cyclical Fluctuations in U.S. Manufacturing: Reply,” (with I. Domowitz and R.G. Hubbard), Review of Economics and Statistics, November 1993, pp. 734-735.
“Working Capital and Fixed Investment: New Evidence on Financing Constraints,” (with S. Fazzari), The Rand Journal of Economics, Vol. 24, Autumn 1993, pp. 328-342.
“Roundtable on U.S. Risk Capital and Innovation,” (with other panelists), Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Winter 1992, pp. 48-79.
“A Note on Physical Depreciation and the Capital Accumulation Process,” (with C. Hakkio), Journal of Development Economics, 1991, pp. 385-395.
“The Cyclicality of Cash Flow and Investment in U.S. Manufacturing,” (with W. Strauss), Economic Perspectives, January/February 1991, pp. 9-19.
“Investment Cyclicality in Manufacturing Industries,” (with W. Strauss), Economic Perspectives, November/December 1989, pp. 19-27.
Capital Market Imperfections and Investment Fluctuations,” Economic Perspectives, September/October 1988, pp. 1-12.
“Financing Constraints and Corporate Investment,” (with S. Fazzari and R.G. Hubbard), Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 1988, pp. 141-195.
“Investment, Financing Decisions, and Tax Policy,” (with S. Fazzari and R.G. Hubbard), American Economic Review, Papers and Proceedings, May 1988, pp. 200-205.
“Market Structure and Cyclical Fluctuations in U.S. Manufacturing,” (with I. Domowitz and R.G. Hubbard), Review of Economics and Statistics, February 1988, pp. 55-66.
“Oligopoly Supergames: Some Empirical Evidence on Prices and Margins,” Journal of Industrial Economics, (with I. Domowitz and R.G. Hubbard) June 1987, 379-398.
“Dynamic Limit Pricing and Internal Finance,” (with K. Judd), Journal of Economic Theory, Volume 39, August 1986, pp. 368-399.
“Dynamic Limit Pricing: A Reformulation,” (with K. Judd), Review of Industrial Organization, Spring 1986, pp. 160-177.
“Business Cycles and the Relationship Between Concentration and Price-Cost Margins,” (with I. Domowitz and R.G. Hubbard), Rand Journal of Economics, Spring 1986, 1-17.
“The Intertemporal Stability of the Concentration-Margins Relationship,” (with I. Domowitz and R. G. Hubbard), Journal of Industrial Economics, Volume 35, September 1986, pp. 13-34.
“Cooperatives’ Tax Advantages: Growth, Retained Earnings, and Equity Rotation,” (with R. Caves), American Journal of Agriculture Economics, May 1986, pp. 207-213.
“Cooperatives’ Shares in Farm Industries: Organizational and Policy Factors,” (with R. Caves), Agribusiness, Volume 2, 1986, pp. 1-19.
“Industry Margins and the Business Cycle: Some New Evidence,” (with I. Domowitz and R.G. Hubbard), Economic Letters, Volume 19, October 1985, pp. 73-77.
“Corporate Tax Design and Concentration,” Boston University Law Review, Volume 63, Number 2, March 1983, pp. 533-550.
“A Critical Comparison of Utility-Type Rate-Making Methodologies in Oil Pipeline Regulation,” (with P. Navarro and T. Stauffer), Bell Journal of Economics, Volume 12, Autumn 1981, pp. 392-412.
“Assortative Mating, Climate Shocks, and the Evolution of Intelligence in Archaic Humans,” submitted.
“The Growth of Finance: A New Perspective,” (With J. Brown and G. Martinsson)
Kaufman Competitive Entrepreneurship Grant, 2004.
Weidenbaum Center Grant, 2001.
Faculty Research Grant, Washington University, 1999.
Faculty Research Grant, Washington University, 1992.
“Industrial Behavior and the Business Cycle: A Panel Data Study of U.S. Manufacturing,” National Science Foundation (Economics Group SES-8420152), 1985-1987, with Ian Domowitz and R. Glenn Hubbard.
University Research Grants Committee, Northwestern University, 1985-86.
University Research Grants Committee, Northwestern University, 1983-84.
“A Study of Selected Issues in Electric Utility Finance and Regulatory Policy,” U.S. Department of Energy, 1978.