Winner of the 2024 Second Place Jensen Prize for the best paper published by the Journal of Financial Economics in the Areas of Corporate Finance and Organizations for "Political Ideology and International Capital Allocation" (May 2023) with Mancy Luo, Larissa Schäfer, and Margarita Tsoutsoura.
Elisabeth Kempf
Jaime and Raquel Gilinski Associate Professor of Business Administration
Jaime and Raquel Gilinski Associate Professor of Business Administration
Elisabeth Kempf is an Associate Professor in the Finance Unit, teaching Finance 1 to MBA students. She is also a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and a Research Affiliate at the Centre for Economic Policy and Research (CEPR).
Professor Kempf’s research interests lie at the intersection of political economy and empirical corporate finance. Her work has explored the role of political partisanship and polarization in finance, conflicts of interest in information production, as well as issues related to corporate governance. Her research has been cited in Bloomberg, CNBC, Financial Times, New York Times, The Economist, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and published in the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Monetary Economics, and Management Science. Her research awards include the AQR Top Finance Graduate Award, the BlackRock Best Paper Award given annually by the Financial Research Association, and second place for the Jensen Prize, given annually by the Journal of Financial Economics. She currently serves as associate editor for the Review of Financial Studies.
Prior to joining Harvard Business School, Professor Kempf spent six years as a faculty member at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She holds a Ph.D. in finance from Tilburg University (Netherlands), an M.Sc. in finance from HEC Paris (France), and a B.Sc. in business administration from the University of Mannheim (Germany). Prior to her Ph.D. studies, Professor Kempf worked as an analyst at Deutsche Bank.
Finance
Elisabeth Kempf is an Associate Professor in the Finance Unit, teaching Finance 1 to MBA students. She is also a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and a Research Affiliate at the Centre for Economic Policy and Research (CEPR).
Professor Kempf’s research interests lie at the intersection of political economy and empirical corporate finance. Her work has explored the role of political partisanship and polarization in finance, conflicts of interest in information production, as well as issues related to corporate governance. Her research has been cited in Bloomberg, CNBC, Financial Times, New York Times, The Economist, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and published in the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Monetary Economics, and Management Science. Her research awards include the AQR Top Finance Graduate Award, the BlackRock Best Paper Award given annually by the Financial Research Association, and second place for the Jensen Prize, given annually by the Journal of Financial Economics. She currently serves as associate editor for the Review of Financial Studies.
Prior to joining Harvard Business School, Professor Kempf spent six years as a faculty member at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She holds a Ph.D. in finance from Tilburg University (Netherlands), an M.Sc. in finance from HEC Paris (France), and a B.Sc. in business administration from the University of Mannheim (Germany). Prior to her Ph.D. studies, Professor Kempf worked as an analyst at Deutsche Bank.
- Journal Articles
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- Kempf, Elisabeth, and Margarita Tsoutsoura. "Political Polarization and Finance." Annual Review of Financial Economics 16 (2024): 413–434. View Details
- Fabo, Brian, Marina Jančoková, Elisabeth Kempf, and Ľuboš Pástor. "Fifty Shades of QE: Robust Evidence." Art. 107065. Journal of Banking & Finance 159 (February 2024). View Details
- Kempf, Elisabeth, Mancy Luo, Larissa Schäfer, and Margarita Tsoutsoura. "Political Ideology and International Capital Allocation." Journal of Financial Economics 148, no. 2 (May 2023): 150–173. View Details
- Kempf, Elisabeth, and Oliver Spalt. "Attracting the Sharks: Corporate Innovation and Securities Class Action Lawsuits." Management Science 69, no. 3 (March 2023): 1323–1934. View Details
- Kempf, Elisabeth, and Margarita Tsoutsoura. "Partisan Professionals: Evidence from Credit Rating Analysts." Journal of Finance 76, no. 6 (December 2021): 2805–2856. View Details
- Fabo, Brian, Marina Jančoková, Elisabeth Kempf, and Ľuboš Pástor. "Fifty Shades of QE: Comparing Findings of Central Bankers and Academics." Journal of Monetary Economics 120 (May 2021): 1–20. View Details
- Kempf, Elisabeth. "The Job Rating Game: Revolving Doors and Analyst Incentives." Journal of Financial Economics 135, no. 1 (January 2020): 41–67. View Details
- Kempf, Elisabeth, Alberto Manconi, and Oliver Spalt. "Distracted Shareholders and Corporate Actions." Review of Financial Studies 30, no. 5 (May 2017): 1660–1695. View Details
- Working Papers
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- Cassidy, William, and Elisabeth Kempf. "Partisan Corporate Speech." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 05-056, May 2025. View Details
- Kempf, Elisabeth, Mancy Luo, and Margarita Tsoutsoura. "The Political Economy of Firm Networks: CEO Ideology and Global Trade." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 25-050, April 2025. View Details
- Iliewa, Zwetelina, Elisabeth Kempf, and Oliver Spalt. "Corporate Actions as Moral Issues." NBER Working Paper Series, No. 33749, May 2025. View Details
- Fos, Vyacheslav, Elisabeth Kempf, and Margarita Tsoutsoura. "The Political Polarization of Corporate America." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 23-003, July 2022. (Revised March 2025.) View Details
- Kempf, Elisabeth, Alberto Manconi, and Oliver Spalt. "Learning by Doing: The Value of Experience and the Origins of Skill for Mutual Fund Managers." SSRN Working Paper Series, No. 2124896, May 2017. View Details
- Cases and Teaching Materials
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- Kempf, Elisabeth, and Jesse M. Shapiro. "Compass Ethics: Governing Through Ethical Principles at WeCorp Industries." Harvard Business School Case 224-105, July 2024. (Revised December 2024.) View Details
- Esty, Benjamin C., Elisabeth Kempf, and Scott Mayfield. "Pioneer Natural Resources: Enhancing the Capital Return Strategy with Variable Dividends." Harvard Business School Spreadsheet Supplement 224-714, January 2024. View Details
- Esty, Benjamin C., Elisabeth Kempf, and E. Scott Mayfield. "Pioneer Natural Resources: Enhancing the Capital Return Strategy with Variable Dividends." Harvard Business School Case 224-001, January 2024. (Revised May 2024.) View Details
- Baker, Malcolm, Elisabeth Kempf, and Jonathan Wallen. "Optimalen Capital Spreadsheet Supplement." Harvard Business School Spreadsheet Supplement 223-715, June 2023. View Details
- Baker, Malcolm, Elisabeth Kempf, and Jonathan Wallen. "Optimalen Capital." Harvard Business School Case 223-099, June 2023. (Revised April 2025.) View Details
- Awards & Honors
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Winner of the 2018 Best Paper Award at the Financial Research Association Annual Conference for “Partisan Professionals: Evidence from Credit Rating Analysts” with Margarita Tsoutsoura.Awarded the 2017 J.C. Ruigrok Prize for the best economics dissertation in the Netherlands from the Royal Dutch Society for the Sciences for “Essays in Corporate Finance and Financial Intermediation” (Tilburg University, June 2016).Awarded the 2017 KVS Medal for the best PhD thesis in economics in the Netherlands by the Royal Netherlands Economic Association for “Essays in Corporate Finance and Financial Intermediation” (Tilburg University, June 2016).Winner of the 2016 Finanzforum Vordenken Young Innovator Award.Winner of the AQR Top Finance Graduate Award in 2016.Winner of the Cubist Systematic Strategies PhD Candidate Award for Outstanding Research from the Western Finance Association in 2016.Winner of the 2016 Young Scholars Finance Consortium Best PhD Student Paper Award for “The Job Rating Game: The Effects of Revolving Doors on Analyst Incentives.”Awarded Best EFA-DT Paper in 2016 by the European Finance Association Doctoral Tutorial for “The Job Rating Game: The Effects of Revolving Doors on Analyst Incentive.”
- Additional Information
- In The News