Finance

The finance field within economics has two primary areas:

  • Corporate Finance addresses issues such as how companies raise equity or debt, evaluate mergers and acquisitions, or manage financial distress. Researchers in this field address questions such as corporate governance, financing of start-ups, and impact of changing regulations on how firms manage risk.
  • Asset Pricing focuses on how financial investments (equities, bonds, commodities etc.) as well as portfolios of investments are valued, and how investors trade off risk vs rate of return. Researchers in this field use econometrics tools to analyze increasingly granular (high frequency) time series pricing data, as well as the impact of the macro environment on financial markets.

Students who select the finance field will be directed to DFE Advising.  Please refer to that page for detail on the advising process within DFE.

  Faculty Member
Headshot of John Caccavale

John Caccavale, Executive Director of Duke Financial Economics Center

Professor Caccavale is a Duke alum with nearly 30 years of experience in the financial markets, and is the Executive Director of the Duke Financial Economics Center. 
Ronald Leven headshot

 

Ronald Leven, W.R. Huff Professor of the Practice

Professor Leven has worked at a variety of financial institutions as an international economist focusing on sovereign risk issues. He joined Duke in 2018 and has previously taught at NYU and Columbia University. 
Lawrence Kreicher headshot

Lawrence Kreicher, Associate Professor of the Practice of Economics

Professor Kreicher joined the Department in 2018. For the previous eight years he was at Dartmouth College where he taught financial theory, financial institutions & markets, international finance, and global macroeconomics.
Emma Rasiel headshot

Emma Rasiel, Professor of the Practice of Economics

Emma Rasiel is the Teaching Director of the Duke Financial Economics Center. Emma’s role includes developing and delivering curricular and extra-curricular programs to Duke undergraduates to improve their preparedness for careers in business and finance.
 

Aino Levonmaa, Assistant Professor of the Practice of Economics

Aino Levonmaa teaches and mentors undergraduates about both theoretical and practical finance. Her research involves market microstructure, focusing on the corporate bond market, which draws on her practical experience as a bond trader at Fidelity Investments in London.