Efraim Benmelech

Efraim Benmelech is the Harold L. Stuart Professor of Finance, the Director of the Guthrie Center for Real Estate Research at the Kellogg School of Management and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). Benmelech’s research interests are in the field of credit markets where he studies financial contracting, financial crises, securitization, bankruptcy and financial distress. He also writes extensively on the economics of terrorism and economic history. Professor Benmelech’s research on financial distress, the financial crisis and on terrorism have received wide media coverage in outlets such as Bloomberg, the Boston Globe, The Economist, the Financial Times, Fortune, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA TODAY. Benmelech received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 2005.

Research Interests

Applied Corporate Finance, Bankruptcy, Credit Markets, Economic History, Financial Contracting.

Education

• Ph.D., 2005, Finance, Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago
• M.B.A., 2001, School of Business Administration, School of Business Administration, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• B.A., 1999, Economics and Business Administration, Department of Economics and the School of Business Administration, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Academic Positions

• Director, Real Estate, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 2014-present
• Harold L. Stuart Professor of Finance, Finance, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 2014-present
• Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research, 2006-present

Professional Experience

• Member, Board of Directors, Israel National Coal Supplies Company (State-owned company for coal supplies), 2000-2001
• Assistant Director, Israel Ministry of Finance, 1998-2001
• Major, Commander of Company and Chief Operating Officer, Israeli Defense Forces, 1990-1996

Awards

• Charles River Associates Award for Best Paper on Corporate Finance, Western Finance Association
• CRA Award for Best Paper on Corporate Finance at the WFA 2020 Meetings, Westerna Finance Association, 2020
• The Review of Corporate Finance Studies best paper award, Financial Studies Society
• The Review of Corporate Finance Studies Best Paper Award, 2012
• The Journal of Finance Brattle Group Award, First Prize, 2011
• Excellence in Refereeing Award, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2011
• National Science Foundation CAREER Award: Empirical Analysis of the Causes and Consequences of Financial Distress, 2009-2014
• Excellence in Refereeing Award, American Economic Review, 2009
• Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance, 2009
• GARP Risk Management Research Program Grant, 2007
• Andrew E. Furer Fellow, Department of Economics, Harvard University, 2006-2009
• Warburg Fund, Harvard, 2006, 2007, 2008
• Clark Fund, Harvard, 2006, 2008, 2009
• John Leusner Family Fellowship, University of Chicago, GSB, 2005
• The Lehman Brothers Fellowship for Research Excellence in Finance (1st Prize), 2004-2005
• The FDIC Center for Financial Research Fellowship, 2004
• The AFA Student Travel Grant, 2004
• The Harry Simons Fellowship, 2003-2004
• The CRSP Summer Paper Grant, 2002
• The Solomon Fund Fellowship, 2002
• The University of Chicago, GSB Fellowship, 2001-2005
• The Maurice Falk Award for Outstanding Students Papers, 1999
• The Israeli Defense Forces, Chief of General Staff Award for Outstanding Officers, (Award for Excellence and Leadership by Mr. Ehud Barak, Israel Former Prime Minister), 1994