My research spans several areas in financial economics and economic history. I have recently completed two major book projects:  the first is on unversal banking, securities markets and corporate finance in Germany primarily in the two decades before World War I; the second examines political, economic, and legal system factors in financial system development and their connection to economic growth over the long run.  My latest work turns to a different type of financial intermediary and another period of rapid technological development:  the evolution of specialized venture capital organizations in the post-World War II era.

Recent Publications:  

Finance Capitalism and Germany's Rise to Industrial Power

For information on the data collected for this book, please contact me via email.   

“Trading Costs in Early Securities Markets: The Case of the Berlin Stock Exchange, 1880-1910” with Thomas Gehrig, Review of Finance, 10 (2006), 585-610. (link)

“The History of Corporate Ownership and Control in Germany,” in R. Morck (Ed.) A History of Corporate Governance around the World: Family Business Groups to Professional Managers, NBER series, University of Chicago Press (2005). (link)

This research was generously funded by the National Science Foundation (link). 

Working Papers:

Please see my SSRN author page for selected working papers (link) or below for the most recent research.

My personal website is under construction (link)

Recent Research:

See some early results from my venture capital project 
1. Venture Capital Revolutions:  Germany and the United States in the Post-War Era  download

2. Creating Modern Venture Capital: Institutional Design and Performance in the Early Years (Preliminary; Please do not circulate or quote without author's permission) download

Classes Taught: 

180.266 (Fall 2006)
180.369 (Spring 2007)