Michael Roberts

Michael R. Roberts is the William H. Lawrence Professor of Finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Professor Roberts earned his BA in Economics from the University of California at San Diego, and his MA in Statistics and PhD in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley.

Professor Roberts’ primary areas of research are corporate finance and banking. He investigates the determination of corporate capital structure and payout policy, and their impact on corporate investment and equity returns. He also studies the pricing, design, and renegotiation of debt securities. More recently, Professor Roberts has begun investigating the impact of government policies on corporate behavior. His research has received several awards including two Brattle Prize Awards for Distinguished Paper in the Journal of Finance, and best paper awards at the Financial Management Association’s and Southwestern Finance Association’s annual meetings. In 2012, he was honored as a Rising Star in Finance by Fordham University. Professor Roberts is the co-editor of the Journal of Finance and serves on numerous editorial boards.

In addition to his research, Professor Roberts has won multiple teaching awards instructing undergraduates, MBAs, PhDs, and executives. In addition to his experience at the Wharton School, he has taught at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and the University of California at Berkeley.