Lemma W. Senbet Directory Page

• The William E. Mayer Chaired Professorship, 1990-Present, University of Maryland
• The Charles Albright Chaired Professorship, 1987-1990, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Elected Director (twice), American Finance Association, 1991-1994; 1997-1999
• President, 1989-1990, Western Finance Association; Program Chair, 1989
• Awarded Honorary Doctor of Letters Honoris Causa from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia’s flagship/oldest institution of higher education, July 2005 (Washington Post acknowledgement)
• Inducted into Financial Economists Roundtable, a leading consortium of senior financial economists, 2000-Present; Elected to Steering Committee, 2004-2009; Elected to Executive Committee, 2006-2009
• Appointed to the Brookings AGI Distinguished Advisory Board, 2018 - Present
• Appointed to the Independent Council of Economic Advisors (Appointed by the Prime Minister of Ethiopia), 2021-Present
• Inducted Fellow at Financial Management Association International, for career-long distinguished scholarship and professional service, October 2006
• Appointed Executive Director/CEO, African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), 2013-2018
• Appointed to the Advisory Council of Ethiopian Diaspora Trust Fund (Appointed by the Ethiopian Prime Minister), 2018 – Present
• National Honoree for lifetime professional achievement, 2012, The Society of Ethiopians Established in Diaspora (SEED)
• Designated among 25 prominent governance experts by Institutional Shareholder Servies (ISS) and invited to contribute to the ISS 25th anniversary compendium titled "25 for 25: Observations on the Past, Present, and Future of Corporate Governance" (2011).
• The Dickson-Bascom Professorship, 1983-1987, University of Wisconsin
• The 1994 Allen J. Krowe Award for Excellence in Teaching, The Maryland Business School (Now Robert H. Smith School of Business)
• Appointed to the Board of Directors, Fortis Funds, 2000-2002 [Board went out of existence upon acquisition by Hartford Life]
• Appointed to the Board of Directors, Hartford Funds, 2005-
• Executive Editor, Financial Management, 1999-2002; Reappointed 2002-2005
• Editor (Finance Area), Journal of International Business Studies, 2006-
• Associate Editor for numerous journals, including Journal of Finance (1983-1994), Journal Financial and Quantitative Analysis (1987-1993), Journal of Banking and Finance (1994-1999), Financial Management (1979-1999)
• Ranked Third among World-Wide Contributing Authors to the Journal of Finance (1976-1985) by JF December 1986 Survey 
• Cited among the most prolific authors for a half century of contributions to the leading finance journals, 1959-2008 [ranked #24 among 8975 contributing authors to the top journals], Journal of Financial literature survey, March 2009
• Cited among the most prolific authors for a half century of contributions to the leading finance journals, 1953– 2002 [ranked #26 among 5811 contributing authors to the top journals], Journal of Financial literature survey, Winter 2005
• Served on the nominating group for Nobel Prize Committee for Economic Sciences, 1994-1997
• Recognized for Outstanding Contribution and Service to the Profession, the 1990 Financial Management Association Doctoral Student Seminar
• Honoree (recipient of the 1998 award for outstanding and exemplary achievements), Finance Doctoral Students Association, Chicago, October 1998
• Educational Excellence Award, a consortium of three business students Associations, the Robert H. Smith School of Business, April 1998     
• Distinguished Visitor (and University public speaker): McMaster University (January 1991); London School of Economics (May-June 1994); Western Michigan University (October 1998)
• Keynote Speaker at a variety of forums, see vita – VIII [Invited Presentations].
• Beta Gamma Sigma, University of California-Los Angeles
• Winner, the Chancellor's Gold Medal, Haile Salassie University. The University's highest award to the College’s outstanding graduate (Received from the Emperor)

Book: Agency Problems and Financial Contracting (Prentice-Hall, 1985; with A. Barnea and R. Haugen)

"A Test of Accounting Bias and Market Structure (1976)," (with R. Hagerman), Journal of Business, Vol. 49, no. 4, pp. 509-514.

"The Insignificance of Bankruptcy Costs to the Theory of Optimal Capital Structure (1978)," (with R. Haugen), Journal of Finance, Vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 383-393 [Published as the lead article].

"The Equivalence of Alternative Mean-Variance Capital Budgeting Models (1978)," (with H. Thompson), Journal of Finance, Vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 395-40l.

"On the Theory of the Firm Under Uncertainty and the Cost of Capital (1979)," Economics Letters, Vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 73-78.

"New Perspectives on Informational Asymmetry and Agency Relationships (1979)," (with R. Haugen), Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Vol. XIV, no. 4, pp. 671-694. [Exhibits published in Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Vol. 15, March 1980].

"International Capital Market Equilibrium and the Multinational Firm Financing and Investment Policies (1979)," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Vol. 14, no 3, pp. 455-480. [Published as the lead article]

"A Rationale for Debt Maturity Structure and Call Provisions in the Agency Theoretic Framework (1980)," (with A. Barnea and R. Haugen), Journal of Finance, Vol. 35, no. 5, pp. 1223-1234.

"The Effects of International Operations on the Market Value of the Firm: Theory and Evidence (1981)," (with V. Errunza), Journal of Finance, Vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 40l-417.

"Market Imperfections, Agency Problems and Capital Structure: A Review (1981)," (with A. Barnea and R. Haugen), Financial Management, Vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 7-22.[Published as the lead article: Also, recognized in the Journal’s twenty-fifth anniversary issue (Summer 1995) as among the most frequently cited - in the top ten].

"An Equilibrium Analysis of Debt Financing Under Costly Tax Arbitrage and Agency Problems (1981)," (with A.Barnea and R. Haugen), Journal of Finance, Vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 569-581. [Published as the lead article]

"Resolving the Agency Problems of External Capital through Options" (1981), (with R. Haugen), Journal of Finance, Vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 629-647.

"External Currency Market Equilibrium Under Market Imperfections and Incompleteness" (1984), (with D. Logue), Journal of Finance, Vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 435-447.

"Capital Structure Equilibrium Under Market Imperfections and Incompleteness" (1984), (with R. Taggart), Journal of Finance, Vo. 39, no. 3, pp. 93-103.

"International Corporate Diversification, Market Valuation, and Size Adjusted Evidence" (1984), (with V. Errunza), Journal of Finance, Vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 727-743.

"International Arbitrage Pricing Theory: An Empirical Investigation" (1986), (with D. Cho and C. Eun), Journal of Finance, Vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 313-329.

"Bankruptcy and Agency Costs: Their Significance to the Theory of Optimal Capital Structure" (1988), (with R. Hausen), Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 27-38.

"The Effect of Taxes and Depreciation on Corporate Investment and Financial Leverage" (1988), (with R. Dammon), Journal of Finance, Vol. 43, no. 2, pp. 357-3.

"International Capital Structure Equilibrium" (1990), (with J. Hodder), Journal of Finance, Vol. 45, no. 5, pp. 1495-1516.

"Risk-Shifting Incentives of Depository Institutions: A New Perspective on Federal Deposit Insurance Reform" (1991), (with K. John and T. John), Journal of Banking and Finance, Vol. 15, pp. 895-915. [Reprinted in International Library of Critical Writings in Financial Economics.]

"The Effect of the Secondary Market on the Pricing of Initial Public Offerings: Theory and Evidence" (1992), (with D. Mauer), Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Vol. 27, No. 1, pp. 55-79.

"Financial Research on Africa: A Financial Theory Perspective" (1992), (with A. Saunders), Journal of African Finance and Economic Development, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 1-23.

"Bankruptcy and Capital Structure" (1993), The New Pulgrave Dictionary of Money and Finance, pp. 173-176.

"Absolute Priority Violations and Risk Incentives for Financially Distressed Firms" (1993), (with A. Eberhart), Financial Management, (Autumn), pp. 101-116.

"Financial Distress, Bankruptcy and Reorganization" (1995), (with J. Seward), in Finance Handbooks in Operations Research and Management Science {Elsevier Science), Vol. 9, eds., R. Jarrow, et al., pp. 921-961.

"Debt and Market Incompleteness" (1995), (with E. Ronn), Journal of Banking and Finance, Vol. 19, pp. 1379-1400.

"Financial Regulation and Liberalization in Africa Under Incentive Problems and Asymmetric Information" (1997), (with M. Ncube), Journal of African Economies (Oxford University Press), Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 29-88. [Lead Article.]

"The Pricing of Country Funds from Emerging Markets: Theory and Evidence" (1998), (with V. Errunza and K. Hogan), International Journal of Theoretical and Applied Finance, Vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 111-143. [Reprinted in International Library of Critical Writings in Financial Economics.]

"Corporate Governance and Board Effectiveness" (1998), (with K. John, Journal of Banking and Finance) (Twentieth Anniversary Article), Vol. 22, pp. 371-403 [Lead Article.]

"A Theory of Bank Regulation and Management Compensation"(2000), (with K. John and A. Saunders), Review of Financial Studies, Vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 95-126.

"Global Financial Crisis: Implications for Africa" (2001), Journal of African Economies (Oxford University Press), Vol. 10, pp. 104-140.

"The Pricing of Emerging Market Country Funds" (2002), Journal of International Money and Finance, (with C. Eun and S. Janakiramanan), Vol. 21, pp. 833-855. [Best Paper Award at the 9th annual conference of Global Finance Association, May 2002.]

"The Effect of Deposit Insurance on Financial Depth: 'A Cross-Country Analysis'" (2002), Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance (with R. Cull, World Bank and M. Sorge, Stanford). [Special issue, North-Holland; ed., Ed Kane], Vol. 42, pp. 673-694.

"Deposit Insurance and Financial Development" (2005) (with R. Cull and M. Sorge), Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Vol. 37, pp. 43-82.

“Financial Sector Reforms in Africa: Perspectives on Issues and Policies”(2006), (with I. Otchere), Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics (The World Bank). pp. 81-119.

“Bank Incentives, Economic Specialization, and Financial Crises in Emerging Economies”(2008), (with A. Gande and K. John), Journal of International Money and Finance, Vol. 27(5), 707-732.

“Valuation Effects of Global Diversification” (2009) (with A. Gande, SMU and Christoph Schenzler, Vanderbilt), Journal of International Business Studies [50th Anniversary Issue], Vol. 40 (9), pp. 1515-1532.

“African Stock Markets” (2010), (with I. Otchere), in African Finance in the 21st Century, International Monetary Fund volume (Palgrave). Eds. Marc Quintyn and Genevieve Verdier, pp.104-142.

"Executive Compensation: An Overview of Research on Corporate Practices and Proposed Reforms" (2010), (with M. Faulkender, D. Kadhyrzanova, and NR Prabhala), Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Vol. 22, No.1, pp. 107-118

“African Financial Systems: A review” (2011), (with F.Allen and I. Otchere), Review of Development Finance, Vol. 1, No.2, pp. 79–113.

"Corporate Finance Distress and Bankruptcy: A Survey" (2012), (with T. Wang), Foundations and Trends in Finance, pp. 1-99.

“The African Financial Development Financial Inclusion Gaps” (2014) (with Allen, et al) Journal of African Economies [the top field economics journal for issues on Africa; hosed and edited and housed at the University of Oxford], pp. 614–642,

“Options, option repricing in managerial compensation: Their effects on corporate investment risk (2014) (with N. Ju and H. Leland), Journal of Corporate Finance, pp. 628-643.

“Financial Inclusion and Innovation in Africa: An Overview” (2015) (with T. Beck and W. Simbanegavi”, Journal of African Economies (CSAE, Univ of Oxford), special issue, Vol. 24,  pp. 3–11

"Resolving the African Financial Development Gap" (2016), (with F. Allen, E. Carletti, R. Cull, J. Qian, P. Valenzuela), NBER volume on African Development Successes (University of Chicago Press; edited by S. Edwards, S. Johnson and D. Weil), pp. 13-62.

“Youth Employment in Sub-Saharan Africa" (2016) (with L. Fox and W. Simbanegavi),  Journal of African Economies (CSAE, Univ of Oxford), Vol. 25, special issue, pp. 3-15.

“Law, finance, and the international mobility of corporate governance” (2017) (with D. Cumming, I. Filatotchev, A. Knill, D. Reeb), Journal of International Business Studies, Vol 48, pp. 123-147

“The Illusive Quest for Structural Transformation in Africa: Will China Make a Difference?” (2018)(with A. Geda and W. Simbanegavi), Journal of African Economies (Oxford University), Vol 27, Special Issue, pp. 4-14

“Does political connection distort competition and encourage corporate risk taking? International evidence” (2020) (with I. Otchere and P. Zhu),  Journal of Empirical Finance, Vol. 55, pp. 21-42

“Taxes, institutions, and innovation: Theory and international evidence” (2020) (with A. Gande, K. John, R. Nair), Journal of International Business Studies, vol. 51, pp. 1413 – 1447

“Improving Access to Banking: Evidence from Kenya” (2021) (with Allen, E. Carletti, R. Cull, Q. Qian, Valenzuela), Review of Finance, Volume 25, Issue 2, March 2021, pp. 403–447

“The Dark Side of Globalization: Evidence from the Impact of COVID-19 on Multinational Companies” (2021) (with O. Guedhami, A. Knill, W. Megginson)

“Covid-19 and Africa Debt: Reality” (2021) (Brookings: with B. Coulibaly, C. Heitzig, A. Ordu)

• Elected Member, The Board of Directors, American Finance Association, 1991-94; 1996-99.
• President, Western Finance Association, 1989-90.
• President-Elect, (Program Chairman for the 1989 Annual Meetings in Seattle), Western Finance Association, 1988-89.
• Executive Committee, Consortium of Financial Economics and Accounting, 1994-
• Member, External Advisory Group, The World Bank Project “Making Finance Work for Africa” (2006).
• Member,  Steering Committee, Financial Economists Roundtable, 2004.
• Chair, Nominating Committee, Western Finance Association, 1990-1991.
• Vice-President, Western Finance Association, 1987-88.
• Member, the American Finance Association Nominating Committee, 1981, 1990.
• Member, Western Finance Association Executive Committee, 1987-1991; Chair (1989-90).
• Chair, Western Finance Association Policy Advisory Committee, 1989-90.
• Coordinator (and Chair), the 1990 FMA Doctoral Panel, Orlando, Florida.
• Program Review Committee (evaluation of papers and organization of sessions). American Finance Association meetings: 1987-90; 1992-93; 195-1998; 2000-2002; 2004-10
• A program Committee member, the Financial Management Association meetings: 1980, 1984-89; 1996- 97; 1999 -00 (Track Chair), 2005-06.
• A Program Committee member, Western Finance Association meetings:1988-2010.
• A program Committee member, European Financial Management Association, 2006-7.
• Member, Review Panel, International Conference on Finance, Taipei, Taiwan, 2006.
• Member, Review Panel, McGill Conference on Global Finance, 2006-7.
• A member of the Review Panel, Conferences on Pacific-Basin Finance, 1988-96.
• A member of the Review Panel, Asia Pacific Finance Association, 1997.
• A member of the Review Panel, Indiana Symposium, 1987.
• A member of the Review Panel, UC-Riverside Symposia on "Recent Advances in International Banking and Finance," 1985-.1991.
• Chair, Search Committee for Editor, Journal of African Finance and Economic Development, 1995.
• Chair, Elections Committee, African Finance and Econ Association, 1995.
• Served on the nominating group for the Hunger Project Global Office in New York; Laurete for the Africa Prize, 1994-96.
• Financial Economics and Accounting conference; annual function featured by a consortium of eight universities – Maryland, Michigan, NYU, Texas, UNC, etc.  Program Director, 1995, 2002, 2010.
• Track Chair (in charge of award selection in all nine categories of awards),   FMA Meetings, October 2008   
• Financial Economists Roundtable,  Elected to Steering Committee, 2004- 2009; Elected to Executive Committee, 2006-2009.
• Selection Committee for the 2009 FMA Fellow(s) [Chair]

School and Department

• Chair, Department of Finance, Smith School of Business, 1998 – 2006
• Director, Center for Financial Policy, 2009 –2012
• College/Smith Strategy, 2018-19
• Elected member, Faculty Council, 2009 -  2012               
• Chair, Ph.D Oversight Committee, College/School, 1994-95; Member/Chair, 1996- 98.
• Chair, Committee for Endowed Chairs, Smith School, 1998 - 2012
• Chair, Finance Doctoral Studies Committee, 1990-97
• Chair, Ph.D Ad-Hoc Review Committee, College/School, 1993-94.
• Chair, Acting Associate Dean’s Search Committee, 1996.   
• Three Dean's Search Committees, Smith School, 1991-1992; 1996-97; 2007-08.
• Finance Recruitment Committee, member, 1995-97; Chair, 1998-2006; 2018-Present
• Chair, Finance Strategic Task Force, Chair, 1998-2006
• Finance Appointment, Promotion and Tenure Committee (Chair):  1991-1992, 1993-94, 1994-95, 1995-96, 1997-98.
• College Candidate Review Committee (CRC): 1991-1992, 1993-4, 1994-95, 1995-96, 1997-98, 98-99, 99-2000, 2001-2003, 2004-06; 2019 - 2021
• College Research Grant Committee, 1995.
• College Accreditation; Contribution to the Self-Study (Ph.D Program), 1995.
• Advisory Council, CIBER, 1990-1996; 2005 – 2012)
• College Budget Committee (Ad-Hoc), 1990.
• Chair, the Maryland Finance Symposium (1993 – 2012).

University

• Presidential Transition for Incoming President Pines (2019-20)
• Search Committee for University of Maryland President, 1997-98.
• Search Committee for University Provost, 2001
• Search Committee for Vice President for Administrative Affairs, 2008-09.
• University Honor Council
• Academic Planning Advisory Committee (APAC: Chaired by Provost), 1991-94
• University Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure Committee, 1997-98.
• Distinguished Faculty Research Fellow Committee (University-wide), 1996
• University Accreditation Executive Committee (Chaired by the Provost), 1995
• Distinguished Scholar-Teacher Award Committee (University-wide), 1995
• Campus Senate Committee, 1990-1991.
• University Budget Advisory Committee (Ad-Hoc; Chaired by the President), Fall 1992.
• University Athletic Council, Elected Member, 2005-6

Member, Board of Directors, Hartford Funds [Independent Director, 2005

– Present [Investment Committee and Nominating Committee]

Member, Independent Council of Economic Advisors, Ethiopia” (appointed by the Prime Minister, 2021 – Present

Member, Advisory Council (appointed by Prime Minister), Ethiopian Diaspora Trust Fund, 2018 – Present

Member (Ex-officio with full voting rights), Board of Directors, African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), 2013-2018

Member, Distinguished Advisory Group, Brookings (Africa Growth Initiative), 2019 – Present

Member, Advisory Panel, G20 Compact with Africa (CWA is a pillar for Africa-G20 economic cooperation), 2019 – Present

Member, Think Africa Partnership: A Knowledge Platform for Economic Transformation and Growth in Africa (World Bank), 2018- Present

Member, World Bank Steering Group for Service Delivery Indicators (SDI) program, 2013-2018

Member. Steering Committee, INCLUDE (Knowledge Platform for Inclusive Development), Dutch Foreign Ministry, 2016 - Present

Member, Board of Directors, Fortis Funds [Independent Director], 2000- 2003; Audit Committee and Investment Relations Committee [Board disbanded upon acquisition by Hartford Life)

Member, Academic Advisory Board, the Merrill Lynch Center for the Study of Financial Services and Markets (Hofstra Univ), 1996- 2012

Member, Governing Council of African Capital Markets Forum. 1995- 2003

Board of Directors, Ethiopian Community Center, 2006- 20

Member, Advisory Board, Homestrings, 2011-Present

Press/Media citations: Wall Street Journal, Baltimore Sun, Ethiopian Review, St. Louis-Post Dispatch, Pittsburgh Dispatch, Wall Street Jour–Asia, Wall Street Journal-Europe, Tadias Magazine, Washington Times, Washington Post, New York Times, Wisconsin State Journal, Globe and Mail, Addis Fortune, VOA News, CNBC, Baltimore Magazine, Diamondback, Washington Business Journal, CNBC, Nazaret.comXinhuanet (china). Business Daily, RadioFM, China Daily, Chimp Reports Uganda, 256 Business News, Mediamax, People Dailu, Realnews (Zambia), Ghana News, The New Times (Rwanda daily), Tadias magazine; Steve Talk Show (Higher Education), Radio one FM, Reliefweb, Daily Nation, Ethiopian Herald, Addis Zemen, VOA, EthiopianBroadcasting Service, CCTV, South African Broadcasting (SAB), etc.

G7 and Africa working group, contributor and speaker, Rome, 2017

EU-AU Summit working group, Comos Lake, contributor and speaker, 2017

World Economic Forum, GAC, Future of Global Banking, contributor, 2013 - 2016

World Bank Africa Region Senior Leadership Retreat, Resource Person, Washington, 2018; advisory to the incoming VP

High Level Policy Roundtable [AERC-Brookings-GDN], contributor and speaker, Washington, 2018

China-Africa Infrastructure High Level Policy Seminar with high level Chinese and Kenya officials, Nairobi, 2018; panelist

African Central Bank Governors Forum (for AERC; margins of the World Bank/IMF meetings), convener, Washington, 2015- 2018

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA); Expert Group Meeting (EGM), infrastructure development in Africa, Addis Ababa, October 31, 2017

Third Investing in Africa Forum (IAF), Dakar, Senegal, September 25-27, 2017 [Govt of Senegal, World Bank, China Development Bank

T20 policy formulation group for G20-Argentina, Addis Ababa, 2018

World Bank MENA Day High Level Policy Forum, Speaker, “Transforming State- owned Enterprises” World Bank Meeting, April 10, 2019

Congressional Black Caucus High Level Policy Forum: Africa Brain Trust: A Celebration of Africa, September 13, 2020 [sponsored by Congresswoman Karen Bass], Moderator and Speaker “Promoting African and American Business”.