Emanuele Bajo

I am open to supervising theses on any topic within the field of corporate finance. However, I exclusively supervise research-oriented theses. This means I do not accept case-based or purely descriptive theses. The focus should be on addressing a clear research question through rigorous academic analysis. A research-based thesis must have a sound theoretical foundation grounded in well-established theories and a viable empirical strategy. This includes a clear and precise approach to collecting data, either from databases the University has access to or through personal data collection, ultimately leading to econometric testing.

To qualify as a research-based thesis, I expect students to have conducted a thorough search of the academic literature in finance. For this purpose, I recommend using Scopus or Google Scholar. While it is not a strict requirement, I also expect that some of the most relevant and connected papers cited in the thesis are published in one of these three leading journals—the Journal of Finance, the Journal of Financial Economics, or the Review of Financial Studies—within the last five years.

The final outcome of your thesis should resemble a paper published in a finance journal. In order to have the thesis assigned, your grade in my course is not the deciding factor; instead, what matters is your ability to draft a strong thesis proposal. In this research project, it is crucial to outline clearly:

• What is the research question
• What is the main literature (referencing the criteria outlined above) that informs this research question
• What data can you use to test your research question empirically. Is it data you will collect yourself, or data you can download from commercial databases? If the latter, which specific database?
• What is your timeline for working on the thesis, including your starting date, expected completion date, and any other exams or commitments you will be managing during the same period.

Before drafting your proposal, I suggest reviewing my recent research (you can check my SSRN profile and sort the papers by date posted, in descending order).

Additionally, feel free to book an appointment with me to discuss your ideas before submitting your proposal.