Accepted Papers
Finance, Advertising, and Race
with Claire Célérier
The Review of Financial Studies, 38(11), 2025, pp. 3149–3204. Editor’s Choice
We study how bank advertising practices contribute to racial disparities in financial markets by steering minorities toward inferior products. We exploit a regulatory change that incentivizes deposit collection at the Freedman's Savings Bank, the first institution to collect deposits from African Americans post-Emancipation, by facilitating misuse of depositor funds. After deregulation, advertising volume rises, particularly in African American newspapers, leading to increased deposits from Black depositors despite the bank's insolvency. We identify persuasion as a key mechanism; prescriptive stereotypes and false claims likely amplify advertising's impact on African Americans, exacerbating historically large depositor losses after the bank's collapse.
Presented at: Australian National University*, Bank of Canada*, Bank of England*, Bocconi University*, Canadian Network for Economic Research Conference 2023, Cliometric Society Conference 2022*, Cornell*, Federal Reserve Board*, HEC Paris*, Imperial College London*, International Macroeconomic History Online Seminar 2023*, La Trobe University*, Laval University*, Oxford Said*, Paris December Finance Meeting 2022, Queen Mary University of London*, Research in Behavioral Finance Conference 2022, Rutgers*, Tinbergen Institute*, UCL*, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign*, University of Luxembourg*, University of Warwick*, Vienna Graduate School of Finance*, Virtual Economic History Seminar 2022*, Washington University in St. Louis*, 82nd Economic History Association Annual Meeting 2022
Media: Bloomberg
Working Papers
Property Rights and Financial Access
(solo-authored)
How does financial access affect the economic consequences of expanding legal rights? England’s Married Women’s Property Act of 1870 protected married women’s earnings and savings bank deposits as separate property. Using census data and 50 years of digitized bank records, I document increased female financial participation. Employment among married and single women and girls’ schooling increased more in districts with pre-existing savings banks, without corresponding male increases. Responses before marriage suggest anticipated protection encouraged work and investment in future earning capacity. The effects of expanding legal rights depend on complementary financial institutions through which those rights can be exercised.
Presented at: 2025 Workshop on Monetary and Financial History, the 2025 Trans-Atlantic Doctoral Conference, the 2025 HEC Paris Finance PhD Workshop, the 2025 Bank of Canada Graduate Student Paper Award Workshop, the 2026 AFA, the 10th SAFE Household Finance Workshop, the 2026 EFA, the 2026 UW-Madison Junior Finance Conference, Berkeley Haas, CU Boulder, HBS, LSE, LBS, NYU Stern, OSU Fisher, Oxford Saïd, UBC Sauder, Michigan Ross, Utah, and Austin McCombs
Locking in the Rate or Staying Flexible? Mortgage Refinancing Around an Interest Rate Shock
with Philippe Bracke, João Cocco, and Elena Markoska
This paper examines UK mortgage refinancing around the 23 September 2022 mini-budget interest rate shock, exploiting predetermined expiries of discounted 2- and 5-year fixed- rate mortgages. We find: (a) a shift toward 2-year fixes, though they priced above 5-year mortgages; and (b) deleveraging, with a 200bp rate rise linked to a 2–3pp drop in average loan-to-value. Although the adjustable-rate mortgage share increased, most borrowers still chose the pricier 2-year fix, consistent with seeking rate-risk protection plus near-term flexibility—for equity extraction if rates fall—an interpretation supported by evidence that near-term equity extraction is likelier under 2- than 5-year loans.
Presented at: Bank of England*, Collegio Carlo Alberto*, Conference on Real Estate, Financial Markets and Monetary Policy 2024, Danmarks Nationalbank*, EEA 2024, EFA 2024, Household Savings and Macroprudential Regulation Workshop 2024*, Norges Bank*, Sveriges Riksbank*, UK Women in Finance Workshop 2025, University of Cyprus*
Divine Catalysts: Religion and Portfolio Choices
with Maxime Bonelli, Pulak Ghosh, and S. Lakshmi Naaraayanan
Does religion shape individual portfolio choices and long-term wealth accumulation? To answer these questions, we examine whether the same individual adjusts their equity portfolio on specific religious days, allowing us to isolate religion-driven investments. Using trading sessions held in India during a major festival promoting long-term prosperity which act as a cue, we find that individuals who associate with beliefs about the festival invest substantially more on the event day. They buy new stocks, hold them longer, and experience persistent increases in equity account size and diversification post-event. Event-driven purchases represent a larger financial commitment for lower-income individuals and smaller accounts, who subsequently benefit from increased equity exposure and greater wealth accumulation. Our findings uncover how religious cues can shape individual long-term investments and wealth accumulation.
Presented at: 18th International Behavioural Finance Conference*, CEPR 10th European Workshop on Household Finance 2025, Helsinki Finance Summit 2025, NBER Household Finance across the Lifecycle* (scheduled), SKEMA Business School*
