Elizabeth  Tashjian
  • Co-director, undergraduate finance program, Finance Department
  • Director Advanced Financial Analysis Program, Finance Department
  • Professor, Finance Department

Research Statement

My research has focused on the subtle features of two types of securities: debt contracts and futures contracts. A debt contract or a futures contract can be defined quite simply: a debt contract is an agreement to repay a lender a specified amount of money on a specific date or dates and a futures contract may be defined as an agreement to buy an asset at a specific date in the future at a negotiated price. In practice, these contracts contain many features that influence pricing and outcomes.

My work on debt contracts explores empirically the outcomes of firms experiencing financial distress. The debt renegotiation process can be viewed as a bargaining problem between the debtor corporation and its creditors, where the outcome depends on the complexity of the bargaining problem and the incentives of the parties to settle or hold out for better terms. In this context, a workout represents a consensual solution between the debtor and a sufficiently large coalition of creditors. Since failure to achieve a workout generally results in a bankruptcy filing, the bargaining environment is shaped by the threat of and rules governing bankruptcy. My recent work explores how both economic factors and legal factors influence bankruptcy outcomes for distressed firms. I am also interested in how bankruptcy influences the trading partners of distressed firms.

Futures contracts contain a complex combination of a simple futures contract and assorted options, giving the contracts' participants significant flexibility in satisfying the terms of the contract. Most of my research in futures contracts involves exploring why these features exist either theoretically or empirically.

Presentations

  • ELIZABETH TASHJIAN, & Edie Hotchkiss. (2021) When the Crystal Ball Breaks: What to Expect in Business Bankruptcy. Invited Talk/Keynote, Accepted, 11/2021.
  • ELIZABETH TASHJIAN, & Joseph Halford and Yung-Yu Ma. (2020) Firm Unionization and Bankruptcy Restructuring. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 06/2020.
  • ELIZABETH TASHJIAN, & Yung-Yu Ma. (2014) Executory Contracts and Chapter 11 Restructuring Incentives. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 10/2014.
  • ELIZABETH TASHJIAN, & Yung-Yu Ma. (2014) Executory Contracts and Chapter 11 Restructuring Incentives. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 10/2014.
  • ELIZABETH TASHJIAN, & Yung-Yu Ma. (2014) Firm unionization and bankruptcy restructuring. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 04/2014.
  • ELIZABETH TASHJIAN, & Madhuparna Kolay & Michael Lemmon. (2013) Spillover Effects in the Supply Chain: Evidence from Chapter 11 Filings . Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 01/2013.
  • ELIZABETH TASHJIAN, & Michael Lemmon and Yung-Yu Ma. (2012) Bankruptcy Restructuring and Recidivism. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 10/2012.
  • ELIZABETH TASHJIAN, & Michael Lemmon and Yung-Yu Ma. (2009) Survival of the fittest? Financial and economic distress and restructuring outcomes in Chapter 11. Presentation, Presented, 06/2009.
  • Tashjian, E., & Bermudez J , Foresti S, Agutter J, Westenskow D, Syroid N, Drews F. (2004). Metodologia Interdisciplinaria para Disenar Nuevas Arquitecturas de Representacion de Datos -- Parte II. (pp. 461-419). Proceedings of the 2004 SIGraDi Conference, UNISINOS. Conference Paper, Other, 2004.
  • Tashjian, E., & Bermudez J., Foresti S., Agutter J., Westenskow D., Syorid N, Drews F, Tashjian E, Adams V. (2004). Interdisciplinary Methodology Supporting the Design Research & Practice of New Data Representation Architectures. Proceedings of EAAE/ARCC Research Conference. Conference Paper, Other, 2004.

Geographical Regions of Interest

  • France
    Visiting Professor, INSEAD, 1996-1998.
  • Israel
    Visiting Professor, Hebrew University, 1997-1998.

Publications

  • Elizabeth Tashjian (2020). The Essence of Investing: Experiential Education with a Student-Run Portfolio. Managerial Finance. Vol. 46, 530-547. Teaching - refereed, Published, 06/2020.
  • Elizabeth Tashjian & Madhuparna Kolay and Michael Lemmon (2016). Spreading the Misery? Sources of Bankruptcy Spillover in the Supply Chain. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis. Vol. 51. Discipline based - refereed, Published, 12/2016.
  • C. Frost and K. Degree & Teresa Pavia (2016). 7 Domains of Women's Health. (pp. 62-74). KendallHunt. Practice - refereed, Published, 04/2016.
  • Tashjian, E., & Avner Kalay and Rajeev Singhal. (2007). Is Chapter 11 Costly?. Journal of Financial Ecnomics. 84-3, 772-796. Discipline based - refereed, Published, 06/2007.
  • Tashjian, E., & Bermudez J, Agutter J, Foresti S, Westenskow D, Syroid N, Drews F. (2005). Between Art, Science, And Technology: Data Representation Architecture. Leonardo. 38, 280-285. Discipline based - refereed, Published, 2005.
  • Tashjian, E., & Bermudez J , Foresti S, Agutter J, Westenskow D, Syroid N, Drews F, Tashjian E, Adams V. (2004). Interdisciplinary methodology supporting the design research & practice of new data representation architectures. Proceedings of the 2004 EAAE-ARCC Research Conference. Discipline based - refereed, Published, 2004.
  • Tashjian, E., & Bermudez J, Foresti S, Agutter J, Westenskow D, Syroid N, Drews F, Tashjian E, Adams V. (2003). Metodologia Interdisciplinaria para Disear Nuevas Arquitecturas de Representaci?n de Datos. Proceedings of the 7th. SIGraDi Conference., 334-338. Discipline based - refereed, Published, 2003.
  • Tashjian, E., & Ronald C. Lease and John J. McConnell. (2000). Outcomes in Prepackaged Bankruptcies. (pp. 4-). Journal of Corporate Renewal. Practice - other, Published, 03/2000.
  • Tashjian, E., & Lawrence A. Weiss. (1997). Navigating a course off the rocks. Financial Times (of London)., 8-9. Practice - other, Published, 02/1997.
  • Tashjian, E., & Ronald C. Lease and John J. McConnell. (1996). Prepacks: An Empirical Analysis of Prepackaged Bankruptcies,' with Ronald Lease and John McConnell. Journal of Financial Economics. 40, 135-162. Discipline based - refereed, Published, 1996.
  • Tashjian, E., & Ronald C. Lease and John J. McConnell. (1996). Prepacks As A Mechanism For Resolving Financial Distress: The Evidence. (pp. 99-106). Journal of Applied Corporate Finance. Practice - other, Published, 1996.
  • Tashjian, E., & Maayana Weissman. (1995). Advantages to Competing with Yourself: Why an Exchange Might Design Futures Contracts with Correlated Payoffs. Journal of Financial Intermediation. 4, 133-157. Discipline based - refereed, Published, 1995.
  • Tashjian, E.(1995). Optimal Futures Contract Design. The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance. 35, 153-162. Discipline based - refereed, Published, 1995.
  • Tashjian, E., & John J. McConnell and William A. Kracaw. (1991). Day-of-the-week Effects in Financial Futures: An Analysis of GNMA, T-Bond, T-Note, and T-Bill Contracts. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis. 26, 133-157. Discipline based - refereed, Published, 1991.
  • Tashjian, E., & John J. McConnell. (1989). Requiem for a Market: An Analysis of the Rise and Fall of a Financial Futures Contract. Review of Financial Studies. 2, 1-23. Discipline based - refereed, Published, 1989.