Rohan Kekre (Photo by Jean Lachat)
Economist Rohan Kekre joined the Haas School of Business as an assistant professor in the Finance Group on January 1. He comes to Berkeley from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where over the course of nearly a decade he taught international financial policy to hundreds of students.
Kekre’s research is in macroeconomics and finance. He holds an AB in applied mathematics, an AM in statistics, and a PhD in business economics, all from Harvard University.
A native of Rochester, New York, Kekre spent a couple of years working in management consulting before entering academia. This spring, he’ll begin teaching Empirical Asset Pricing for PhD students, followed by core finance for MBA students in the fall.
How would you describe your research and what motivates your work?
I describe my interests as being at the intersection of macroeconomics and finance, with a particular focus on international finance. I’ve worked on the macroeconomic drivers of exchange rates and interest rates, how monetary policy transmits through financial markets, and the unique roles of the U.S. in the international financial system.
What motivates me is that some of the most pressing public policy questions in the world today are global in nature—the future of the dollar as the world’s reserve currency being just one example. I think that the toolboxes in macroeconomics and finance can be especially powerful when used together to study these questions. Asset prices provide a wealth of information about the fundamentals that drive the overall economy and, ultimately, economic well-being.
Your undergraduate degree was in math. What drew you to economics?
Yes, I’ve always loved math, but what I liked about economics was using those tools to study policy issues that have direct relevance for people. That’s why I decided to pursue a PhD in economics, and it’s been an undercurrent of my work ever since.
You’re an experienced educator, having spent nine years teaching at Chicago Booth. What do you enjoy about it?
Before I moved, I had to submit my teaching evaluations to Berkeley, and when I added them up, I had ended up teaching something like a thousand students over those nine years. Research is fulfilling in a different way, but teaching has a more tangible impact that you can measure. Because the courses I teach are “mathy,” students sometimes think they’re going to be very dry and boring. When those students come up afterwards and say that the course was much more interesting than they expected and they learned a lot, that’s very rewarding. I expect that will continue at Berkeley.
Why did you decide to move west to Berkeley?
Professionally, Berkeley is one of the world’s best institutions in economics and finance, with a particularly strong tradition in international macroeconomics. I’m super excited to be part of that tradition. I’m also excited to interact with all the colleagues and great students across the degree programs at Haas. I’m especially looking forward to getting involved with the Clausen Center (for International Business & Policy), as their work in international economics and finance is right in my wheelhouse.
On the personal side, my wife is a proud Haas alum—she got her undergraduate degree here—and we have family and many friends in the area.
Which research project most excites you right now?
I’m working on a project about how U.S. monetary policy spills over to the rest of the world by affecting investors’ willingness to take risk. Since the U.S. dollar is the most important currency for international borrowing, U.S. policy has a large effect on the global “price of risk”. My recent working paper (with Moritz Lenel of Princeton University), “A Model of US Monetary Policy and the Global Financial Cycle,” provides a theoretical framework for thinking through these effects.
What are your favorite discoveries in the Bay Area so far?
We just got here, so most of the East Bay is still very new to me, but I’ve loved seeing the views from the hills and all the nature that surrounds us. I also love tennis, and I’m excited to be able to play outside year-round. I’ve also started playing golf and want to explore the local courses.
But right now, most of my time outside of work is consumed by my three kids, who range in age from one to six. It’s a busy time, but we’re all excited to be here!