Nik Volkov, Ph.D.

2018, Journal of Forensic Economics, 27:2

This article presents a framework for computing damages in South Carolina personal injury and wrongful death cases including those that are caused by medical malpractice. The analysis is based on statute, common law, case law, and practice. Elements unique to personal injury and wrongful death cases are discussed, as well as elements common to both. The role and requirements for damage experts are also presented.

2017, Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, 63, 170-184, with Inga Chira,

Presented at the Financial Management Association Meeting 2015 and the Eastern Finance Association Meeting 2015

We examine the method by which firms are sold, auctions or one-on-one negotiations. We define and describe a subset of transactions that result from auction failure (i.e., target-attempted auctions that secure only one bidder). Controlling for endogeneity, firm, and transaction specific characteristics, we show that attempted auctions that resulted in one-on-one negotiations are associated with lower final premiums and higher acquirer returns compared with both successful auctions and pure negotiations (negotiations with only one bidder from the outset to the conclusion of the transaction). We find that several target, acquirer, and deal-specific characteristics affect the likelihood of auction failure. The loss of latent (perceived) competition that results from an unsuccessful attempt to auction the target partially shifts the wealth created by a merger or acquisition from targets’ to acquirers’ shareholders. To maximize shareholders’ wealth, targets should carefully consider the likelihood of securing more than one interested bidder prior to initiating an auction.

2016, Global Finance Journal, 31, 18-30, with Ky-Hyang Yuhn

Presented at the Midwestern Finance Association Meeting 2013 and the Southern Finance Association Meeting 2013

This study investigates the effects of oil price shocks on exchange rate movements in five major oil-exporting countries (Russia, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, and Norway) using monthly data from September 1998 to August 2012. There are noticeable differences in the behavior of the exchange rate between emerging markets and advanced economies. Russia and Brazil in particular exhibit different patterns from those of Canada and Norway in the direction and magnitude of the effects of oil price shocks on exchange rate movements. The R2 for Russia and Brazil is more than doubled when oil prices are incorporated into the fundamental model, but it increases only slightly for Canada and Norway. The volatility of exchange rates associated with an oil price shock is significant in Russia, Brazil, and Mexico, but weak in Norway and Canada. It takes much longer for the exchange rate of Russia, Brazil, and Mexico to reach the initial equilibrium level than for the exchange rate of Norway and Canada. The asymmetric behavior of exchange rate volatility among countries seems to be related to the efficiency of financial and foreign exchange markets rather than to the importance of oil revenues in an economy.

2016, Journal of Corporate Finance, 37, 109-131, with Inga Chira and Arjan Premti

Presented at the Midwestern Finance Association Meeting 2016

We examine the attributes that contribute to a successful placement of first time finance Ph.D. job market participants. The results of a survey of 237 former job market candidates suggest that while the ranking of the Ph.D.-granting institution plays a significant role in candidates’ success at all stages of the job market (candidates from higher ranked schools receive more conference interviews, fly-outs, job offers, and secure higher salaries), other factors also contribute. Prior publications or invitations to resubmit a paper to a journal, experience of presenting at academic conferences, and prior work experience positively affect marketability. Younger candidates, Caucasians, and graduates of higher ranked schools secure placements with higher research requirements and higher salaries. The quality of the hiring institution plays a central role in the candidate’s overall satisfaction with the job market outcome. Additionally, we collect and summarize recommendations of survey respondents to future first-time job market participants.

2015, Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, 55, 160-175, with Garrett Smith

Presented at the Eastern Finance Association Annual Meeting 2014

This paper examines the effect of corporate diversification on firm value during periods of economic downturns. Analysis of diversified firms’ valuation during recessionary periods reveals a significant increase in relative value of diversified firms. The observed improvement in the relative valuation is only a temporary phenomenon, which disappears in the four quarters following the trough of the recession. We do not find support to the hypothesis that the improvement in relative valuation of diversified firms during economic downturns is attributed to the ability of diversified firms to utilize broader external capital markets. We demonstrate that the improvement in relative valuation is largely driven by diversified firms that are financially constrained, and, therefore, attribute the observed improvement to more efficient internal capital allocation during recessions.

2016, The American Middle Class: An Economic Encyclopedia of Progress and Poverty, with Anna Agapova, edited by Robert S. Rycroft

The chapter introduces the history and the basic principles of investing in mutual funds. It discusses the role of mutual funds in the growth of the U.S. middle class.

with Anna Agapova, revise and resubmit

Presented at the Financial Management Association (FMA) Doctoral Student Consortium 2014, the Special Doctoral Student Paper Session at the FMA 2014, and the Eastern Finance Association Annual Meeting 2016

We empirically investigate corporate management’s decision to voluntarily disclose information that pertains to firm’s strategy. A tradeoff between the benefit of reduced information asymmetry and the cost of investors’ disagreement with the strategy, along with the firm’s intrinsic value define the likelihood of strategic information disclosure. We show that a higher level of information asymmetry and a higher degree of investor-management disagreement increase the likelihood of disclosure of strategic information. Firms with higher intrinsic value are less likely to disclose strategic information. The results are robust to the use of exogenous shocks to investor-management disagreement and information asymmetry.

with Anna Agapova, submitted

Presented at the Financial Management Association Meeting 2015, the Academy of Financial Service Meeting 2016 and the Southern Finance Association Annual Meeting 2018

Prospect theory suggests that people perceive economic losses and gains differently. We apply the theory to examine the effect of confirmed and tentative changes in capital gain taxes on tax-induced trading. Investors adjust their trading in response to tax changes: They reduce trading of winners more than increase trading of losers in the event of a tax decrease (and vice versa in the event of a tax increase) and treat tentative tax increase similar to a confirmed one. These findings have important policy implications: Uncertainty about impending tax rate changes alters investors’ trading behavior and may affect government tax collections.

with Anna Agapova, submitted

this paper received a 10,000 euro grant from the ETF Research Academy sponsored by Luxor Asset Management

Presented at the Eastern Finance Association Annual Meeting 2017, the Luxor Asset Management Investor Summit in Munich, Germany, 2017, and the American Finance Association Annual Meeting 2019

Investors may prefer buying ETFs over making direct investments in illiquid securities, e.g. bonds, as ETFs can provide insurance, diversification and a cheaper and easier way of investing in such assets. However, volatility of demand for bond ETFs (or any other illiquid assets’ ETFs) may distort prices and raise price volatility of underlying securities. Therefore, investors face a tradeoff between investing in bond securities through ETFs or directly in bonds not associated with ETFs. We find that constituents of corporate bond ETFs have lower return levels and return volatilities than bonds not held by ETFs. This can be explained by improved liquidity of the bonds held by ETFs due to the price discovery function provided by the ETF market. However, this result is driven by lower credit quality bonds, which benefit disproportionately from the ETF price discovery mechanism. Investment grade bonds which have little to gain through price discovery actually experience an increase in volatility due to inclusion in ETFs.

with Inga Chira, submitted

Career and education choice play a central role in individual’s long-term financial planning. In this paper we put forth a definition of individual’s wealth that incorporates human capital (expressed as the present value of one’s future earnings) in the function of overall wealth. The study argues that human capital accounts for the majority of wealth portfolio for the vast majority of one’s life. Through inclusion of human capital in the traditional portfolio choice framework, we illustrate that the choice of career and education level has a significant effect on the Sharpe ratio of individual’s overall wealth portfolio. The paper concludes by computing present values of future earnings streams for individuals of various education levels involved in a number of occupations. The computations are set to provide some guidance on both career and education level choices.

with Anna Agapova and Jeff Madura, submitted

We examine whether the degree of selective disclosure (as measured by information leakage prior to managerial guidance) of foreign firms with ADRs is different from that of U.S. firms. We find that there is no variation of leakage before earning guidance between ADRs and U.S. firms. This result is consistent with a prediction that despite being exempt from Regulation FD, ADRs have sufficient incentives to avoid selective disclosure even without enforcement by the regulation. In addition, we attempt to determine whether the variation in selective disclosure among the foreign firms with ADRs is conditioned on the respective home country transparency and governance standards. We find that country specific characteristics do not explain the variation in information leakage of ADRs.

with Thomas Roney and Brittany Pearce,

[sans] Presented at the Western Meeting of the National Association of Forensic Economics 2018

This paper propose a model for a computation of future earnings (earning capacity) for an undocumented worker. I introduce a model that has a significant practical implications in the legal community. The model establishes a methodology for computing the future earnings (earning capacity) while controlling for the probability that the undocumented worker will be deported or will voluntarily return to his/her home country. I propose several data sources that can be utilized in the estimation of the model parameters. I demonstrate how the model can be applied in a real world setting through a simple case study. The model is suited for use in the assessment of economic damages in personal injury and wrongful death cases of undocumented workers.

with Anna Agapova

We empirically investigate the relation between the quality of corporate governance and the propensity of the firm to disclose strategic information. Using a hand-collected data set, we demonstrate that companies with lower managerial entrenchment (better contractual bonding mechanism of corporate governance) are less likely to disclose strategic information. Firms that enjoy better monitoring through higher board independence and better quality auditors possess a higher propensity to provide strategic guidance. Furthermore, we investigate the link between the level and the structure of executive compensation and strategic information disclosure. Empirical results suggest an existence of a “disclosure bonus” that is paid to executives following strategic information disclosure. The bonus reflects in both the salary and the equity-related component of executive compensation.

with Garrett Smith

We expand on the work of Fama and French (1992), Fama and French (1993) and propose that the degree of corporate diversification should contribute to the understanding of risk factors for asset returns. First, we demonstrate that inclusion of firm-specific degree of diversification aids in explaining the cross-sectional variation of stock returns. Second, we develop a diversification-based pricing factor, NMH (non-diversified minus highly diversified) and empirically test its significance in the time-series of stock returns. The findings of this paper contribute to establishing a link between macroeconomic variables and stock returns.

FIN 645 (Mercer), FIN 6936 (FAU)

The focus of this course is on modeling, forecasting, and planning corporate financial decisions. The course is designed for students planning careers involving valuation and forecasting in corporate finance, private equity, venture capital, Treasury Management and mergers and acquisitions among others. We will link the theory of finance to practical and usable spreadsheet models that will assist a financial manager in forecasting, valuation, firm’s investment and capital structure decisions. Students will also be introduced to both simulation and optimization.

FIN 444 (Mercer)

This course provides the student with an introduction to financial analysis in the international context by focusing on those areas of decision-making unique to the firm operating in the global economy. The topics of interest in International Financial Management include the following: The global environment for the multinational business; foreign exchange markets; international financial markets and portfolio considerations; direct foreign investment and multinational capital budgeting; and the mechanics of exposure management and exchange rate forecasting.

FIN 362 (Mercer), FIN 3403 (FAU)

This is an introductory survey to the fundamental principles of corporate financial management. Normative analysis of investment and financing decisions of a corporation are provided. In addition, issues concerning the management of working capital and financial planning are addressed.

FIN 404 (Mercer), FIN 4504 (FAU)

The course provides an in-depth discussion of fundamental principles related to investment securities and options for both institutional and individual investors. These principal ideas may include: fixed-income securities analysis, risk-return analysis, portfolio selection, asset pricing, equity securities analysis, the efficient market hypothesis, and derivatives analysis and pricing.

BA 671 (Mercer), MAN 6931 (FAU)

This course will provide an introduction and an overview of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and other restructuring activities. Some of the topics to be covered in this course include: M&A environment, regulatory environment, corporate takeover market, M&A valuation and modeling, alternative business and restructuring strategies and financing M&A deals.

I provide economic loss assessments for personal injury, medical malpractice, wrongful death, and employment discrimination cases.
I recently developed a software that automates the initial calculation of economic damages in personal injury and malpractice cases. The software allows for significant cost savings for both plaintiff's and defense attorneys. The software and all of the relevant information can be found by going to www.econloss.com or clicking the link below.

We developed an online application that allows to see the expected earnings curve of an individual in a specific career given a specific education level (age-earnings profile). The tool outputs over 5,000 different combinations of occupations and education levels and aids individuals in determining the optimal education level for a specific career path. The tool is design to aid with the decision of career and education choice. We are currently developing several new features of the application.

We are a very active family. My wife Olga, who I have known since high school, is a special education teacher and a passionate advocate for kids with disabilities. We have three boys: Timothy (9) is in 3rd grade, Anthony (8) goes to 2nd grade, and Matthew (4) goes to pre-k. We are active members of North Point Community Church.

My grandfather, my father, and my mother are PhDs who dedicated most of their lives to research and teaching. Although my path to academia was detoured via participation in the Russian national olympic team, job at one of the largest investment firms, and several business ventures, I have continued with the "family business".