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Hersh Shefrin, Mario L. Belotti Professor of Finance

Hersh Shefrin

Hersh Shefrin is the Mario L. Belotti Professor of Finance at Santa Clara University. He is a pioneer in the behavioral approach to economics and finance. The January 2001 issue of CFO Magazine lists Shefrin among the academic stars of finance. A 2003 article in the American Economic Review listed him as one of the top 15 economic theorists to have influenced empirical work. In 2009, Shefrin’s behavioral finance book Beyond Greed and Fear was recognized by J.P. Morgan Chase as one of the top 10 books published since 2000.

His books span the entire financial landscape, describing asset pricing (A Behavioral Approach to Asset Pricing, 2005), how behavioral ideas impact investment (Beyond Greed and Fear, 2007), risk management (Behavioral Risk Management, 2015), and corporate finance (Behavioral Corporate Finance, 2017).

Shefrin received a B.S. (honors) in economics and mathematics from the University of Manitoba in 1970; a Master of Mathematics from the University of Waterloo in 1971; and a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics in 1974. He also holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Oulu, Finland.

The press frequently interviews Shefrin as one of the leaders in the field of behavioral finance, and in February 2014 his work was profiled on BBC-TV.

Photo of exhaust fumes released from car tailpipes.

Behavioral Economics Explains Our Addiction To Fossil Fuels—And What It Will Take To Quit.

By Hersh Shefrin
Resisting the imposition of sensible fees on greenhouse gas emissions is akin to resisting rehab.
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Photo of Sam Bankman Fried

Deep Behavioral Lessons From The Saga Of Sam Bankman-Fried

By Hersh Shefrin
The focus on fraud in the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried has overshadowed many important psychological issues about cryptocurrency markets and financial management.
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Photo of Benjamin Franklin on $100 bill.

The Psychology That Brought Down SVB Is Not Going Away

By Hersh Shefrin
Shakespeare’s Hamlet uses the phrase “thinking makes it so.” Was Silicon Valley Bank fragile when it collapsed, or did depositor thinking instead make it so?
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Photo of Southwest Airlines planes lined up on a tarmac.

Can Southwest Airlines Fix Its Systemic Weaknesses In The New Year?

By Hersh Shefrin
The company appears to have an Achilles’ heel when it comes to capital budgeting decisions about infrastructure.
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Photo of fish and coral reef.

Blue Planet, And Climate Change: Taking Lemons And Making Lemonade

By Hersh Shefrin
A Bay Area company has pioneered a way to manufacture cement which mimics the way that corals build reefs, helping reduce emissions of carbon dioxide.
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Photo of flag of COP26 UN 2021 climate change conference

Two Climate Moments of Truth Loom for Carbon Pricing Policy

By Hersh Shefrin
Bold leadership in climate change policy is required now—in the U.S. and abroad.
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Photo of smokestacks

President Biden’s Policy Mistake About Carbon Pricing

By Hersh Shefrin
President Biden is sidestepping the carbon pricing issue, despite the strong recommendations of most mainstream economists.
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United Nations World Food Programme recipient.

MY UNCLE, THE VISIONARY

By Hersh Shefrin
Frank Shefrin helped to build the United Nations' food aid program, winner of the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize.
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Photograph of Adam Neumann, co-founder and former CEO of WeWork

The Rise and Fall of WeWork

By Hersh Shefrin
The story of WeWork captured the imaginations of people around the world, but ultimately turned out to be too good to be true.
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Photo of smoke stack pollution

Psychology Plays Key Role in Climate Change Debate

By Hersh Shefrin
As the U.S. presidential campaign season intensifies, the issue of climate change will heat up. Psychology will play an important part in this debate.
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A person in outdoor setting, resting their head in hand, looking distressed.

Getting A Grip On This Yo Yo Stock Market

By Hersh Shefrin
Well over a year ago, I pointed out that U.S. stocks were 20 percent overvalued. I believe that this overvaluation reflected irrational exuberance.
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Newspaper headline from 2008 financial crisis

What Made The Financial Crisis Go From Bad To Disaster?

By Hersh Shefrin
A new book contends the decision to allow Lehman Brothers to fail during the financial crisis 10 years ago was psychologically driven...
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Two ships face off with each other, one from United States the other from China to illustrate trade war

Playing Trade War Chicken

By Hersh Shefrin
Economists are predicting that the next recession will occur in or around 2020, as the Fed increases interest rates to tamp down an overheated economy...
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Close up of a Tesla supercharger in front of a wood wall

Elon Musk’s Tantrum and Tesla’s Financial Challenges

By Hersh Shefrin
It is nothing short of extraordinary that within the space of a decade, Elon Musk, founder and CEO of Tesla, was able to accelerate Tesla’s stock market...
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A gate with a chain holding the two doors together by a padlock in front of a blurred road and outdoor background

The Theranos Con

By Hersh Shefrin
This April, Theranos laid off all but a sliver of its workforce. This marks a sad event for a medical technology firm whose board once included...
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A Venn diagram with the word strategy written on an arm holding a wrench meeting in the middle of three circles

How to Avoid Making a Bad Situation Worse

By Hersh Shefrin
One sixth of all the prescriptions written in this country are for drugs produced by the Israel-based pharmaceutical firm Teva. For Teva, that...
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Nobel Peace Prize Medal

Economics Nobel Prize Recognizes Behavioral Transformation of Economics

By Hersh Shefrin
On Dec. 9, behavioral economist Richard Thaler will be awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics. For many reasons, this event is special. The award is for...
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Person holding a phone with the Uber app open

On Steroids: Uber's Wild Psychological Ride

By Hersh Shefrin
Uber dramatically disrupted the global taxi industry in less than a decade. Now, former Uber engineer Susan Fowler has disrupted Uber by blogging about being...
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