Bio
Brian Melzer is an economist who studies household finance, real estate, financial intermediation, and financial regulation. He has held positions as a senior financial economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and as an assistant professor of finance at the Kellogg School of Management, where he taught corporate finance for MBA students. Professor Melzer has published in leading economics and finance journals, including the American Economic Review, the Quarterly Journal of Economics, and the Journal of Finance. He teaches courses in real estate at Tuck.
Current Research Topics
- Household finance
- Real estate
- Financial institutions
- Corporate finance
Professional Activities
Academic positions
- Associate Professor of Business Administration (with tenure), Tuck School of Business, 2022–present
- Associate Professor of Business Administration, Tuck School of Business, 2018–2022
- Adjunct Professor of Finance, Kellogg School of Management, 2017
- Assistant Professor of Finance, Kellogg School of Management, 2008–17
Nonacademic positions
- Senior Financial Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, 2017
- Portfolio Analyst, Hedge Funds Group, ABP Investments US, Inc., 2003
- Research Analyst, Dawson-Giammalva Capital Management, Inc., 2001–03
Editorial positions
Ad Hoc Referee: American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Review, American Sociological Review, Journal of Banking and Finance, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Financial Intermediation, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Journal of Housing Economics, Journal of Law and Economics, Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Public Economics, Management Science, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Review of Economics and Statistics, Review of Financial Studies, The Review of Black Political Economy
Board memberships
Board of Directors, Harkness House for Children, 2013–16
Awards
- L.G. Lavengood Outstanding Professor of the Year, Kellogg School of Management, 2018
- Brattle Group Distinguished Paper Prize for the best corporate finance papers published in the Journal of Finance, 2017
- Amundi Smith Breeden Distinguished Paper Prize for the best capital markets papers published in the Journal of Finance, 2017
- Kellogg Student Association Faculty Impact Award for excellence in teaching, fall 2017
- Kellogg Student Association Faculty Impact Award for excellence in teaching, spring 2017
- Canadian Investment Research Award, CFA Society Toronto & Hillsdale Investment Management (for “Retail Financial Advice: Does One Size Fit All?”), 2015
- AHRQ Health Services Research Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, 2007–08
- Sanford J. Grossman Fellowship in honor of Arnold Zellner, 2007–08
- Chicago Center for Excellence in Health Promotion Economics Research Fellowship, 2006–07
- University of Chicago Graduate School of Business Fellowship, 2003–07
- Class of 1869 Prize for best undergraduate thesis in moral and social ethics
- Ernest L. Ransome III Scholarship for postgraduate study at University of St Andrews
Working Papers
- With D. Green J. Parker, and A. Rojas, “Accelerator or Brake? Cash for Clunkers, Household Liquidity, and Aggregate Demand”
- With A. Schroeder, “Loan Contracting in the Presence of Usury Limits: Evidence from Automobile Lending”
- With E. Benmelech and A. Guren, “Making the House a Home: The Stimulative Effect of Home Purchases on Consumption and Investment”
Selected Publications
- With J.T. Linnainmaa and A. Previtero, “The Misguided Beliefs of Financial Advisors,” Journal of Finance, forthcoming
- With C. Kuhnen, “Non-Cognitive Abilities and Loan Delinquency: The Role of Self-Efficacy in Avoiding Financial Distress," Journal of Finance, forthcoming
- “Spillovers from Costly Credit,” Review of Financial Studies, 31(9), 2018
- With J.W. Hsu and D. Matsa, “Unemployment Insurance as a Housing Market Stabilizer,” American Economic Review, 108(1), 2018
- With S. Foerster, J.T. Linnainmaa, and A. Previtero, “Retail Financial Advice: Does One Size Fit All?” Journal of Finance, 72(4), 2017
- “Mortgage Debt Overhang: Reduced Investment by Homeowners at Risk of Default,” Journal of Finance, 72(2), 2017
- With D. Morgan, “Competition in a Consumer Loan Market: Payday Loans and Overdraft Credit,” Journal of Financial Intermediation, 24(1), 2015
- “The Real Costs of Credit Access: Evidence from the Payday Lending Market,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 126(1), 2011