Kenneth A. Kim

Kenneth A. Kim is an American financial economist and an academic. He is a Kaisa Endowed Chair Professor at Tongji University.

Kim's work has focused on behavioral finance, market microstructure, and corporate governance, focusing on investor behavior and institutions in Asian and emerging markets. He was named among the best economics and finance scientists in China for 2026.

Education Kim completed his B.A. in economics at the University of Michigan from 1986 to 1990. He obtained his M.B.A. from the University of Detroit from 1990 to 1992 and a PhD in Finance from the University of Rhode Island in 1997. Much of his work has examined large-sample data analysis, focusing on how firm behavior and market outcomes are shaped by governance structures and regulatory environments.

A central theme of Kim's research is corporate governance, particularly how ownership structure, managerial incentives, and board characteristics affect corporate decision-making. He has examined topics such as investment efficiency, financing choices, and firm performance. His work also examines capital market behavior, including how market frictions, investor biases, and institutional constraints influence prices and trading activity.

In more recent research, Kim has explored how firms respond to external shocks and policy changes, including trade tensions and regulatory reforms, as well as the role of innovation and R&D in firm resilience. He has also analyzed relationship-based financing and the relative importance of social and political connections in access to capital.

Selected articles Kim, K. A., & Rhee, S. G. (1997). Price limit performance: evidence from the Tokyo Stock Exchange. the Journal of Finance, 52(2), 885-901. Ferris, S. P., Kim, K. A., & Kitsabunnarat, P. (2003). The costs (and benefits?) of diversified business groups: The case of Korean chaebols. Journal of Banking & Finance, 27(2), 251-273. Chen, G., Kim, K. A., Nofsinger, J. R., & Rui, O. M. (2007). Trading performance, disposition effect, overconfidence, representativeness bias, and experience of emerging market investors. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 20(4), 425-451. Jiang, F., & Kim, K. A. (2015). Corporate governance in China: A modern perspective. Journal of Corporate Finance, 32, 190-216. Jiang, F., & Kim, K. A. (2020). Corporate governance in China: A survey. Review of Finance, 24(4), 733-772.