Richard Townsend

Richard Townsend is an Associate Professor of Finance at the Rady School of Management, University of California San Diego, with secondary affiliation at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). His research bridges corporate finance with entrepreneurship and behavioral finance.

• Stanford University - B.A. Economics
• Harvard University - Ph.D. Economics (2011)
• University of California San Diego - Academic Home
• Dartmouth College - Former Assistant Professor

Townsend's research explores:

• Corporate governance and executive compensation
• Entrepreneurship and innovation finance
• Behavioral anomalies in financial markets
• VC investment patterns during economic cycles
• Gender bias in early-stage funding

Recent work examines:

• Price dispersion in freight networks
• Political sentiment's impact on innovation
• Career risk and entrepreneurial entry

Scientific recognition:

• Kauffman Foundation Junior Faculty Fellowship
• Journal of Financial Economics Jensen Prize (2nd Prize)
• AQR Insight Award (1st Prize)

His publications appear in top journals including Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, and Management Science. Collaborations with scholars like Kelly Shue and Shai Bernstein reveal how economic shocks propagate through innovation ecosystems.