Candidate Photo
CV  

    I am an Assistant Professor of Finance at NYU Stern and an academic consultant for the National Bank of Belgium.

    I am Italian (born and raised in Sardinia). I received my PhD in Economics from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor degree and Master of Science from Bocconi University.

    I do research in the areas of Financial Intermediation, Applied Macro, Monetary Economics, Productivity, and Spatial Economics.
    My focus is on understanding the effects of market frictions—both financial and real—on firms' decisions and how these distortions impact aggregate outcomes, the spatial distribution of economic activity, and ultimately economic growth.

    Google Scholar     Twitter (@SimoneLenzu)     NBER     VoxEU

    My research

    My research contributes to three interrelated areas of the literature in finance and economics, placing firms and their decision-making at the forefront. First, my work connects to the literature investigating the drivers of firm-level and aggregate productivity growth. Second, it contributes to the corporate finance and financial intermediation literature studying the real effects of financial market frictions at the micro and macro levels. Finally, my research bridges the industrial organization literature focusing on firm dynamics with the literature in macro and monetary economics studying the contribution of real and nominal rigidities on business cycle fluctuations.

    To study these questions, I favor a micro-to-macro approach that combines rich micro data, reduced-form and structural techniques, and quantitative models. The blend of empirical and quantitative analysis helps me establish the causal relationships between different economic variables, quantify their aggregate implications, and evaluate policy-relevant counterfactuals.

    Publications   [Top ]

    1. Financial shocks, productivity, and prices (with D. Rivers & J. Tielens)

    Review of Economic Studies (Conditionally accepted)
    [Abstract]   Cite

    2. Anatomy of the Phillips Curve: Micro evidence and macro implications (with L. Gagliardone, M. Gertler, & J. Tielens)

    American Economic Review (Forthcoming)
    [Abstract]   [New York Times Article]   Cite

    3. Propagation and amplification of local productivity spillovers (with X. Giroud, Q. Maingi, & H. Mueller)

    Econometrica, Volume 92 (No. 5), September 2024, Pages 1589-1619
    [Abstract]   [Online appendix]   [Voxeu Article]   Cite

    3. Comment on "Trade and diffusion of embodied technology: An empirical analysis"

    Journal of Monetary Economics, Volume 137, July 2023, Pages 146-149.
    [Abstract]   Cite

    5. Sovereign debt exposure and the bank lending channel: Impact on credit supply and the real economy (with F. Mezzanotti & M. Bottero)

    Journal of International Economics, Volume 126, September 2020: 103328.
    [Abstract]   [Ungated Version]   [Online appendix]   [Data and Code]   Cite

    6. Pricing genius: The market evaluation of innovation (with D. Galenson)

    Journal of Applied Economics, Volume 19, Issue 2, November 2016, Pages 219-248.

    [Huffington Post Article] [Voxeu Article] [Business Insider Article]
    [Abstract]   Cite

    7. Two old masters and a young genius: The creativity of Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, and Jean-Michel Basquiat (with D. Galenson)

    Journal of Cultural Economics, 47, 489-511 (2023).
    [Abstract]   Cite

    8. Systemic risk on different interbank network topologies (with G. Tedeschi)

    Physica A, Volume 391, Issue 18, 15 September 2012, Pages 4331-4341.

    [Abstract]   Cite

    Working papers   [Top ]

    1. Zombie lending and policy traps (with V. Acharya & O. Wang)

    Review of Economic Studies (Revise and Resubmit; 2nd round)
    [Abstract]   [Voxeu Article]   Cite

    2. The cost and shadow cost of credit (with F. Manaresi and A. Taburet)

    Journal of Financial Economics (Reject and Resubmit)
    [Abstract]   Cite

    3. Micro and macro cost-price dynamics in normal times and during inflation surges (with L. Gagliardone, M. Gertler, & J. Tielens)

    [Abstract]   Cite

    4. Sources and implications of resource misallocation: New evidence from firm-Level marginal products and user costs (with F. Manaresi)

    [Abstract]   [Appendix]   Cite

    5. Additive firm's dynamics (with T. Philippon & J. Tielens)

    [Abstract]  

    6. An odd approximation of inflation for policy analysis (with A. Ebsim, L. Gagliardone, M. Gertler, & J. Tielens)
    (Draft coming soon)

    [Abstract]  

    7. Bankruptcy in equilibrium with ex-ante effects (with J. Martinez-Correa & A. Taburet)
    (Draft coming soon)

    [Abstract]  

    Work in progress   [Top ]

    1. Credit and conflict in Nigeria (with O. Bello, T. Oki, & A. Ndiaye)

    2. Selling bad loans (with M. Bottero, F. Mezzanotti, & GP. Parise)

    3. Intangibles, Market Shares, and How to Finance Them (with A. Sufi and J. Tielens)

    Media outreach   [Top ]

    Micro and macro cost-price dynamics in normal times and during inflation surges - VoxEu, Fortcoming

    Anatomy of the Phillips curve - VoxEu, Fortcoming

    Why inflation jumps - New York Times, June 28 2023

    Propagation and amplification of local productivity spillovers - VoxEu.org, December 1 2021

    Zombie lending and policy traps - VoxEu.org, October 29 2021

    Pricing genius - Huffington Post, December 6 2017

    Pricing genius - Business Insider, August 21 2015

    Pricing genius - VoxEu.org, August 19 2015

    Teaching   [Top ]

    Foundations of finance

    Lectures on structural methods for economics and finance

    Current and former students   [Top ]

    Pietro Reggiani (2022, Cornerstone Research)

    Quinn Maingi (2023, USC Marshall)

    Luca Gagliardone (2024, Yale Cowles foundation postdoc)

    Yannis Cabossioras (2024, Federal Reserve Board)

    Seriously good art   [Top ]

Family Drawing Ceci
Family Drawing Jacopo