Gideon Bornstein

Gideon Bornstein
  • Assistant Professor of Finance

Contact Information

  • office Address:

    2317 Steinberg-Dietrich Hall
    3620 Locust Walk
    Philadelphia, PA 19104

Research Interests: Macroeconomics, International Macroeconomics

Links: Personal Website, CV

Research

Working Papers

The Macroeconomics of Trade Credit, September 2023  (with Luigi Bocola)

The Impact of Social Insurance on Household Debt, August 2023 (with Sasha Indarte)
R&R at Review of Economic Studies

Nonlinear Pricing and Misallocation, February 2023 (with Alessandra Peter)
R&R at American Economic Review

Entry and Profits in an Aging Economy: The Role of Consumer Inertia, November 2021
R&R at Review of Economic Studies

Publications

A World Equilibrium Model of the Oil Market (with Per Krusell and Sergio Rebelo)
Review of Economic Studies, January 2023

A Continuous-Time Model of Sovereign Debt [replication codes]
Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, September 2020

Quantitative Sovereign Default Models and the European Debt Crisis (with Luigi Bocola and Alessandro Dovis)
Journal of International Economics, May 2019

Moral Hazard Misconceptions: The Case of the Greenspan Put (with Guido Lorenzoni)
IMF Economic Review, June 2018

Work in Progress

Financial Frictions and Firm Exit: Theory and Facts (with Laura Castillo-Martinez)
Awarded NSF Grant (co-PI with Laura Castillo-Martinez)

Monopsony Power and the Transmission of Monetary Policy (with Bence Bardóczy, Chiara Maggi, and Sergio Salgado)

Are High Housing Costs Amplifying Recessions? (with Sasha Indarte and Emily Williams)

  • Sasha Indarte and Gideon Bornstein, The Impact of Social Insurance on Household Debt.

    Abstract: This paper investigates how the expansion of social insurance affects households’ accumulation of debt. Insurance can reduce reliance on debt by lessening the financial impact of adverse events like illness and job loss. But it can also weaken the motive to self-insure through savings, and households’ improved financial resilience can increase access to credit. Using two quasi experimental research designs, we estimate the causal effect of expanded insurance on household debt, exploiting the staggered expansions of one of the largest US social insurance programs: Medicaid. We find that expanding Medicaid increased credit card borrowing by 2.2%. Decomposing this effect in a model of household borrowing, we show that increased credit supply in response to households’ improved financial resilience fully accounts for this rise in borrowing and contributed to 17% of the total welfare gains of expanding Medicaid.

Teaching

Current Courses (Fall 2024)

  • FNCE9370 - Topics In Macro Finance

    This is an advanced course in quantitative theory applied to macro and finance models. It is intended for doctoral students in finance, economics and related fields. The course focuses on four broad theoretical literatures: (i) firm investment and growth; (ii) corporate, household and sovereign debt; (iii) asset pricing in general equilibrium; and (iv) equilibrium macro models with a financial sector. My approach is to develop and discuss in detail a unified framework that is suited to address most topics, usually covering a few central topics and the core papers. We then discuss the more recent literature, highlighting how authors combine and expand upon the core ideas. This part of the course usually relies on regular student presentations.

    FNCE9370001 ( Syllabus )

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  • FNCE1010 - Monetary Econ & Glob Eco

    This is an intermediate-level course in macroeconomics and the global economy, including topics in monetary and international economics. The goal is to provide a unified framework for understanding macroeconomic events and policy, which govern the global economic environment of business. The course analyzes the determinants and behavior of employment, production, demand and profits; inflation, interest rates, asset prices, and wages; exchange rates and international flows of goods and assets; including the interaction of the real economy with monetary policy and the financial system. The analysis is applied to current events, both in the US and abroad. Students cannot receive credit for taking both FNCE 1010 and ECON 2200. Wharton students are required to take FNCE 1010.

  • FNCE9370 - Topics in Macro Finance

    This is an advanced course in quantitative theory applied to macro and finance models. It is intended for doctoral students in finance, economics and related fields. The course focuses on four broad theoretical literatures: (i) firm investment and growth; (ii) corporate, household and sovereign debt; (iii) asset pricing in general equilibrium; and (iv) equilibrium macro models with a financial sector. My approach is to develop and discuss in detail a unified framework that is suited to address most topics, usually covering a few central topics and the core papers. We then discuss the more recent literature, highlighting how authors combine and expand upon the core ideas. This part of the course usually relies on regular student presentations.

Awards and Honors

  • National Science Foundation Grant, 2021-2023 Description

    “The Anatomy of Firm Exit: Theory and Facts,” co-PI with Laura Castillo-Martinez

In the News

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Activity

Latest Research

Sasha Indarte and Gideon Bornstein, The Impact of Social Insurance on Household Debt.
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In the News

How Social Insurance Drives Credit Card Debt

New Wharton research finds that as more and more households become eligible for Medicaid, they have better access to credit.…Read More

Knowledge at Wharton - 4/15/2024
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This upcoming academic year, the Wharton School will welcome 20 new faculty members. These brilliant minds are leading experts in a wide range of fields, including business, social science, finance, economics, public policy, management, marketing, statistics, real estate, and operations. One of the most exciting additions to the Wharton community…

Wharton Stories - 08/17/2020
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