Mauricio Medeiros Junior

Mauricio Medeiros Junior

Contact Information

  • office Address:

    2432 Steinberg Hall-Dietrich Hall, 3620 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104

Research Interests: Empirical Corporate Finance, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Labor and Finance, and Corporate Governance

Links: CV

Overview

I am a Ph.D. Candidate in Finance at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. I have a B.Sc. in Economics from the Universidade de Brasília (UnB) and a M.Sc. in Economics from the Fundação Getúlio Vargas (EPGE-FGV/RJ). My research interests include empirical corporate finance, entrepreneurship, innovation, labor and finance, and corporate governance.

My research focus on the importance of human capital for startup financing and growth. In particular, my job market paper analyzes the relevance of founders for startup financing obtained through bank credit. The paper establishes empirically how much human capital brought by founders matters for the capacity of their firms to be financed and how founders contribute critical resources to their firms.

I am on the job market and I will be available for virtual interviews at the meetings: the European Job Market for Economists, December 14 – 18, 2020, and the AFA Annual Meeting, January 3 – 5, 2021.

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Research

  • Job Market Paper 

Human Capital and Startup Financing with Bernardus Van Doornik

We establish the relevance of human capital to startup financing. Using administrative databases from the Central Bank of Brazil, we obtain information on private firms, on their founders and on their access to bank credit. Our empirical strategy is based on the premature death of founders, which allows us to identify how losing founders’ human capital affects startup financing. The results show that once a founder dies unexpectedly, there is a decrease in the amount of credit and in the number of loans. These findings are mainly driven by the death of founders who are also managers in the firm, which is consistent with the idea of founders contributing critical resources to their firms. We also present evidence that a founder’s premature death is a significant negative shock for the startup.

  • Work in Progress

Startup Compensation and Team Stability with Tong Liu

It is of uttermost importance for startups to have a stable team, in particular during downturns. This paper studies compensation structure within startups and how it affects the stability of their teams. Using a Brazilian database on private firms and exogenous changes of exchange rate between Brazil and its main exporting destinations as a quasi natural experiment, we observe that during downturns founders reduce their own wages while compensation of employees does not change. This pattern is associated with a lower probability of worker leaving or being fired. Our evidence uncovers a new channel through which startups adjust labor compensation structure to provide insurance to their workers guaranteeing team stability.

Teaching

The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

  • FNCE750, Venture Capital and the Finance of Innovation, Professor Vinay Nair (EMBA and West EMBA) – Spring 2019
  • FNCE750, Venture Capital and the Finance of Innovation, Professor Luke Taylor (MBA) – Spring 2018 and Fall 2018
  • FNCE250, Venture Capital and the Finance of Innovation, Professor Sylvain Catherine – Spring 2019

Universidade de Brasília (UnB)

  • Quantitative Economics (undergraduate) – Spring 2010
  • Introduction to Econometrics (undergraduate) – Fall 2011
  • Macroeconomics I (undergraduate) – Spring 2011 and Spring 2012

Awards and Honors

  • Mack Institute Research Grant, University of Pennsylvania – 2019
  • The Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research Grant, University of Pennsylvania – 2019
  • The Doctoral Program Fellowship, The Wharton School – 2016 – 2021
  • CNPq Fellowship – 2014 – 2015

 

    Knowledge@Wharton

    Will Parler Prevail in Its Antitrust Case Against Amazon?

    Wharton’s Herbert Hovenkamp explains why far-right social media platform Parler faces an uphill court battle in proving that Amazon violated antitrust laws.

    Knowledge @ Wharton - 1/14/2021
    Why You Shouldn’t Be Afraid to Ask Sensitive Questions

    New research co-authored by Wharton’s Maurice Schweitzer reveals that most people don’t really mind answering sensitive questions, and asking them doesn’t leave a bad impression.

    Knowledge @ Wharton - 1/12/2021
    Will 2020 Be Seen as the Year of the SPAC Bubble?

    In this opinion piece, David Erickson explores how the market for special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) exploded in 2020 and what may happen in the future.

    Knowledge @ Wharton - 1/12/2021