Short Bio
Karen K. Lewis is Joseph and Ida Sondheimer Professor of International Economics and Finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. In addition, she is a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, a Research Fellow for the Centre for Economic Policy Research, and a Senior Fellow at the Globalization and Monetary Policy Institute. She is also the former Co-Director of the Weiss Center for International Financial Research of the Wharton School.
Professor Lewis holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago. Previously to earning her Ph.D., she worked in the economics department of Chase Bank (then the First National Bank of Chicago) covering foreign markets. She started her academic career at the Stern School for Business of New York University before moving to the Wharton School. At Wharton, she has taught courses in international financial markets, multinational corporate finance, and global valuation.
Her policy and research interests lie at the intersection of global financial integration, asset pricing, and the macro economy. Her research has been published in a number of leading journals. She has also served in editorial positions for several academic journals.
She has been a consultant at various central banks and international organizations including the Bank of Japan, the Bank of Israel, the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the International Monetary Fund, and SAFE (Sustainable Architecture for Finance in Europe.)
Academic Positions
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July 2001 - Present Joseph and Ida Sondheimer Professor of International Economics and Finance
Finance Department, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania; Secondary, Department of Economics, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania.
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July 2005 - July 2011 Co-Director
Weiss Center for International Financial Research, Wharton School.
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July 1997 - July 2001 Miller-Sherrerd Professor of Finance
Finance Department, Wharton School
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July 1994 - June 2001 Professor
Finance Department, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
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July 1991 - June 1994 Associate Professor (with tenure)
Finance Department, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
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Sept 1989 - June 1991 Associate Professor (1991, with tenure)
New York University, Stern School of Business.
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Sept 1985 - Aug 1989 Assistant Professor
New York University, Stern School of Business.
Activity
LATEST RESEARCH
Background
PhD
June 1985 – University of Chicago
B.A.
May 1979 – University of Oklahoma
Selected Grants and Awards
“Assessing the Impacts of Global Financial Integration"
Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation Research Grant.
"International Risk-Sharing"
Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation Research Grant.
"Targeting Exchange Rates: An Empirical Investigation Using Recent Intervention Experience"
Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation Research Grant.
"Changing Variances of Fundamentals and the Behavior of Returns"
Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation Research Grant.
"Olin Research Fellowship"
National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA.
Selected Publications
Prof. Karen Lewis’s published research addresses global market integration, macroeconomic policy, and asset pricing implications from expectations of disasters and rare events.