Dr. Kwabena Kesse joined the University of Colorado Denver in Fall 2021 from the University of South Dakota where he was an Assistant Professor of Finance.
His research interests span various aspects of finance and business, including empirical asset pricing, risk and insurance, behavioral finance, and emerging markets business environment-related issues. He also enjoys looking at various finance and business issues from an international perspective. Notably, his work has delved into topics like sovereign risk’s impact on FX markets, CEO non-cognitive traits’ influence on business decisions, and the business environment’s effects on small to medium-sized enterprises in emerging markets.
He has published in top-quality business and finance journals such as the Journal of Financial Research, International Business Review, International Review of Financial Analysis, and Journal of Institutional Economics. He has also served as a reviewer and actively reviews for reputable journals like the Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions & Money, Journal of Multinational Financial Management, and Quarterly Journal of Finance and Accounting. He is a member of the Financial Management Association International (FMA).
His passion for teaching and his desire to see students succeed, motivated him to pursue a Ph.D.. He believes that due to the quantitative nature of Finance, the best way for students to learn is through rigorous practice.
Before embarking on his Ph.D. journey, Dr. Kesse held positions as an Actuarial Analyst at John Hancock Financial Services (Manulife) in Boston and as a Policy Analyst in the Office of the President of Ghana during his national service in his native Ghana, where he received training as a Civil Engineer. Additionally, he has experience in model validation and has undertaken consulting projects involving valuations of privately held foreign firms.
Outside of academia and work, his other passions lie in reading geopolitics and international relations, playing and watching sports (especially soccer), his family, learning new things, and experiencing different cultures and countries. He loves Denver and enjoys going on long walks.
Education
Ph.D. (Finance) – University of North Carolina at Charlotte, NC
M.A. (Actuarial Science) – Ball State University, Muncie, IN
Publications
Political risks, excess, and carry trade returns in global markets (with L. Blenman). International Review of Financial Analysis, 2023, 102906, ISSN 1057-5219, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irfa.2023.102906.
Where do they go for advice? Entrepreneurs’ advice-seeking behavior in Africa (with S. Adomako, J. Amankwah-Amoah & E. Ning). International Studies of Management & Organization, 2022, 52:1, 44-62, DOI: 10.1080/00208825.2021.2023441
A Novel Measure of Political Risk and Foreign Direct Investment Inflows (with P. Jeutang). Journal of Risk and Financial Management. 2021; 14(10):482. https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm14100482
Corruption and SME growth: The roles of institutional networking and financial slack (with S. Adomako, J. Amankwah-Amoah, A. Danso & K. Frimpong). Journal of Institutional Economics. 2021; 17(4), 607-624. doi:10.1017/S1744137421000011
CEO Extraversion and Capital Structure Decisions: The role of firm dynamics, product market competition and financial crisis (with T. Lartey & A. Danso). Journal of Financial Research, 2020, 43(4), 847-893. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfir.12227
Home country institutional impediments and international expansion of developing country SMEs (with S. Adomako, K. Frimpong, A. Danso, J. Amankwah-Amoah, & M. Uddin). International Business Review, Volume 29, Issue 5, 2020 101716, ISSN 0969-5931, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2020.101716.
Sovereign Risk Channels and Exchange Rates. Quarterly Journal of Finance and Accounting, Vol. 55, No. 1-2 (Spring 2017), pp. 77-110. https://www.jstor.org/stable/90010052
Awards
University of Colorado Denver CIBER Faculty Research Grant, 2023
University of Colorado Denver CIBER Pedagogy Grant, 2023
Society of Actuaries (SOA) and Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) Scholarship Recipient (2008-2009, 2009-2010)
International Association of Black Actuaries (IABA) Scholarship Recipient (2008-2009, 2009-2010).
