The University of Kentucky’s Gatton College of Business and Economics is proud to present the spring Gatton Research Excellence Series, a speaker series that connects business research excellence to thought leadership. The event will be held from 11 am. to 1 p.m. on Friday, March 4. Keynote speakers include: 

Felipe Benguria, who will present "Perspectives on the US--China Trade War." In this talk, Benguria will give an overview of his research on the US-China trade war, and address questions such as: How did the trade war impact US and Chinese firms? Was the trade war an uncertainty shock? How have China's state-owned firms shaped the trade war's impact?

Nargess Golshan, will present, "Applications of Machine Learning in Accounting Research." Golshan will discuss how she uses machine learning to shed light on aspects of firms’ disclosures that are not always perceptible to human readers or listeners. Examples of the applications in her current research agenda include inferring CEOs’ depression from their vocal acoustic features during earnings conference calls and identifying topics discussed in corporate sustainability reports using NLP models.

Yunke Mai, will present, "What Businesses Can Learn From Evolutionary Game Theory." Originally used to examine how genetic traits persist, evolutionary game theory has drawn the interest of researchers from diverse backgrounds ranging from economics, sociology to anthropology. The presentation will focus on extending the application of evolutionary game theory models to managing the operations of innovative business models such as on-demand service platforms and free-to-play online games.

David Sovich, "Household Debt: Facts and Theories." There is more than $15 trillion in household debt in the United States. Sovich provides a broad overview of the theoretical and empirical literature on household debt. Focus is placed on the composition of household debt in the United States, consumer choice, contract design, and macroeconomic implications.

Mikhail Wolfson, "Cyclists, Surgeons, and Soldiers: Team Dynamics in Action," What do cyclists, surgeons, and soldiers have in common? In this talk, Wolfson will discuss findings from several studies that inform how different organizations leverage various forms of team dynamics to improve team processes and team effectiveness.

The free event will be held in person virtually and in the B&E on the University of Kentucky campus. Presentations will start at 11 a.m., followed by a luncheon at noon. Registration is required by Wednesday, March 2. To register, visit the event page.