My main research interest covers the following areas
capital structure decisions
pension accounting & regulation
[1] Kisser, Michael, 2013, The Real Option Value of Cash, Review of Finance, 17, 1646-1697. [ABS 4; FT]
[2] Kiff, John and Michael Kisser, 2014, A Shot at Regulating Securitization, Journal of Financial Stability, 10, 32-49 (Special issue on Finance, Growth and Stability: Lessons from the Crisis). [ABS 3]
Best Paper Award, Emerging Scholars in Finance and Banking Conference, Cass Business School (2010)
[3] Kisser, Michael, John Kiff and Mauricio Soto, 2017, Do managers of U.S. defined benefit pension plan sponsors use regulatory freedom strategically? , Journal of Accounting Research, 55, 1213–1255. [ABS 4*, FT]
Best Paper Award, Eastern Finance Association, Annual Meeting (2015)
[4] Eckbo, Espen B. and Michael Kisser, 2021, Tradeoff theory and leverage dynamics of high-frequency debt issuers, Review of Finance, 25, 275-324 [ABS 4; FT]
Semifinalist for Best Paper Award, Financial Management Association, European Annual Meeting (2018) and U.S. Annual Meeting (2013)
Media Coverage: Harvard Law School Forum: link
[5] Eckbo, Espen B. and Michael Kisser, 2021, The leverage-profitability puzzle resurrected, Review of Finance, 25, 1089-1128 [ABS 4; FT]
Finalist for the Pagano-Zechner Price for the best Corporate Finance Paper published in the Review of Finance in 2021/22
[6] Kisser, Michael and Loreta Rapushi, 2022, Equity issues, creditor control and market timing patterns: evidence from leverage decreasing recapitalizations, Journal of Empirical Finance, 67, 196-216 [ABS 3]
[7] Axenrod, Michael and Michael Kisser, 2025, Does mandatory recognition of off-balance sheet liabilities affect capital structure choice? Evidence from SFAS 158, Contemporary Accounting Research, forthcoming [ABS 4; FT]
Kisser, Michael, John Christian Langli and Marleen, Willekens, 2024, The Role of High-Reputation Auditors in Mitigating Tax Avoidance in Private Firms with Concentrated Ownership , Invitation to revise & resubmit at Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory [ABS 3]
Kiff, John and Michael Kisser, 2024, Rating through-the-cycle: implications for rating stability and accuracy. Empirical evidence
A previous version of the paper included Liliana Schumacher as one of the authors and was published in the IMF Working paper series (IMF Working Paper 13/64)
Kisser, Michael, 2010, Financing Decisions of Firms in the Euro Area
Kisser, Michael, John Kiff, Erik S. Oppers and The impact of longevity improvements on U.S. corporate defined benefit pension plans, IMF Working Paper 12/170
The Impact of Longevity risk on U.S. Corporate Defined Benefit Pension Plans, Article in April 2012 Global Financial Stability Report, International Monetary Fund
Point-in-time versus through-the-cycle credit ratings, Article in October 2010 Global Financial Stability Report, International Monetary Fund
Asset Securitization and Optimal Retention, IMF Working Paper 10/74 (joint with John Kiff)
Optimal Retention Policies for Loan Securitization, Article in October 2009 Global Financial Stability Report, International Monetary Fund (joint with John Kiff)
The Case for Restarting Securitization, Article in October 2009 Global Financial Stability Report, International Monetary Fund (joint with Andreas Jobst)
Google Scholar: link