Howdy!  This is Osman Nal and I am a clinical assistant professor of economics and finance at William & Mary.  I joined the Mason School of Business in the Summer of 2021.  My primary duty at my current position at W&M is teaching, service and research.  

At the graduate level I teach microeconomics, macroeconomics and international finance (BUAD 5723, 5941, 5943, 5945, 6951) throughout the year.  At the undergraduate level I primarily teach corporate finance (BUAD 323) mostly in the Fall semesters.   

For my service, I am involved in various school committees such as the Mason AI task force and athletic academic advising (3AC) committee.  I am also a pre-major advisor for our freshmen showing interest in majoring in finance.  I love interacting with my students through lively discussions in a face-to-face or online classroom environment.  

My current research agenda includes three (3) items:

1. Macroeconomics:  I study capital accumulation and total factor productivity for 100+ countries around the world. 

2. Behavioral Finance:  I study behavioral biases and anomalies affect personal finances for individuals and balance sheets for institutional investors. 

3. Machine Learning in Finance: I apply Markov processes and Gaussian mixture models to study regime changes in commercial banks using call reports.  

Prior work:

I previously worked at schools and colleges in Texas.  Most recently, I was an assistant professor at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas.  This is a historical school which mostly serves under-represented students from various minorities.  In that role, I helped establish the Financial Analysis master's program there.  I basically recruited students, set up course contents, and even periodically met with companies to invite them to meet with our students.  

Educational background:

In terms of educational credential, I earned my Ph.D. degree in economics from Rice University in 2008 with specialization in financial economics.  My doctoral dissertation focuses on the market discipline mechanism as a channel for curbing bank risk taking and its potential destabilizing effects.  For this I hypothesize the strategic interactions of actors in financial markets including a careful study of the objective function of banks and depositors. 

Prior to that I studied math as an undergraduate major at Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey.  I have always loved mathematics as the best description of reality.  That's why I enjoy helping gifted and talented high school students in contest math.

You can contact me by e-mail:  osman.nal@mason.wm.edu