Photo of Irina Stefanescu

Irina Stefanescu

Education

  • Ph.D., Finance, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Current Research Topics
  • Pension Funds, Mutual Funds, Retirement
  • Labor, Capital Structure
  • Group Manager

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

    2021 - present
  • Principal Economist

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

    2015 - 2021
  • Visiting Economist

    American University

    2019
  • Economist (detail)

    OECD, Paris

    2017 - 2019
  • Senior Economist

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

    2015
  • Economist

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

    2013 - 2015
  • Assistant Professor of Finance

    Indiana University, Bloomington

    2006 - 2013
  • Out of Sight No More? The Effect of Fee Disclosures on 401(k) Investment Allocations
    Mathias Kronlund, Veronika K. Pool, Clemens Sialm, and Irina Stefanescu
    Journal of Financial Economics (2021)
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2021.04.008
    See also » FRB Working Paper (2020)
  • Cost Saving and the Freezing of Corporate Pension Plans
    Joshua D. Rauh, Irina Stefanescu, and Stephen P. Zeldes
    Journal of Public Economics (2020)
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2020.104211
  • Pay Me Now (and Later): Pension Benefit Manipulation Before Plan Freezes and Executive Retirement
    Irina Stefanescu, Yupeng Wang, Kangzhen Xie, and Jun Yang
    Journal of Financial Economics (2018)
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2017.10.006
  • It Pays to Set the Menu: Mutual Fund Investment Options in 401(k) Plans
    Veronika K. Pool, Clemens Sialm, and Irina Stefanescu
    Journal of Finance (2016)
    https://doi.org/10.1111/jofi.12411
    See also » FRB Working Paper (2014)
  • State and Local Pension Funding in the Enhanced Financial Accounts
    Matthew C. Hoops, Paul A. Smith, and Irina Stefanescu
    FEDS Notes (2016)
    https://doi.org/10.17016/2380-7172.1700
  • Saving for College and Section 529 Plans
    Simona M. Hannon, Kevin B. Moore, Irina Stefanescu, and Max Schmeiser
    FEDS Notes (2016)
    https://doi.org/10.17016/2380-7172.1684
  • Introducing Section 529 Plans into the U.S. Financial Accounts and Enhanced Financial Accounts
    Madeline McCullers and Irina Stefanescu
    FEDS Notes (2015)
    https://doi.org/10.17016/2380-7172.1673
  • Defined-Contribution Pension Plans for State and Local Government Employees in the Financial Accounts of the United States
    Matthew Hoops, Irina Stefanescu, and Ivan Vidangos
    FEDS Notes (2015)
    https://doi.org/10.17016/2380-7172.1519
  • Introducing Actuarial Liabilities and Funding Status of Defined-Benefit Pensions in the U.S. Financial Accounts
    Irina Stefanescu and Ivan Vidangos
    FEDS Notes (2014)
    https://doi.org/10.17016/2380-7172.0034
  • Financial Misrepresentation and Its Impact on Rivals
    Eitan Goldman, Urs Peyer, and Irina Stefanescu
    Financial Management (2012)
    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-053X.2012.01211.x
  • How Do Pensions Affect Corporate Capital Structure Decisions?
    Anil Shivdasani and Irina Stefanescu
    Review of Financial Studies (2010)
    https://doi.org/10.1093/rfs/hhp094
  • Why are Firms in the United States Abandoning Defined Pension Plans?
    Joshua Rauh and Irina Stefanescu
    Rotman International Journal of Pension Management (2009)
    https://doi.org/10.3138/rijpm.2.2.18
Awards
  • 2019

    FMA New Orleans

    Best paper Award in Investments

  • 2016

    EFMA Basel

    Corporate Finance Best Paper Award

  • 2016

    University of Melbourne

    Best Paper in FIRCG Conference

  • 2014

    Financial Management Journal

    Pearson Prize for Best Paper

  • 2014

    TIAA-CREF Institute

    TIAA-CREF Institute Grant (with V. Pool and C.Sialm)

  • 2010

    Network for Studies on Pensions, Aging and Retirement

    Netspar Research Grant (with V.Pool and C.Sialm)

  • 2010

    University of Texas at Austin

    Research Excellence Grant (with V.Pool and C.Sialm)

  • 2007

    Rotman International Centre for Pension Management (ICPM)

    Research Grant (with J. Rauh)

  • 2006

    NYSE

    Student Travel Grant

  • 2006

    Frank Batten Young Scholars Conference

    WRDS Award for the Best Paper

  • 2005

    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

    Dissertation Completion Research Fellowship

  • 2000

    University of Tennessee

    Fred J. Holly Memorial Fellowship

Conference Organization
  • 2008, 2010

    Financial Management Association

    Program committee

  • 2015-2020

    European Finance Association

    Program evaluation committee

Editor
  • Editor, Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, 2021 -
  • Editorial Board, Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, 2016-2021
Referee
  • Journal of Finance
  • Journal of Financial Economics
  • Review of Finance
  • Journal of Corporate Finance
  • Journal of Pension Economics and Finance
  • International Review of Finance
  • Scandinavian Journal of Economics
  • Management Research Review
  • Financial Management
  • Management Science
  • Journal of Risk and Insurance
  • Journal of Money, Credit and Banking
  • Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis
  • Journal of Accounting Research
  • Journal of Monetary Economics
Professional Affiliation
  • American Economic Association
  • American Finance Association
  • European Finance Association
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Last Update: December 1, 2023