I'm Atreya, a final-year PhD candidate in Financial Technology. My thesis focuses on understanding how environmental risks arise in financial markets. One area I've been interested in for the past few years is biodiversity loss and whether markets account for this loss resulting from firm operations. The finance literature lacks work in this area, but Caroline Flammer, a Professor of Finance at the School of International and Public Affairs and Columbia Business School, has some of the most interesting research in this rapidly developing field. I reached out to her, and she invited me for an institutional visit in the fall of 2024.
I had a few clear goals for my time at Columbia: (1) develop the third paper of my thesis on biodiversity loss and pollution through discussions with Professor Flammer and other academics, (2) attend presentations of students and other academics, and (3) present some of my own work. Caroline met with me weekly to discuss my progress, and other professors in the Business School and SIPA took time out of their busy schedules to give me feedback as well. Every interaction was extremely friendly and encouraging, inspiring me to keep improving my research.
Research on biodiversity loss
During my time at Columbia, I sought advice on how to empirically identify the relationship I was interested in, resulting in a much better piece of work than I had originally expected. I had discussions with professors such as Douglas Almond and José Scheinkman, who challenged my identification strategy to empirically show how toxic emissions lead to biodiversity loss. I also deliberated with other PhD students interested in this field about the drawbacks of the current biodiversity data available and how to overcome these issues.
One of the highlights of the visit was attending the 2024 Environmental Economics and Policy Conference. There, I engaged with like-minded academics focused on environmental research, which gave me ideas on how to further expand my research.
Unexpected learnings
One thing that stood out to me was the incredible quality of the PhD students, their work, and presentations. The fall semester was particularly interesting because the PhD candidates were giving their job market talks to the broader group. I was astonished at how well-developed each paper was and how skillfully they discussed their papers with seasoned academics. This inspired me to continue developing my own job market paper and prepare for the delivery of my job talk for the 2024-2025 job market.
Beyond the direct feedback I received from academics, the larger benefit was learning about the US academic system, how the job market in the US works, and ways to position myself for the upcoming job market—all advice gained through informal chats with Caroline. This often understated, soft information was valuable in itself.
Most people say that New York is best to visit in the fall, and I definitely agree. It was a wonderful experience being in such an academically stimulating environment. This was made possible with funding from UEBS, and I am very grateful for the opportunity. I recommend that if students have the chance to visit another university, especially in another country, they should seize it and make the most of it by engaging with other academics and students, not just their host.