HomeExpertsMihir Desai
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HomeExpertsMihir Desai

Mihir Desai

Mizuho Financial Group Professor of Finance,
Harvard Business School;
Professor of Law,
Harvard Law School,
Harvard University

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  • Ellen Paulus
  • Laura E. Stiglin
  • Narayanan “Nari” Subramanian

or any member of our senior staff.

Education

    • Harvard University, Ph.D.
    • Harvard Business School, M.B.A.
    • Brown University, B.A. (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa)

Mihir Desai is a leading expert in corporate finance, international finance, and public economics.

Professor Desai’s academic research in finance has addressed earnings management, dividend policy, capital structure, valuation, and corporate governance, particularly for multinational firms. In public economics, his research has emphasized the design and effect of tax policy on firm financing, investment, and social welfare.

Professor Desai’s articles have appeared in leading economics and finance journals, including the American Economic Review, the Quarterly Journal of Economics, the Journal of Financial Economics, the Journal of Finance, and the Review of Financial Studies. In addition, he has written three books, multiple book chapters, and numerous case studies on finance-related topics.

Professor Desai is a research associate in the National Bureau of Economic Research’s (NBER’s) Public Economics and Corporate Finance Program and has co-directed NBER’s India program.

For over two decades, Professor Desai has taught courses at Harvard on economics, finance, innovation, and entrepreneurship, and has won awards for his teaching. He serves on the advisory boards of the International Tax Policy Forum and Oxford University’s Centre for Business Taxation.

Professor Desai has testified before Congress, including the Senate Finance Committee and the House Committee on Ways and Means. He has been retained as an expert witness and testified in depositions.

Professional Affiliations
    • American Economic Association
    • American Finance Association
    • European Finance Association
    • National Tax Association
    • Western Finance Association
Practices