Alexander Bleck studies financial economics with applications to accounting and financial markets. His research examines the determinants and effects of accounting measurement, financial stability and liquidity that stem from information and coordination problems in financial markets. Information, liquidity and financial stability do not come out of thin air. Rather, they are promoted by a set of financial institutions, regulations and contracts that make up modern financial systems. Through his research, Bleck seeks to understand why these institutional arrangements provide financial stability and liquidity, and why they sometimes fail to do so. His recent research focuses on the economic effects of mark-to-market, the self-stabilizing forces of the market, and the interconnectedness of financial systems. Bleck has presented his research at conferences and seminars around the globe at institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the Bank for International Settlements, the Federal Reserve Banks of Chicago and Philadelphia, Duke, Wharton, Ohio State, New York University, University of North Carolina and others.
During graduate school, Bleck worked for a structured investment vehicle in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany and in the fixed income and credit derivatives division at JP Morgan in the United Kingdom. He has conducted research visits at the University of California Los Angeles and Chicago Booth.
Bleck received a second place GAM/UBS Gilbert de Botton Award in Finance Research. His published research includes "Market Transparency and the Accounting Regime," which appeared in the Journal of Accounting Research.
Born in Germany, Bleck earned a license in business economics from HEC Lausanne in Switzerland in 2002 and a master's degree in finance from Imperial College London in 2003. He earned his PhD degree in finance from the London School of Economics.
Outside of research, he enjoys sports, modern art and traveling.
Selected Publications
With X. Liu, "Market Transparency and the Accounting Regime," Journal of Accounting Research (2007).
For a listing of research publications please visit Alexander Bleck’s
university library listing page.
REVISION: Liquidity Flooding, Financial Frictions, and Crowding-out
Date Posted: Apr 26, 2013
This paper presents a model to study the interaction between two sectors in the economy with different degrees of financial friction in the context of liquidity injections for economic stimulus. We show that if too much liquidity is injected into the economy, overheating can build up in the sector with lower friction, crowding out the demand for liquidity in the sector with higher friction. The crowding-out occurs in a self-reinforcing spiral because of feedback between liquidity inflows, asset
REVISION: Where Does the Information in Mark-to-Market Come From?
Date Posted: Sep 06, 2012
We study the ex-ante efficiency of mark-to-market accounting (MTM) in a loan market by taking into account its real effects on banks’ origination and retention decisions. Despite its benefit of improved valuation accuracy, MTM could reduce the overall efficiency of the economy. The efficiency loss results from the central idea of the paper: the attempt to exploit the information in market price, by adopting MTM, interferes with the market process that generates the information in price. Relati
New: Market Transparency and the Accounting Regime
Date Posted: Feb 13, 2008
We model the interaction of financial market transparency and different accounting regimes. This paper provides a theoretical rationale for the recently proposed shift in accounting standards from historic cost accounting to marking to market. The paper shows that marking to market can provide investors with an early warning mechanism while historical cost gives management a veil under which they can potentially mask a firm's true economic performance. The model provides new explanations for sev