Penn State Smeal College of Business
Business Building
475 Shortlidge Rd
University Park, PA 16802

Professor of Finance
Louis R. & Virginia A. Benzak Professor
Department Head
Professor Cornaggia is an expert in corporate finance, credit risk, credit ratings, public finance, and household finance. Her research has been published in leading academic finance journals including the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Management Science, Review of Finance, and Review of Financial Studies. Dr. Cornaggia is the Finance Department Head and research director of the Center for the Study of Financial Markets at the Smeal College of Business and serves on the boards of the Eastern Finance Association and Western Finance Association. Prior to joining the Smeal College faculty, Dr. Cornaggia served on the faculty at American University, College of William and Mary, New York University, and Indiana University. Her non-academic experience includes analyzing asset-backed securities markets and the credit ratings industry for the US Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Justice. She received her PhD from the Krannert Graduate School at Purdue University and her BS from the University of Nebraska where she majored in Actuarial Science and Finance.
PhD in Finance, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 2000-01-01 BS in Actuarial Science & Finance, The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, 1994-01-01
FIN 108 – Personal Finance
Personal management of budgets, bank accounts, loans, credit buying, insurance, real estate and security buying. May not be scheduled by College of Business Administration students.
FIN 405 – Adv Financial Mgmt
An examination of the development and application of decision rules for major long-term financial and investment problems of the firm.
FIN 571 – STRAT FIN MGMT
The course provides an integrative study of financial management utilizing applied problems and case studies. It is intended to provide both depth and breadth to studentsÀ knowledge of corporate finance. This course gives an overview of the key concepts, tools, and principles of both strategy formulation and competitive analysis utilized by the successful corporate manager. Students will analyze the dynamic business environment that successful corporate financial managers must navigate to enhance organizational performance. The skill of decision analysis is presented and then applied by focusing on how managerial decision-making affects the performance of the modern corporate enterprise. Specific topics include capital investment decision making, value creation, strategic cost management, financial performance metrics, strategic financial planning and control, strategic restructuring and growth strategies, corporate governance, and ethics.
FIN 601 – Ph D Dis Full-Time
NO DESCRIPTION.
FIN 871 – STRAT FIN MGMT
The course provides an integrative study of financial management utilizing applied problems and case studies. It is intended to provide both depth and breadth to students' knowledge of corporate finance. This course gives an overview of the key concepts, tools, and principles of both strategy formulation and competitive analysis utilized by the successful corporate manager. Students will analyze the dynamic business environment that successful corporate financial managers must navigate to enhance organizational performance. The skill of decision analysis is presented and then applied by focusing on how managerial decision-making affects the performance of the modern corporate enterprise. Specific topics include capital investment decision making, value creation, strategic cost management, financial performance metrics, strategic financial planning and control, strategic restructuring and growth strategies, corporate governance, and ethics.
Cornaggia K., Hund J., Pisciotta K., Ye Z. "Spillover Effects of Opioid Abuse on Skilled Human Capital and Innovation Activity" Management Science (forthcoming), 2025-04-01
Canayaz M., Cornaggia J., Cornaggia K. "Choose Your Battles Wisely: The Consequences of Protesting Government Procurement Contracts" Management Science, vol. 71, 2025-01-01
Cornaggia K., Cornaggia J., Xia H. "Natural Disasters, Financial Shocks, and Human Capital" Management Science (forthcoming), 2024-11-01
Cornaggia K., Li X., Ye Z. "Financial Effects of Remote Product Delivery: Evidence from Hospitals" Review of Financial Studies, vol. 37, 2024-09-01
Cornaggia K., Hund J., Nguyen G. "The Price of Safety: The Evolution of Insurance Value in Municipal Markets" Management Science, vol. 70, 2024-04-15
Cornaggia K., Xia H. "Who Mismanages Student Loans and Why?" Review of Financial Studies, vol. 37, 2024-01-15
Cornaggia J., Cornaggia K., Israelsen R. "Rating Agency Fees: Pay to Play in Public Finance?" Review of Financial Studies, vol. 36, 2023-05-01
Cornaggia K., Hund J., Nguyen G., Ye Z. "Opioid Crisis Effects on Municipal Finance" Review of Financial Studies, vol. 35, 2022-03-21
Cornaggia K., Hund J., Nguyen G. "Investor Attention and Municipal Bond Returns" Journal of Financial Markets, vol. 60, 2022-03-09
Cornaggia J., Cornaggia K., Israelsen R. "Where the Heart Is: Information Production and the Home Bias" Management Science, vol. 66, 2020-12-01
Cornaggia J., Cornaggia K., Israelsen R. "Credit Ratings and the Cost of Municipal Financing" Review of Financial Studies, vol. 31, 2018-06-01
Cornaggia K., Krishnan G., Wang C. "Managerial Ability and Credit Ratings" Contemporary Accounting Research, vol. 34, 2017-10-01
Cornaggia J., Cornaggia K., Hund J. "Credit Ratings across Asset Classes: A Long-term Perspective" Review of Finance, vol. 21, 2017-03-16
Bruno V., Cornaggia J., Cornaggia K. "Does Regulatory Certification Affect the Information Content of Credit Ratings?" Management Science, vol. 62, 2016-06-01
Cornaggia J., Cornaggia K., Xia H. "Revolving Doors on Wall Street" Journal of Financial Economics, vol. 120, 2016-05-01
Cornaggia K., Franen L., Simin T. "Bringing Leased Assets onto the Balance Sheet" Journal of Corporate Finance, vol. 22, 2013-09-01
Cornaggia J., Cornaggia K. "Estimating the Costs of Issuer-Paid Credit Ratings" Review of Financial Studies, vol. 26, 2013-07-12
Cornaggia K., Demirtas O. "Initial Credit Ratings and Earnings Management" Review of Financial Economics, vol. 22, 2013-01-01
Cornaggia K. "Financial Distress and Bankruptcy" Capital Structure and Corporate Financing Decisions, 2010-01-01
Cornaggia K., Heron R., Lie E. "Financial Restructuring in Fresh Start Chapter 11 Reorganizations" Financial Management, vol. 38, 2009-01-01
Cornaggia K., Hertzel M., Officer M., Li Z. "Inter-firm Linkages and the Wealth Effects of Financial Distress along the Supply Chain" Journal of Financial Economics, vol. 87, 2008-01-01
Cornaggia K., Denis D. "Chapter 11: Duration, Outcome, and Post-Reorganization Performance" Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, vol. 42, 2007-01-01
Cornaggia K., Franzen L., Simin T. T. "Measuring Distress Risk: The Effect of R&D Intensity" Journal of Finance, vol. 62, 2007-01-01