Semih Üslü joined the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School in 2016. He is an associate professor of Finance in the research track with expertise in the areas of asset pricing, market microstructure, and search theory. Professor Üslü's research agenda aims to advance our understanding of market liquidity by providing coherent dynamic equilibrium models, which are explicit about the trading frictions that make liquidity relevant for the determination of prices, allocations, and welfare. His existing research explains how heterogeneity in market participants’ various characteristics affect their strategies in bilateral trade in OTC markets, their choice of trading venue, and their optimal inventory and portfolio management. Professor Üslü's research has been accepted for publication in leading general-interest journals including Econometrica and the Review of Economics Studies and he was also elected to be a member of the Finance Theory Group in 2019.
Education
- PhD, Economics, University of California Los Angeles
- MA, Economics, University of California Los Angeles
- BA, Economics, Sabanci University
Research
Selected Publications
- ''Yield Drifts When Issuance Comes Before Macro News'' (with Dong Lou, Gábor Pintér, and Danny Walker) Journal of Financial Economics, Vol. 165 (2025), 103993.
- "A Theory of Participation in OTC and Centralized Markets" (with Jérôme Dugast and Pierre-Olivier Weill) Review of Economic Studies, Vol. 89 (2022), pp. 3223-3266.
- "Pricing and Liquidity in Decentralized Asset Markets" Econometrica, Vol. 87 (2019), pp. 2079-2140.
Working Papers
- "Comparing Search and Intermediation Frictions Across Markets" (with Gábor Pintér) R&R at Journal of Financial Economics
- ''Liquidity in the Cross Section of OTC Assets" (with Güner Velioğlu) R&R at Management Science
Teaching
Current
Investments
Honors and Distinctions
- BIS Research Fellowship, Bank for International Settlements, 2024
- General Research Support Fund Award, Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, 2022
- Outstanding Referee Award, Review of Economic Dynamics, 2018
- Dean’s Award for Faculty Excellence, Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, 2018
- Hakan Orbay Research Award, Best Paper in Microeconomics and Finance, Sabanci SOM, 2017
- Dean's Award for Faculty Excellence, Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, 2017
- Dissertation Year Fellowship, UCLA, 2015-16
- Welton Prize for Economic Theory, Best Graduate Research Paper, UCLA, 2015
Impact and Engagements
- Academic Visitor, Bank of England, 2023 - present
- Research Fellow, Bank for International Settlements, 2025
- Dissertation Intern, Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis, 2015
In the Media
Why do government bond yields drift when news is on its way?, Bank Underground, 2025