Desmarais Global Finance Research Centre (DGFRC) Seminar: Elisabeth Kempf
Elisabeth Kempf
Harvard University
CEO Ideology and Global Trade
Date: Friday, April 10, 2026
Time: 10:30-11:45 am
Location: Bronfman Bldg. (1001 Sherbrooke St. West), Room 340
All are cordially invited to attend.
Abstract:
We study how the political ideology of corporate leaders shapes international trade. Exploiting changes in ideological alignment between U.S. firm CEOs and foreign governments around national elections, we show that firms reduce trade with a country when their CEO’s ideological distance to the foreign government increases, relative to firms whose CEOs become more aligned. Firms led by CEOs who become more distant contract their trade networks, relying on fewer foreign partners and paying higher import prices on average. Textual analysis of earnings call transcripts indicates that shifts in CEOs’ subjective beliefs about foreign macroeconomic risk are an important mechanism behind these patterns.
