Joseph Pacelli

Joseph Pacelli is an associate professor of business administration in the Accounting and Management Unit. He currently teaches Financial Reporting and Control (FRC) in the MBA required curriculum.

Professor Pacelli’s research covers topics related to capital market gatekeepers (such as financial analysts and bankers), culture and diversity, and new technology. His research has been published in leading academic journals such as the Journal of Finance, Review of Financial Studies, the Journal of Accounting and Economics, The Accounting Review, Review of Accounting Studies, and Management Science.  His research has also been featured and cited in various media outlets including the Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Yahoo! Finance, Bloomberg, and Business Insider.

Professor Pacelli holds a Ph.D. in Accounting from Cornell University, and graduated from Georgetown University with a bachelor’s degree in Finance and Accounting. Prior to graduate school, he worked in corporate and investment banking.

Journal Articles

• Pacelli, Joseph, Mark Bradshaw, Michael Drake, and Brady Twedt. "Brokerage House IPOs and Analyst Forecast Quality?" Management Science (forthcoming). View Details
• Pacelli, Joseph, Manuel Illueca Muñoz, Lars Norden, and Gregory F. Udell. "Countercyclical Prudential Buffers and Bank Risk-taking." Journal of Financial Intermediation (forthcoming). View Details
• Coleman, Braiden, Michael Drake, Joseph Pacelli, and Brady Twedt. "Brokerage Incentives and Analyst Forecast Optimism: Evidence from the Protocol for Broker Recruiting." Review of Accounting Studies (forthcoming). View Details
• Coleman, Braiden, Kenneth J. Merkley, and Joseph Pacelli. "Man Versus Machine: Do Robo-Analysts Outperform Traditional Research Analysts." Accounting Review (forthcoming). View Details
• Merkley, Kenneth, Roni Michaely, and Joseph Pacelli. "Does the Scope of the Sell-Side Analyst Industry Matter? An Examination of Bias, Accuracy, and Information Content of Analyst Reports." Journal of Finance 72, no. 3 (June 2017): 1285–1334. View Details
• Hoopes, Jeffrey L., Kenneth J. Merkley, Joseph Pacelli, and Joseph H. Schroeder. "Audit Personnel Salaries and Audit Quality." Review of Accounting Studies 23, no. 3 (September 2018): 1096–1136. View Details
• Pacelli, Joseph. "Corporate Culture and Analyst Catering." Journal of Accounting & Economics 67, no. 1 (February 2019): 120–143. View Details
• Merkley, Kenneth, Roni Michaely, and Joseph Pacelli. "Cultural Diversity on Wall Street: Evidence from Consensus Earnings Forecasts." Journal of Accounting & Economics 70, no. 1 (August 2020). View Details
• Drake, Michael, Peter Joos, Joseph Pacelli, and Brady Twedt. "Analyst Forecast Bundling." Management Science 66, no. 9 (September 2020): 4024–4046. View Details
• Gao, Janet, Kristoph Kleiner, and Joseph Pacelli. "Credit and Punishment: Are Corporate Bankers Disciplined for Risk-Taking?" Review of Financial Studies 33, no. 12 (December 2020): 5706–5749. View Details
• Bushman, Robert, Janet Gao, Xiumin Martin, and Joseph Pacelli. "The Influence of Loan Officers on Loan Contract Design and Performance." Journal of Accounting & Economics 71, nos. 2-3 (April–May 2021). View Details
• Coleman, Braiden, Kenneth Merkley, Brian Miller, and Joseph Pacelli. "Does the Freedom of Information Act Foil the Securities and Exchange Commission's Intent to Keep Investigations Confidential?" Management Science 67, no. 6 (June 2021). View Details

Working Papers

• Choi, Jung Ho, Joseph Pacelli, Kristina M. Rennekamp, and Sorabh Tomar. "Do Job Seekers Value Diversity Information? Evidence from a Field Experiment and Human Capital Disclosures." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 23-019, August 2022. View Details
• Pacelli, Joseph, and Jonas Heese. "The Monitoring Role of Social Media: Evidence from the Introduction of 3G Internet." Working Paper, January 2021. View Details
• Pacelli, Joseph, Janet Gao, Jan Schneemeier, and Yufeng Wu. "Dirty Money: How Banks Influence Financial Crime." Working Paper, July 2021. View Details
• Pacelli, Joseph, Janet Gao, Kenneth J. Merkley, and Joseph H. Schroeder. "Internal Control Weaknesses and the Demand for Financial Skills: Evidence from U.S. Job Postings." Working Paper, April 2020. View Details
• Pacelli, Joseph, Charles Chao Kang, Kenneth J. Merkley, and Roni Michaely. "Out of Balance: Do Analysts Issue Sell Recommendations to Manage their Recommendation Distributions?" Working Paper, February 2021. View Details

Cases and Teaching Materials

• Dey, Aiyesha, Joseph Pacelli, Jennifer G. Lawson, and Tom Quinn. "Bear to Bull: An Analyst’s Journey with Netflix." Harvard Business School Case 123-001, September 2022. View Details
• Pacelli, Joseph, Jonas Heese, and James Barnett. "Call of Fiduciary Duty: Microsoft Acquires Activision Blizzard." Harvard Business School Case 123-011, July 2022. View Details

Additional Information

• Personal Website
• CV

Areas of Interest

• corporate culture
• diversity