Mah Ebrahimi

I am a Ph.D. candidate in Finance at Brandeis University School of Business and Economics expecting to graduate by February 2026. My thesis research focuses on innovation policy, public R&D, and their impact on innovation and entrepreneurial finance. In my job market paper, I analyze how program managers at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) allocate funding, providing new insights into the role of expertise and information in shaping innovation outcomes.

My research agenda lies at the intersection of entrepreneurial finance, innovation policy, and the economics of science and technology, and extends to fintech and alternative finance. I study how public R&D, agencies, such as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), allocate funds and whether DARPA's unique institutional design and program manager (PM) discretion mitigate or exacerbate informational frictions. Building on these insights, I extend my research to fintech platforms where we face parallel questions about information asymmetry. My research also spans household finance and investment decisions; My working papers examine public R&D allocation, innovation outcomes, and household resilience to recessions and my published work in The Journal of Investing explores how stock rating changes affect investor behavior.

I am proficient in Stata and familiar with R, MATLAB, and Python, with experience working with large databases (e.g., , CRSP, Compustat, USPTO, USAspending, Refinitiv SDC Platinum, etc.). My industry background includes roles in pricing strategy and business analytics, where I built financial models and tools to support strategic decisions.