Zeynep Yom, PhD

Welcome. I am an Associate Professor of Economics at Villanova University, where my research focuses on macroeconomics, international finance, monetary policy, and the economics of innovation. My work centers on understanding how firms and governments respond to economic shocks—particularly recessions, financial disruptions, and changes in credit conditions—and how these responses shape innovation, investment, and sovereign default risk.

A major part of my research examines the dynamics of R&D investment over the business cycle, including how firms learn from past downturns, how credit constraints influence innovation, and how market structure and technology spillovers shape R&D behavior. I also study sovereign borrowing and default through the lens of income inequality, fiscal capacity, and financial frictions, as well as how monetary policy transmits through heterogeneous firms. Across projects, my work aims to connect micro-level evidence with macroeconomic frameworks to better understand how innovation, credit markets, and fiscal conditions interact to influence aggregate outcomes.

Education

CV in PDF

PhD in Economics, 2015

University of Pittsburgh

MA in Economics, 2009

Boston College

BS in Industrial Engineering, 2007

Bilkent University

Contact

e-mail: zeynep.yom@villanova.edu

address: Villanova University, Department of Economics, Villanova School of Business, 3055A Bartley Hall, 800 Lancaster Ave., Villanova, PA 19085

web: https://www.zeynepyom.com

Publications

Research Areas: Macroeconomics, Innovation, Sovereign Debt, Monetary Policy

R&D, market power and the cyclicality of employment

Aysun, Uluc, Melanie Guldi, Adam Honig and Zeynep Yom. Journal of Money Credit and Banking (2025)

This paper examines how firms’ innovation efforts shape the sensitivity of their employment to the business cycle. We show that when firms maintain stable R&D spending—especially those that are highly innovative and operate in competitive markets—their employment tends to fluctuate more strongly with economic conditions. Using U.S. firm-level data, the empirical analysis confirms that R&D-intensive firms with low market power exhibit notably more procyclical employment patterns.

R&D characteristics, innovation spillover and technology-driven business cycles

Aysun, Uluc and Zeynep Yom. Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade (2021)

This paper shows that the macroeconomic impact of technology shocks depends critically on how easily innovations spill over across industries. In a general equilibrium model with endogenous growth, technology shocks are most powerful when industries rapidly adopt each other’s innovations, when adoption and R&D adjustment costs are low, and when competitive pressure is high. Under these conditions, firms smooth R&D spending over the cycle, yet innovation has a larger effect on output because knowledge diffuses more quickly across sectors.

Interest rates, R&D investment and the distortionary effects of R&D incentives

Aysun, Uluc, and Zeynep Kabukcuoglu. European Economic Review (2019)

This paper studies how interest rates influence firms’ allocation of investment between R&D and non-R&D activities, and how R&D incentives shape this response. The model predicts that grants and subsidies—by reducing firms’ reliance on external finance—raise the R&D share during credit tightening, while tax credits have the opposite effect. Using firm-level financial data and sector-level measures of R&D incentives, the empirical analysis confirms these contrasting within-firm investment responses.

The cyclical behavior of R&D investment during the great recession

Kabukcuoglu, Zeynep. Empirical Economics (2019)

This paper examines the cyclicality of research and development (R&D) during the Great Recession, using the downturn as a natural setting to mitigate endogeneity concerns surrounding innovation and credit conditions. Using firm-level data on non-federally funded high-technology firms in the United States, the analysis shows that firms without bond ratings—an indicator of tighter credit constraints—exhibited more procyclical R&D investment than firms with bond ratings. The paper also compares the cyclicality of other investment categories and finds that financially constrained firms adjust inventories more rapidly than capital or R&D spending when hit by negative shocks.

Income inequality and sovereign default

Jeon, Kiyoung, and Zeynep Kabukcuoglu. Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control (2018)

This paper examines how income inequality shapes sovereign borrowing and default risk. We extend a standard default model to include heterogeneous agents and shocks to income dispersion, calibrated to the Argentine economy. Rising inequality markedly increases default probability, while output shocks have an even stronger effect. Together, these shocks generate default probabilities consistent with Argentine data. The model also captures the higher consumption volatility faced by poorer households and shows that more progressive taxation can reduce default risk.

Is the credit channel alive? Firm-level evidence on the sensitivity of borrowing spreads to monetary policy

Aysun, Uluc, Kiyoung Jeon and Zeynep Kabukcuoglu. Economic Modelling (2018)

Using data on over 8,000 U.S. firms, this paper examines how monetary policy affects borrowing costs. After 2009, monetary easing lowered borrowing costs for low-quality firms that typically face high premia, but raised costs for firms that usually borrow more cheaply. Before 2008, these relationships were reversed. The results reveal a distortionary shift in the credit channel: loose monetary policy leads borrowing costs to converge across firms after the Great Recession, but to diverge in earlier periods.

Working Papers

Optimal bailouts in banking and sovereign crises

with Sewon Hur and Cesar Sosa-Padilla (R&R at Journal of International Economics)

Working paper

Technology creation, business cycles and monetary transmission

with Uluc Aysun (R&R at Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control)

VSB Working Paper

Adaptive innovation: The impact of prior recessions on firms' R&D behavior

with Mahmut Z. Akarsu and Cassidy Hruz (submitted)

VSB Working Paper

Works in Progress

Sovereign default risk with working capital in emerging markets

with Kiyoung Jeon

Financial constraints and exports evidence from Korea

with Kiyoung Jeon