Kenneth French

Kenneth French
Name	Kenneth French
Birth date	10 March 1954
Birth place	United States
Nationality	American
Field	Financial economics
Institution	Dartmouth College, University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Alma mater	University of Rochester (B.S., M.B.A.), University of Rochester (Ph.D.)
Doctoral advisor	Michael C. Jensen
Known for	Fama–French three-factor model, Collaboration with Eugene Fama
Awards	Smith Breeden Prize (1992, 1996), Fellow of the Econometric Society

Kenneth French is an influential American financial economist renowned for his empirical research on stock market behavior and asset pricing. He is the Roth Family Distinguished Professor of Finance at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. French is best known for his extensive collaboration with Nobel laureate Eugene Fama, culminating in the groundbreaking Fama–French three-factor model, which fundamentally reshaped modern financial economics.

Early life and education

Born on March 10, 1954, he completed his undergraduate studies in mechanical engineering at the University of Rochester, earning a Bachelor of Science degree. He remained at the same institution for his graduate work, receiving a Master of Business Administration before pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy in finance. His doctoral dissertation was supervised by the prominent scholar Michael C. Jensen, a key figure in the development of agency theory. This academic foundation at the University of Rochester provided a rigorous basis for his future empirical research.

Academic career

Following the completion of his Ph.D., French began his academic career at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where he first collaborated extensively with Eugene Fama. He later held a professorship at the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2013, he joined the faculty of Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business. Throughout his career, he has also served as a research associate for the National Bureau of Economic Research and was the director of the Center for Research in Security Prices at the University of Chicago.

Research and contributions

His research has extensively examined cross-section of stock returns, market anomalies, and the determinants of expected returns. A major contribution was the identification of the value premium, demonstrating that value stocks historically outperform growth stocks. He has also published influential work on cost of capital, dividend policy, and behavioral finance challenges to market efficiency. His empirical methodologies and construction of widely used financial datasets, such as those available through Kenneth R. French - Data Library, have become standard tools for academics and practitioners in investment management.

Fama–French three-factor model

Developed with Eugene Fama in the early 1990s, the Fama–French three-factor model expanded the traditional capital asset pricing model. It posits that a portfolio's excess returns are explained by its exposure to three factors: the excess return of the overall stock market (market risk), the difference between returns on small-cap and large-cap stocks (SMB), and the difference between returns on value stocks and growth stocks (HML). This model became a cornerstone of empirical finance, greatly influencing portfolio theory, performance attribution, and risk management practices globally.

Awards and honors

His scholarly work has been recognized with numerous prestigious awards. He is a recipient of the Smith Breeden Prize for outstanding papers published in the Journal of Finance, winning in both 1992 and 1996. He was elected a Fellow of the Econometric Society in 2002, acknowledging his significant contributions to econometrics. The impact of his research with Eugene Fama was further underscored when Fama was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2013, with the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences citing their joint work on asset pricing.

Personal life

He maintains a relatively private personal life, with public details focused primarily on his professional achievements. He is married and resides in New England. Beyond his academic pursuits, he has served as an advisor to various financial institutions and has contributed to broader discussions on financial market regulation and practice through his research and commentary.

Category:American economists Category:Financial economists Category:1954 births Category:Living people Category:Dartmouth College faculty Category:University of Chicago faculty Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty Category:University of Rochester alumni Category:Fellows of the Econometric Society