{"683619":{"#nid":"683619","#data":{"type":"event","title":"Phd Defense by Fred Hu","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDear Faculty and Fellow Ph.D. Students,\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI cordially invite you to attend my dissertation defense presentation scheduled for\u003Cstrong\u003E Monday, August 18th, from 2:00 to 3:30 PM EST\u003C\/strong\u003E. The presentation will be held in \u003Cstrong\u003EScheller College of Business, Room 312\u003C\/strong\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYou are also welcome to join remotely via the provided Zoom link: \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gatech.zoom.us\/j\/8196185181\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/gatech.zoom.us\/j\/8196185181\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAn overview is included below, and copies of the dissertation will be made available upon request.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBest regards,\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFred Hu\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPh.D. Candidate in Finance\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EArea: Finance\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECommittee Members:\u003C\/strong\u003E Dr. Sudheer Chava (Chair), Dr. Alex Hsu, Dr. Manasa Gopal, Dr.\u0026nbsp;Rohan Ganduri, Dr. Nikhil Paradkar\u0026nbsp;(University of Georgia)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETitle: \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDigital Wagers, Physical Pillars: Essays on FinTech, Banking and Small Businesses\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDissertation Overview:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEssay 1:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cem\u003EGambling on Crypto Tokens?\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWe proxy retail investor attention through Google Trends and find that fungible and non-fungible crypto tokens generate greater attention from high\u2013gambling propensity regions. Crypto attention is higher during bubble-like episodes in the crypto market and for more lottery-like tokens. Moreover, retail crypto attention decreases after sports gambling is legalized. Higher token attention is associated with more contributors and higher fundraising. However, consumer credit default rates spike after periods of high crypto attention, but solely in the subprime segment. Overall, our findings suggest that gambling preferences strongly predict retail investor interest in the crypto market.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEssay 2:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cem\u003EDo Bank Branches Matter for Small Businesses? Evidence from Bank Branch Closures\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUsing unique small business transaction data, we study how banks\u2019 physical branch presence impacts local small business performance. We instrument exogenous bank branch closures using merchant-level and census tract-level exposure to merger-induced branch consolidation. We find that branch closures lead to a decline in local small business sales, fewer entries, and more exits. These effects are associated with a decrease in local small business lending. The impact is more pronounced for smaller and more remote merchants, particularly in the retail and dining sectors. We also find that the negative effects are mitigated in areas with better internet access, suggesting a partial substitutability of digital banking and fintech services. More importantly, the effect on small business entry diminishes as the number of branches recovers to the pre-shock level, while the effects on sales and exits last much longer. Our findings shed light on the importance of banks\u2019 physical presence in acquiring soft information and potentially reducing local small business lending friction.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDigital Wagers, Physical Pillars: Essays on FinTech, Banking and Small Businesses\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Digital Wagers, Physical Pillars: Essays on FinTech, Banking and Small Businesses"}],"uid":"27707","created_gmt":"2025-08-07 16:10:32","changed_gmt":"2025-08-07 16:11:13","author":"Tatianna Richardson","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2025-08-18T14:00:00-04:00","event_time_end":"2025-08-18T15:30:00-04:00","event_time_end_last":"2025-08-18T15:30:00-04:00","gmt_time_start":"2025-08-18 18:00:00","gmt_time_end":"2025-08-18 19:30:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2025-08-18 19:30:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"location":"Scheller College of Business, Room 312","extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"221981","name":"Graduate Studies"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"100811","name":"Phd Defense"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1788","name":"Other\/Miscellaneous"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78771","name":"Public"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}