~October~
Trevor Chamberlain Ph.D.
Professor of Finance and Business Economics
at McMaster University
This is a special month for us because we are hosting our 82nd International Atlantic Economic Conference in Washington D.C. and to celebrate we would like to acknowledge one of our longtime participants, Professor Trevor Chamberlain. We would also like to take the time to congratulate him on being elected, by his peers, to be a member of the Executive Committee of the IAES. Dr. Chamberlain first became interested in the IAES in the 1990’s after reading the Atlantic Economic Journal in his faculty library and eventually leading him to attend his first conference in 1998, in Boston, Massachusetts. Currently, Dr. Chamberlain is a Professor of Finance and Business Economics at the DeGroote School of Business at McMasters University in Canada. In recent years his research concentration has been in corporate governance. He wanted to learn more about how the management-ownership relationship affected the way in which companies behaved, particularly in relation to the interests of their stockholders.
Why did you become a member of the International Atlantic Economic Society?:
Sometime in the 1990’s I started reading the Atlantic Economic Journal in my Faculty’s library and found that in every issue there were several articles that were of interest to me. So I decided to learn more about the Society and attended my first IAES conference in Boston in 1998. I have attended either the North American conference or the European conference every year since.
What do you find most enjoyable about your membership?:
Over the years, through attending at least one of the two semi-annual conferences, I have met a large number of interesting people and attended many sessions in which very interesting work has been presented.
What types of projects/research are you working on and what inspired/motivated you to pursue that interest?:
In recent years I have become interested in corporate governance and have a few projects underway with co-authors. Though the world is changing ever so slightly, the separation of ownership and control in public corporations, coupled with the discretionary authority of managers, is something that I, as a small investor, have found troubling. I wanted to learn more about how the management-ownership relationship affected the way in which companies behaved, particularly in relation to the interests of their stockholders.
What advice would you give to someone who is considering entering your line of work/field of study?:
Do a Masters degree first to discover whether academic research is right for you. Research is for people with the patience to take the long view and the willingness to spend lots of time working on their own.
Favorite hobby:
Reading, with eclectic tastes, on 19th and 20th century world history in particular.