Dr Gregory James

I am an Associate Professor in Finance and Director of Research for the School of Accounting and Finance in the School of Business at the University of Leicester. I received my PhD in Economics from the University of Leicester in 2007.

My research spans corporate finance, financial economics, banking, infrastructure finance, and FinTech. I have published in leading international finance and economics journals, including the Journal of Banking & Finance, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, International Review of Financial Analysis, International Journal of Finance & Economics, Economic Inquiry, and Economics Letters.

I currently serve as Associate Editor of the Malaysian Journal of Economic Studies (Malaysian Economic Association) and as an Editorial Board Member of the Global Finance Journal (Elsevier).

I have extensive experience teaching undergraduate and postgraduate modules in corporate finance, investment, banking and economics. I am an Affiliate Member of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI) and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).

In addition to my academic role, I hold a Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Coaching and coach across the public and private sectors, with a focus on leadership development, performance, and career progression.

Banking; Corporate Finance; Financial Economics; Infrastructure and Project Finance; Green Finance; FinTech; Cryptoassets.  

“Analysing the barriers to renewable energy adoption in Ghana using Delphi and fuzzy synthetic approach” (with F. Ahiabor and E. Abalo), 2025, Energy for Sustainable Development, 85. 

"Analyzing monetary policies and bank credit in Indonesia’s provincial clusters amidst COVID-19 pandemic” (with S. Safuan, E. A. Sugandi, and M. S. Habibullah), 2024, Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, pp.1-49. 

“Interbank market structure, bank conduct, and performance: Evidence from the UK” (with T. Lartey, A. Danso, and A. Boateng), 2023, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 210, pp.1-25. 

“Bank business models, failure risk and earnings opacity: A short- versus long-term perspective” (with T. Lartey, A. Danso and A. Boateng), 2022, International Review of Financial Analysis 80. 

“Interbank funding, bank risk exposure and performance in the UK: Evidence from a three-stage network DEA approach” (with T. Lartey and A. Danso), 2021, International Review of Financial Analysis 75. 

“Domestic lead arranger certification and the pricing of project finance loans” (with F. Ahiabor), 2019, International Journal of Finance & Economics 24, pp.150-167. 

“Shareholder protection, stock markets and cross-border mergers” (with F. Ahiabor, F. Kwabi and M. Siems), 2018, Economics Letters 171, pp.54-57. 

“The effects of ownership change on bank performance and risk exposure: Evidence from Indonesia” (with M. Shaban), 2018, Journal of Banking and Finance 88, pp.483-497. 

“Financial restraints and private investment: Evidence from a nonstationary panel” (with M. Costantini, P. Demetriades and K. Lee), 2013, Economic Inquiry 51, pp.248–259.

"Finance and growth in Africa: The broken link" (with P. Demetriades), 2011, Economics Letters 113, pp.263-265. 

"Creditor protection and banking system development in India" (with S. Deakin and P. Demetriades), 2010, Economics Letters 108, pp. 19-21.

“Financial liberalization and stock market volatility: the case of Indonesia” (with M. Karoglou), 2010, Applied Financial Economics 20, pp. 477–486. 

“Money demand and financial liberalization in Indonesia”, 2005, Journal of Asian Economics 16, pp. 817–829.

Mr Marindame Kombate, “Decentralised solar photovoltaic energy in Ghana: A multimethod examination of financial viability, barriers to adoption, and impact on sustainable development”, PhD (successfully completed in 2024) – First Supervisor 

Mr Charles Wamagata Kariuki, “Essays on interbank networks and systemic risk in the European banking sector”, PhD (successfully completed in 2022) – First Supervisor

Mr Theophilus Lartey, “Essays on interbank market funding, bank conduct and performance”, PhD (successfully completed in 2020) – First Supervisor 

Mr Frederick Ahiabor, “Determinants of project finance loan terms”, PhD (successfully completed in 2018) – First Supervisor

Mr Jumpon Kluaymai-Ngarm, “An empirical investigation of bubble and contagion effects in the Thai stock market”, PhD (successfully completed in 2016) – Second Supervisor

Any topic related to my research interests.

Chair, Research Committee, School of Accounting and Finance, University of Leicester

Member, Senior Management Team, School of Accounting and Finance, University of Leicester

Affiliate Member, Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI)

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)

£520,526 — ESRC “Law, Development and Finance in Rising Powers” (ES/J012491/1)
Co-Investigator (PI: Prof. Simon Deakin, University of Cambridge), April 2013 – March 2015.

£130,761 — ESRC “Financial Development in Southeast Asia: Sources and Effectiveness” (PTA-026-27-1437)
Principal Investigator, September 2007 – August 2009.

PhD in Economics, University of Leicester (2007)

MSc in Economics, Bocconi University, Italy (2001)

Diplôme d’Études Approfondies (DEA), Paris Dauphine - PSL University, France (2000)