Third-year doctoral student, Shaddy Douidar, is just 25 years old and is following his parents’ footsteps by earning a PhD in business administration. The Tampa local received his undergraduate degree in finance at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University before returning to Florida to pursue a master's degree in finance at USF.
Douidar’s research has focused on the relationship between politics and finance. The paper he plans to submit for publication focuses on the impact of a firms’ political geography or proximity to political power, on the valuation of real options. He also investigates whether a firms’ donations to political action campaigns, lobbying expenditures or engagement in government procurement contracts impact the relationship of political geography and real options. Douidar proposes that firms may find an enhanced value in the flexibility provided by real options, due to the constantly evolving political risk that corporations face, as a result of bi-annual election cycles. He finds that firms headquartered in areas with strong political alignment and that do not engage in political contributions, lobbying expenditures, nor government procurement contracts, benefit from the real option value-enhancing effect. Overall, he provides evidence that exposure to political uncertainty make real options more valuable.
Besides research, Douidar teaches personal finance. He enjoys his new role as an instructor. In his free time, Douidar plays soccer, stays active and visits his family.