Introduction
Lalith Samarakoon is a professor of finance at the Opus College of Business of the University of St. Thomas in the Twin Cities. Previously, he taught at the Bauer College of Business of the University of Houston, Alabama A&M University and the University of Sri Jayewardenepura in Sri Lanka. He is also a Chartered Accountant and a Certified Financial Analyst. He served as the Chair of the Department of Finance at the University of St. Thomas and Head of the Department of Accountancy and Financial Management at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. Most recently, he served as the Secretary-General and Chief Economist of the National Economic Council of Sri Lanka, handling economic and financial development and policy matters.
Samarakoon's primary area of research is international finance and economics, with particular focus on emerging market and developing economies. Recipient of research grants and awards, Samarakoon has published numerous scholarly articles in asset pricing, market efficiency, macroeconomy and stock prices, corporate finance, and financial crises including the eurozone debt crisis and the U.S. subprime crisis. His current work focuses on monetary policy, asset bubbles, international transmission of economic and financial crises and global economic and financial policies. He is a Global Business Research Fellow.
Samarakoon teaches Global Finance Policy, Global Economics and Financial Management, and serves as the Director of two China study-abroad programs - Global Financial Services and Emerging Financial Markets. He has also authored four books on securities markets and received the Melcher Award for Teaching Excellent from the University of Houston.
As an International Financial Economist, Samarakoon has consulted with the World Bank, United States Agency for International Development, Asian Development Bank and the Japanese International Development Agency for nearly three decades in financial sector development. He has extensive corporate experience in financial services, particularly in investment banking and securities industries.