Paula Tkac is a vice president and senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. She leads the financial markets group in the research division and serves as a policy adviser.

Dr. Tkac conducts research on various financial market topics including investor decision-making, the mutual fund industry, financial regulation, and the recent financial crisis and policy responses. Her research has won two William F. Sharpe Awards at the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis.

In addition to publishing in academic journals, Dr. Tkac frequently speaks to academic and practitioner groups and has appeared on C-SPAN and as an op-ed writer in the Wall Street Journal.

Dr. Tkac was promoted in 2010 to assistant vice president with responsibility for the financial markets group. Before she joined the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta in 2000, Dr. Tkac was on the faculty of the finance department at the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Tkac earned her bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in economics from the University of Chicago.

Research

Publications

"One Proxy at a Time: Pursuing Social Change through Shareholder Proposals." Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Economic Review, Third Quarter 2006.

"Mutual Funds: Temporary Problem or Permanent Morass?" Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Economic Review, Fourth Quarter 2004.

"The Performance of Open-End International Mutual Funds." Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Economic Review, Third Quarter 2001.

Working Papers

2009-20
The Financial Crisis of 2008 in Fixed Income Markets
Gerald P. Dwyer Jr. and Paula Tkac
August 2009
Abstract || Full text in PDF (405 KB)

2001-15
Star Power: The Effect of Morningstar Ratings on Mutual Fund Flows
Diane Del Guercio and Paula A. Tkac
August 2001
Abstract || Full text in PDF (190 KB)

2000-21
The Determinants of the Flow of Funds of Managed Portfolios: Mutual Funds versus Pension Funds
Diane Del Guercio and Paula A. Tkac
November 2000
Abstract || Full text in PDF (184 KB)