Professor Graeme Acheson

Head Of Department

Accounting and Finance

Personal statement

Graeme joined the School as a Professor of Finance at the beginning of December 2019. He obtained a PhD in Finance from Queen’s University Belfast in 2006. He has held academic positions at Queen’s University Belfast, The University of Ulster, and more recently The University of Stirling. Graeme's research applies contemporary econometric techniques to historical settings. Much of his work examines how the evolving legal environment in nineteenth century Great Britain impacted on investor behaviour and governance structures in early British companies. Addressing topics such as firm performance and banking crisis he has examined the impact of major financial events such as the failure of the City of Glasgow Bank in 1878. His current work focuses on the evolution of corporate law, in an attempt to better understand if private contracting acted as a substitute for mandatory shareholder protection. Graeme’s research has been funded by bodies such as The Leverhulme Trust and The British Academy; and he has published in journals including The Review of Financial Studies, The Economic History Review and The Journal of Economic History.

Publications

Independent women : investing in British Railways, 1870-1922
Acheson Graeme G, Campbell Gareth, Gallagher Áine, Turner John D
Economic History Review Vol n/a, pp. n/a (2020)
https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.12968
Private contracting, law and finance
Acheson Graeme G, Campbell Gareth, Turner John D
The Review of Financial Studies Vol 32, pp. 4156-4195 (2019)
https://doi.org/10.1093/rfs/hhz020
Share trading activity and the rise of the rentier in the UK before 1920
Acheson Graeme G, Coyle Christopher, Jordan David P, Turner John D
Business History Vol 62, pp. 982-1001 (2018)
https://doi.org/10.1080/00076791.2018.1502751
Who financed the expansion of the equity market? Shareholder clienteles in Victorian Britain
Acheson Graeme G, Campbell Gareth, Turner John D
Business History Vol 59, pp. 607-637 (2016)
https://doi.org/10.1080/00076791.2016.1250744
Corporate ownership, control, and firm performance in Victorian Britain
Acheson Graeme G, Campbell Gareth, Turner John D, Vanteeva Nadia
The Journal of Economic History Vol 76, pp. 1-40 (2016)
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022050716000450
Happy hour followed by hangover : financing the UK brewery industry, 1880-1913
Acheson Graeme G, Coyle Christopher, Turner John D
Business History Vol 58, pp. 725-751 (2016)
https://doi.org/10.1080/00076791.2015.1027693

More publications

Research interests

My research applies contemporary econometric techniques to historical settings. Much of this work examines how the evolving legal environment in nineteenth century Great Britain impacted investor behaviour and governance structures in early British companies. Addressing topics such as firm performance and banking crisis, I have examined the impact of major financial events such as the failure of the City of Glasgow Bank in 1878. My current work focuses on the evolution of corporate law, in an attempt to better understand if private contracting acted as a substitute for mandatory shareholder protection.

This research has been funded by bodies such as The Leverhulme Trust and The British Academy; and I have published in journals including The Review of Financial Studies, The Economic History Review and The Journal of Economic History.

 

Professional activities

World Economic History Congress (2022)
Participant
25/7/2022
Association of Business Historians Conference
Participant
1/7/2022
Association of Business Historians Conference
Participant
1/7/2022
The Anatomy of a Bubble Company:The London Assurance in 1720
Speaker
2/3/2022
Economic History Society Conference
Participant
2022
Internal Speaker (Strathclyde)
Participant
8/4/2020

More professional activities

Projects

The entrepreneurs who made Glasgow: the city and its businesses 1861-1901
Acheson, Graeme (Principal Investigator)
01-Jan-2021 - 31-Jan-2024
British Academy Transfer - Graeme Acheson
Acheson, Graeme (Principal Investigator)
01-Jan-2019 - 31-Jan-2022

More projects