We document that backfilling in the ExecuComp database introduces a data-conditioning bias that can affect inferences and make replication of previous work difficult. Although backfilling can be advantageous due to greater data coverage, if not addressed the over-sampling of firms with strong...

We use events related to a proxy access rule passed by the SEC in 2010 (but never implemented) as natural experiments to study the valuation effects of exogenous changes in the degree of shareholder control. We find that increases (decreases) in perceived control have positive (negative)...

Observing whether diversification adds or destroys value is notoriously difficult, leaving open the question of the degree to which any diversification discount can be affected by management quality and oversight. This study uses the unique setting of real estate investment trusts (REITs), which...

This dissertation addresses issues in corporate finance. Part I examines the litigationenvironment of a firm and its impact on financial policy. Chapter 1 discusses prior research,including theory and empirical results, related to firm performance, financial policy, andlitigation. It provides...

We study the compensation and productivity of more than 2,000 Methodist ministers in a 43-year panel data set. The church appears to use pay-for-performance incentives for its clergy, as their compensation follows a sharing rule by which pastors receive approximately 3 percent of the incremental...

U.S. corporations hold significant amounts of cash on their balance sheets, and these cash holdings have been justified in the existing empirical literature by transaction costs and precautionary motives. An additional explanation, considered in this study, is that U.S. multinational firms hold...

We study the compensation and productivity of more than 2,000 Methodist ministers in a 43-year panel data set. The church appears to use pay-for-performance incentives for its clergy, as their compensation follows a sharing rule by which pastors receive approximately 3% of the incremental...