How should executives discount commercial real estate cash flows up to 30 years in the future? In this paper, we develop a novel methodology to estimate the term structure of discount rates for commercial real estate cash flows. We find that the average term structure is downward sloping: longer...

This paper examines the role of stock option programs and executive holdings of stock options in REIT governance. We study this issue by analyzing how the market reaction to a stock repurchase announcement varies as a function of the individual REIT's governance structure. In particular, we...

We test the Shleifer-Vishny hypothesis that asset liquidation values influence both firm leverage and the choice of debt maturity. Using panel data on REITs, we estimate a simultaneous equation model and find that firms specializing in the most (least) liquid assets use more (less) leverage and...

We study long-horizon shareholder returns in a comprehensive sample of Real Estate Investment Trust mergers. REITs enjoy tax-advantaged status if they conform to net income pay-out requirements. This unique feature results in limitations on management's ability to command free cash flows and to...

We characterize the relation between corporate asset structure and capital structure by exploitingvariation in the salability of tangible assets. Theory suggests that tangibility increases borrowingcapacity because it allows creditors to more easily repossess a firm’s assets. Tangible assets,...

We show that Quantitative Easing (QE) stimulates investment via a corporate-bond lending channel. Fed's large-scale purchases of MBS and treasuries creates a vacuum of safe assets, prompting safer firms to invest by issuing relatively "safe" bonds. Using micro-data around QE, we find that QE...

The basic assumption of this study is that economic agents might be endowed with differential information. In the first part, we investigate whether managers of firms announcing open-market stock repurchases have information superior to outside investors. To address the issue this study proposes...

We use a unique dataset to show how firms in Europe used credit lines during the financial crisis. We find that firms with restricted access to credit (small, private, non-investment grade, and unprofitable) draw more funds from their credit lines during the crisis than their large, public,...

This paper uses a unique dataset to study how firms managed liquidity during the financial crisis. Our analysis provides new insights on the interactions between internal liquidity, external funds, and real corporate decisions, such as investment and employment. We first describe how companies...

We characterize the relation between asset structure and capital structure by exploiting variation in the salability of corporate assets. Theory suggests that asset tangibility increases borrowing capacity because it allows creditors to more easily repossess a firm's assets. Tangible assets,...