Stock prices react significantly to the tone (negativity of words) managers use on earnings conference calls. This …

We present a model in which managers are risk-averse and firms compete for scarce managerial talent ("alpha"). When … managers are not mobile across firms, firms provide efficient compensation, which allows for learning about managerial talent … and for insurance of low-quality managers. When instead managers can move across firms, firms cannot offer co …

In this paper we examine the causal impact of competition on management quality. We analyze the hospital sector where … geographic proximity is a key determinant of competition, and English public hospitals where political competition can be used to … survival rates from emergency heart attack admissions (AMI). More importantly, we find that higher competition (as indicated by …

The folk wisdom is that competition reduces agency costs. We provide indirect empirical support for this view. We argue …

smooth earnings. We find that 55% of managers would avoid initiating a very positive NPV project if it meant falling short of … find that managers make voluntary disclosures to reduce information risk associated with their stock but try to avoid …