We study the potential negative externalities of mandatory environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure. Our analysis exploits a unique regulatory change in China that requires a subset of firms to report their contributions to poverty alleviation—on top of reporting general ESG...

We document that regulatory enforcement actions for financial misrepresentation cluster in industry-specific waves and that wave-related enforcement has information spillovers on industry peer firms. Waves and spillovers have significant effects on share prices. Early-wave target firms have the...

We study a 2013 court decision that enhanced creditor control rights in Israeli firms by allowing them to force companies into bankruptcy. We find that the market expected the court ruling to benefit creditors: bond (equity) prices of companies affected by the new rule responded positively...

Using the pay restriction imposed on CEOs of centrally administered state-owned enterprises (CSOEs) in China in 2009, we study the effects of limiting CEO pay. Compared with CEOs of firms not subject to the restriction, the CEOs of CSOEs experienced a significant pay cut. In response to the pay...

Unemployment insurance (UI) provides a crucial social safety net to workers as seen during the Covid-19 pandemic. This paper examines UI effects on takeover markets. We find that higher target state UI benefits raise acquisition likelihoods, deal synergies, and gains to acquirer and target...

Voting outcomes can differ from underlying preferences due to selection into voting. One source of such selection is lower participation of shareholders with popular preferences (free-rider effect) relative to that of those with unpopular preferences (underdog effect). We illustrate these...

We construct measures of firms' beliefs about climate regulation, plans for future abatement, and current actions on emissions mitigation, using Carbon Disclosure Project data. These measures vary significantly around the Paris climate change agreement announcement. A dynamic model of a...

We analyze compensation design in banks. Specifically, we document associations with firm characteristics, time-series trends, pay-for-performance sensitivities, performance based pay, and the sensitivity of firm-related wealth to changes in stock return and stock return volatility. We find a...

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers to the incorporation of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations into corporate management, financial decision making, and investors' portfolio decisions. Socially responsible firms are expected to internalize the externalities (e.g....

We examine how bribes may affect corporate performance using a quasi-natural experiment. Specifically, we exploit the 2016 enactment of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act in Korea which limits provision of gifts and entertainment to public sector employees as an exogenous shock to bribery...