We study the causal effect of patent quality on firm value in a unique setting of patent examiner busyness which can negatively affect patent quality. This setting mitigates endogeneity concerns as patent examiner busyness is unlikely related to firm fundamentals. We first document that patents...

Using staggered releases of real-time satellite data of retail firms’ parking lot traffic as a quasi-natural experiment, we find that retailers significantly increase dividend payouts after their satellite data is released to investors. The dividend increase is more pronounced for firms with...