Using the VC industry as a laboratory, we investigate whether incidental in-person interactions between people working in close proximity facilitate their future collaboration on projects of significant economic value. Our analysis exploits urban topological features surrounding VC fund offices...

We assess whether a VC’s intrinsic commitment to a startup affects investment performance. We proxy for climate change commitment using the political contributions to democrats of the lead VC person on a deal. We find investments by democrats in climate-related startups have 8% higher...

Can better firm ESG policies be attributed to a CEO’s style? We find that firms led by CEOs with not-for-profit sector work experience (socially engaged CEOs) possess better ESG ratings and superior real ESG outcomes. They receive higher satisfaction ratings from their employees, develop more...

Do firms tailor compensation contracts to fit CEOs' individual behavioral traits, and if so, how? We explore this by focusing on CEOs' early life exposure to 'extreme fatality' disasters. Prior literature shows that this can drive agency conflicts of risk aversion. We hypothesize and show that...