Examining the effect of hedge fund activism on gender diversity, we find that the number of female directors decreases after a firm is targeted by hedge fund activism. Using the employment history data from BoardEx, we find that activist hedge funds are more likely to appoint people with finance...

We examine how option compensation affects banks' risky mortgage origination and sale decisions before the financial crisis in 2008. We find that, in the period immediately before the financial crisis, option compensation has little impact on the riskiness of mortgages originated and is...

We examine the environmental impact of hedge fund activism. We find that firms targeted by hedge fund activism reduce toxic chemical emissions. In particular, target firms close heavy polluting plants and investing in green pollution-reduction technologies to reduce toxic emissions. We also find...

Using price discounts government officials receive when buying new housing units as a measure of corruption in China, we examine the effect of the anti-corruption campaign launched by the Xi Jinping administration in 2012. We find that the discounts decrease sharply after the campaign. On the...

We examine how the cost of issuing equity affects bank lending. Using the SEC deregulation that allowed exchange listed firms with public float less than $75 million to raise equity via shelf registrations as a quasi-natural experiment, we show that the affected banks increase mortgage lending...

Does good news cover bad news? We show evidence from the Chinese stock market in which the fiscal year of a firm is always the same as the calendar year. Listed firms are required to announce their annual reports by the end of April, the same date of the deadline for announcements of first...

Using a unique micro-loan application data set in China, we study the effect of intra-household monitoring in credit access on borrower welfare. In particular, we show that men are more likely than women to evade intra-household monitoring when accessing credit. Using the Chinese government's...

Using a comprehensive dataset of housing transactions in Beijing, China, we find that government officials are more likely than non-officials to buy housing units before government-imposed housing purchase restriction policy. We find that officials use their power to speed up the loan...