We explore the determinants of compensation gaps between a firm's CEO and its other top executives, and compare the ability of two competing optimal contracting theories, namely tournament theory and productivity theory, to explain the cross sectional variability in these gaps across firms. We...

Evaluating agency theory and optimal contracting theory of corporate philanthropy, we find that as giving increases, shareholders reduce their valuation of cash holdings. Dividend increases following the 2003 Tax Reform Act are also associated with reduced corporate giving. Using a natural...

Extensive research finds that shareholder and CEO preferences affect demand for director services. We find a large body of evidence that independent director reputation incentives influence the supply of director services. These reputation incentives vary across firms and over time,...

We examine the potential for management-worker alliances when employees have substantial voting rights, and how such alliances affect the balance of power between managers and shareholders. We find that substantial employee voting rights exacerbate the manager-shareholder conflicts....

We use the 2003 NYSE and NASDAQ listing rules concerning board and committee independence as a quasi-natural experiment to examine the causal relations between board structure and CEO monitoring. Noncompliant firms forced to raise board independence or adopt a fully independent nominating...

We investigate how state Universal Demand statutes (UD) that lower director liability in derivative lawsuits affect recruitment and retention of outside directors. Using a difference-in-differences analysis, we document improvements in outside director experience following UD adoptions,...

An unintended consequence of recent governance reforms in the U.S. is firms' greater reliance on older director candidates, resulting in noticeable board aging. We investigate this phenomenon and its implications for corporate governance. We document that older independent directors exhibit poor...