One of the most conspicuous features of mergers is that they come in waves that are correlated with increases in share prices and price/earnings ratios. We use a natural way to discriminate between pure stock market influences on firm decisions and other influences by examining merger patterns...

The fundamental, underlying assumption in economics, public choice, and increasingly in political science and other branches of the social sciences is that individuals are rational actors. Many people have questioned the realism of this assumption, however, and considerable experimental evidence...

One of the most conspicuous features of mergers is that they come in waves, and that these waves are correlated with increases in share prices and price/earnings ratios. We test four hypotheses that have been advanced to explain merger waves: the industry shocks, q-, overvaluation and managerial...

We analyze the impact of corporate governance institutions, ownership structures and external capital market constraints on company returns on investment by using a sample of more than 19,000 companies from 61 countries across the world. We show that (1) of these three sets of institutions, the...

This paper analyzes the effects of mergers around the world over the past 15 years. We utilize a large panel of data on mergers to test several hypotheses about mergers. The effects of the mergers are examined by comparing the performance of the merging firms with control groups of nonmerging...

Numerous studies have found a negative relationship between the closeness of an election, the size of the electorate and voter turnout. It is often claimed that this relationship supports the rational voter hypothesis, with closeness and size proxying for the decisiveness of a vote. We offer a...

This paper takes a look at the effects of mergers in continental Europe over the past 15 years. We use a large panel of data on mergers to test several hypotheses. The effects of the mergers are examined by comparing the performance of the merging firms with control groups of non-merging and/or...

Die Bürgerinnen und die Bürger können im Staat nicht alles selbst entscheiden. Sie brauchen Repräsentanten. Charles B. Blankart, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin und Universität Luzern, und Dennis C. Mueller, Universität Wien, stellen in ihrem Kommentar fünf Regierungsmodelle vor und...