This dissertation investigates whether harmonization of accounting standards enhances the comparability of financial information across countries. In the first chapter, I statistically define and link comparability to firm value in a theoretical framework. Based on a two-firm, sequential...

We document that corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) expenditures are not a form of corporate charity nor do they improve future financial performance. Rather, firms undertake CSR expenditures in the current period when they anticipate stronger future financial performance. We show that...