We study how secular culture affects firm behavior when formal institutions fall short. We find that firms more exposed to alcohol-related sin culture exhibit more earnings management and lean their operations more toward local business partners. Tests using latitude and snow/temperature as...

We hypothesize that short selling has a disciplining role vis-à-vis firm managers that forces them to reduce earnings management. Using firm-level short-selling data for 33 countries collected over a sample period from 2002 to 2009, we document a significantly negative relationship between the...