This paper provides evidence of ratings shopping in the corporate bond market. By estimating systematic differences in agencies' biases about any given firm's bonds, I show that new bonds are more likely to be rated by agencies that are positively biased towards the firm---a pattern that is...

We use a survey to identify a consumer bias with regard to different sources of debt-financing. Less salient debt may generate psychological bene ts. This should be weighed against the possible economic costs of a sub-optimal capital structure, but low levels of financial literacy make it...

We report evidence that salience may have economically significant effects on homeowners' borrowing behavior, through a bias in favour of less salient but more costly loans. We outline a simple model in which some consumers are biased. Under plausible assumptions, the bias may affect prices in...

Two-stage acquisitions, in which the acquirer holds a long-term toehold in the target, make up 15% of the global M&A market. A key advantage of two-stage deals is acquirers' increased information availability. I find that higher acquirer-target information asymmetry following the enactment of...

We report evidence that salience may have economically significant effects on homeowners' borrowing behavior, through a bias in favour of less salient but more costly loans. Survey evidence corroborates the existence of such a bias. We outline a simple model in which some consumers are biased...

There is widespread evidence that some firms use false advertising to overstate the value of their products. Using a model in which a policymaker is able to punish such false claims, we characterize a natural equilibrium in which false advertising actively influences rational buyers. We analyze...