This paper analyses the German corporate law reform's effect on the publicly listed companies' ownership and performance. First, theoretically plausible implications of the most important laws that were issued 1990-2009 are provided, then an empirical analysis using 1997-2008 panel data...

We analyze a simple model of board voting and find that in comparison to boards with an even number of directors (even boards), those with an odd number of directors (odd boards) improve voting efficiency by better aggregating directors' information. Consistent with the model's implications, our...

Consistent with the view that “busy” analysts face time and effort constraints in monitoring firms, we find that higher busyness lowers firm valuation. The underlying mechanisms include lower operating performance, higher cost of capital, greater earnings management, excessive CEO...

We use CEO health shocks as a time-varying and physical managerial attribute that can change the degree of managerial effort. Using hand-collected data on CEO illnesses, deaths, and medical leaves to identify large health shocks, we find that firm value is considerably lower and firm volatility,...

Does it matter for firm performance whether corporations have access to high-quality courts for litigating their internal affairs? To shed some light on this question, this paper focuses on the creation of business courts in various states between 1990 and 2015. Employing a...

This study examines whether and how family ownership enhances or damages firm value using a sample of Canadian companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) between 1999 and 2007. Our results suggest that family companies are generally superior to non-family companies. In addition, we...

What role does the selection of an investor and the timing of financing play in initial coin offerings (ICOs)? We investigate the operating and financial performance of ventures conducting ICOs with different types of investors at different points in the ventures' life cycle. We find that,...

We study the effect of government-subsidized childcare on women's career outcomes and firm performance using linked tax filing data. Exploiting a universal childcare reform in Quebec in 1997 and the variation in its timing relative to childbirth across cohorts of parents, we show that earlier...

The aim of this study is to explore the previously unresearched outcomes of firms funded through equity crowdfunding, a novel type of entrepreneurial finance. We study the outcomes of a sample of 337 firms funded on equity crowdfunding platforms in Europe between 2009 and 2014. By incorporating...

Using five empirical methodologies to account for endogeneity issues, this study investigates the effects of board independence and managerial pay on the performance of 169 Saudi listed firms between 2007 and the end of 2014. Studying board independence and managerial pay utilises the main...