Ideally, corporations are directed by boards whose directors provide valuable human capital that match the firms' strategy. We investigate how directors' human capital (international experience, industrial know-how, CEO experience, and financial know-how) affects firm performance including the...

Two decades ago, McKinsey advanced the idea that large U.S. companies are engaged in a “war for talent” and that to remain competitive they need to make a strategic effort to attract, retain, and develop the highest-performing executives. To understand the contribution of the human resources...

We study profitable firms with no tax expenses. We find that the proportion of profitable firms that owe zero taxes (zero-tax firms) has increased substantially over the past 70 years, accounting for almost 15% of listed U.S. firms in recent years. Zero-tax firms thus represent a major group of...