How does access to public equity markets affect real outcomes? We examine the human capital of IPO-filing firms and how going public affects their labor force. While IPO-filing firms have high average wages and limited industrial diversification, a success-ful IPO increases departures of...

We document firm-level changes following mergers and acquisitions (M&As) which mirror aggregate shifts in the US labor market observed in response to greater use of automation. Specifically, we show post M&A establishments become less routine task intensive, more high-skilled, and pay more...

We show that in the years following a large broad-based employee stock option (BBSO) grant, employee turnover falls at the granting firm. We find evidence consistent with a causal relation by exploiting unexpected changes in the value of unvested options. A large fraction of the reduction in...

We show that in the years following a large broad-based employee stock option (BBSO) grant, employee turnover falls at the granting firm. We find evidence consistent with a causal relation by exploiting unexpected changes in the value of unvested options. A large fraction of the reduction in...

This paper analyzes the role venture capitalist human capital plays in the performance of their portfolio companies. Using information on the educational and work histories of the individual venture capitalists who take board seats with their portfolio companies, I examine the propensity for a...

We provide new estimates of the wage costs of firms' debt. Our empirical approach exploits within-firm geographical variation in workers' expected unemployment costs due to variation in local labor market size and uses a large representative sample of public firms. We find that, following an...