We show that aggregate insider trading (AIT) in the S&P 500 is a reliable predictor of the U.S. equity premium, while AIT outside the S&P 500 seems to be uninformative. Aggregate trading of S&P 500 insiders outperforms a broad set of well-established predictors considering in- and out-of-sample...

We examine the performance of 160 pharmaceutical acquisitions from 1994 to 2001 and find evidence that on average acquirers realize significant positive returns. These returns are positively correlated with prior acquirer access to information about the research and development activities at...

An important component of corporate governance is the regulation of significant transactions – mergers, acquisitions, and restructuring. This paper (a chapter in Oxford Handbook on Corporate Law and Governance, forthcoming) reviews how M&A and restructuring are regulated by corporate and...

Prior research suggests that there are significant differences in how investors perceive the reliability of fair values across the fair value hierarchy. An unaddressed question in this stream of research is whether cross-country differences in institutional factors are able to mediate...

Does the structure of corporate boards affect bondholder agency risk? Using mandatory board reforms, I show that firms that transition to independent boards experience economically significant reductions in payout, financing, and event risk covenants in their bond contracts. This effect is not...

This paper reviews the theoretical and empirical literature on the channels through which blockholders (large shareholders) engage in corporate governance. In classical models, blockholders exert governance through direct intervention in a firm's operations, otherwise known as “voice.” These...

At the global level, the mispricing theory of mergers by Shleifer and Vishny (2003) may imply that a significant number of targets acquired in a given country is a sign of market-wide undervaluation whereas intense acquisition activity indicates overvaluation. The present study develops a...

This paper examines information content of Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) from factor exposure perspective. We use integration approach of ESG in portfolio construction by using four broader MSCI USA ESG indices. The analysis has been using risk-return, CAPM, Fama-French three factors,...

Public corporations are brandishing their political identities. They are increasingly taking stands and messaging on highly charged social issues: gun control, gender and race, immigration, abortion, reproductive rights, and free speech. Corporate scholars have paid scant attention to this...

This study shows that firms with good corporate governance are consistently associated with both lower cost of equity and cost of debt capital in an international setting. The association between corporate governance and the cost of equity is more pronounced in countries with strong legal...