Testing multi-factor asset pricing models is instrumental for the asset pricing theory and practice. Due to the accumulation of errors in estimating high-dimensional parameters, traditional quadratic-form tests such as the Wald test perform poorly against the sparse alternative hypothesis in the...

We consider forecasting a single time series when there is a large number of predictors and a possible nonlinear effect. The dimensionality was first reduced via a high-dimensional factor model implemented by the principal component analysis. Using the extracted factors, we develop a link-free...

We propose a novel technique to boost the power of testing a high-dimensional vector $H:\theta=0$ against sparse alternatives where the null hypothesis is violated only by a couple of components. Existing tests based on quadratic forms such as the Wald statistic often suffer from low powers due...

We propose and validate a new measure of earnings quality based on a hidden Markov model. This measure, termed earnings fidelity, captures how faithful earnings signals are in revealing the true economic state of the firm. We estimate the measure using a Markov chain Monte Carlo procedure in a...

This study addresses the relation between the exit of venture capital and opportunistic behavior in financial disclosure. Specifically, I examine whether the exit of venture capital is associated with income-increasing earnings management in the IPO year and financial statement restatements...

We study the influence of social norms in determining the impact of early life exposure to the Great Chinese Famine of 1959-1961 on gender inequality. We model how social norms interact with adverse shocks to affect male and female survival chances and influence subsequent human capital...

We show that executives in the Chinese listed firms make politically motivated investments to build political ties. We also find that excessive investments are more pronounced in firms that can benefit more from political connections (e.g., private firms and poorly governed firms). Although such...

This study comprehensively examines export tariff liberalization’s influence on women’s marital and fertility decisions in China, using accession to the WTO as a natural experiment. Our identification relies on the shift-share design that combines industry-level variation in export tariff...

The subjectivity contained in personal information in the context of big data makes it theoretically justified in private regulations. However, the changes in social structure and a series of data paradoxes caused by new technologies such as big data make traditional private law principles...

We exploit exogenous variation in turnovers of China's municipal political leaders to study how political incentives affect firms' strategic tax avoidance behavior. We document robust cycles in corporate tax compliance corresponding with the timing of political turnovers. Specifically, we find...