We analyze the characteristics of the firms that introduce anti-takeover provisions using a Japanese firm-level dataset. We find that the likelihood of the adoption of antitakeover provisions is correlated positively with firm age and the proportion of cross-shareholding and negatively with the...

In this paper, we investigate whether financial shocks to firms affect their probability of bankruptcy. We also examine whether these shocks affect the natural selection of the firms, whereby more efficient firms are less likely to go bankrupt. By using the data on the bankruptcy of firms after...

We investigate the motives and consequences of the consolidation of banks in Japan during the period of fiscal year 1990-2004 using a comprehensive dataset. Our analysis suggests that the government's too-big-to-fail policy played an important role in the mergers and acquisitions (Mamp;As),...

We propose a framework under which one can analyze bank's securitization program in terms of firm value, leverage, and dividend payout. Our contributions are two-fold: (1) we provide an easy-to-use measure to see how the proceeds from asset sales are used, in particular focusing on the bank's...

The banks' forbearance lending to weak firms was one of primary reasons for the prolonged non-performing loan problem in Japan. We analyze whether regulatory arbitrage using lax enforcement of capital requirements was a motive for Japanese banks to continue loans to weak firms. We find evidence...

This study investigates the effect of a negative demand shock on the composition of worker types at firms and examines the change in the share of temporary agency workers. The 2007-2009 global financial crisis is used as the natural experiment to clearly identify the causal link between the...

A new size-dependent tax system was introduced in Japan on April 1, 2004. We exploit this exogenous institutional change as a natural experiment and empirically examine how firms endogenously reacted to a size-dependent tax system in terms of both financial and real activities. Using a...

We investigate the motives and consequences of the consolidation of banks in Japan during the period of fiscal year 1990-2004 using a comprehensive dataset. Our analysis suggests that the government's too-big-to-fail policy played an important role in the mergers and acquisitions (M&As), though...

In this paper, we investigate whether a natural selection works for firm exit after a massive natural disaster. By using a unique data set of more than 84,000 firms after the Great Tohoku Earthquake, we examine the impact of firm efficiency on firm bankruptcy both inside and outside the...