Standard predictive regressions produce biased coefficient estimates in small samples when the regressors are Gaussian first-order autoregressive with errors that are correlated with the error series of the dependent variable; see Stambaugh (1999) for the single-regressor model. This paper...

We examine Cohen and Wang's (JFE 2013, CW) conclusion that a staggered board (SB) lowers firm value based on the stock price reaction to two 2010 Delaware court rulings in the Airgas case, the first weakening the potency of an SB and the second restoring it. We find that CW's results, for their...

Examining the illiquidity premium in stock markets across 45 countries, we find the following. First, the average illiquidity return premium across countries is positive and significant, after controlling for other pricing factors. The premium is measured by monthly return series on...

Lou and Shu decompose Amihud's illiquidity measure (ILLIQ) proposing that its component, the average of inverse dollar trading volume (IDVOL), is sufficient to explain the pricing of illiquidity. Their decomposition misses a component of ILLIQ that is related to illiquidity. We find that this...

We test the pricing of the conditional systematic risk (β) of IML, a traded liquidity factor of the return premium on illiquid-minus-liquid stocks, with its risk premium varying over time. We find a positive and significant risk premium on conditional IML β, which rises in times of financial...

We address the heated debate over the staggered board. One theory claims that a staggered board facilitates entrenchment of inefficient management and thus harms corporate value. Consequently, some institutional investors and shareholder rights advocates have argued for the elimination of the...

We propose that fund performance can be predicted by its R2, obtained from a regression of its returns on a multi-factor benchmark model. Lower R2 indicates greater selectivity and it significantly predicts better performance. Stock funds sorted into lowest-quintile lagged R2 and...

This paper presents a liquidity factor IML, the return on illiquid-minus-liquid stock portfolios. The IML, adjusted for the common risk factors, measures the illiquidity premium whose annual alpha is about 4% over the period 1950-2012. I then test whether the systematic risk (β) of IML is...

How does an idiosyncratic shock to the liquidity of a stock affect the liquidity and prices of related stocks? Utilizing the feature that the second stage of a two-step spinoff increases the float of an already-public firm, we document strong evidence that the enhanced liquidity of spun-off...