In this paper, we examine the effect of shareholder rights on reducing the cost of equity and the impact of agency problems from free cash flow on this effect. We find that firms with strong shareholder rights have a significantly lower implied cost of equity after controlling for risk factors,...

Based on a difference-in-differences approach, we find strong evidence that the initial enforcement of insider trading laws improves capital allocation efficiency. The effect is concentrated in developed markets and manifests shortly after the enforcement year. Cross-sectional analyses show that...

We examine whether directors' and officers' (D&O) liability insurance affects a firm's cost of equity. We find a positive association between D&O insurance and the cost of equity. Information quality and risk-taking appear to be two underlying channels through which D&O insurance affects the...

Using a lobbying event that led to the unexpected reversal of a tougher insider trading blackout regulation in Hong Kong, we examine whether tightening insider trading regulation increases shareholder value. We find that repealing the regulation increases shareholder value for the entire Hong...

We examine whether directors' and officers' (D&O) liability insurance affects a firm's cost of equity. We find a positive association between D&O insurance and the cost of equity. Information quality and risk-taking appear to be two underlying channels through which D&O insurance affects the...

We examine the determinants and consequences of stock option compensation to directors of state-controlled Chinese firms that are incorporated outside China and listed in Hong Kong, referred to as state-controlled Red Chip firms, over the period 1990-2005. We find that state-controlled Red Chip...

Using staggered adoptions of Constituency Statutes (CS laws) that authorize but not mandate managers to consider non-owner stakeholders' interests in business decisions, we find that the effect of expanding managers' discretion in considering stakeholder interests on the cost of equity depends...

This paper examines the effects of disclosure and other corporate governance mechanisms on the cost of equity capital in Asia's emerging markets with newly released surveys from Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia (CLSA). We find that both disclosure and non-disclosure corporate governance...

We investigate the association between tax avoidance and offshore activities using a new text-based measure for offshore activities based on Hoberg and Moon (2017, 2019). Our evidence shows that although providing cross-border tax avoidance opportunities, offshore activities reduce the marginal...