To measure disagreement among respondents in qualitative survey data, we propose new methods applicable to both univariate and multivariate comparisons. Based on prior work, our first measure quantifies the level of disagreement in predictions of a single variable. Our second method constructs...

In empirical tests guided by recent theory (e.g., Hughes, Liu and Liu 2007; and Lambert, Leuz and Verrecchia 2012), we examine the joint effects of information asymmetry and information precision on the cost of capital and how these effects vary based on the amount and quality of available...

We rely on the Atlanta Fed's Business Inflation Expectations survey to draw inference about firms' inflation perceptions, expectations, and uncertainty through the lens of firms' unit (marginal) costs. Using methods grounded in the survey literature, we find evidence that the concept of...

Using the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's Business Inflation Expectations (BIE) survey, which has been continuously collecting subjective probability distributions over own-firm future unit costs since October 2011, we document two facts about firms' marginal cost expectations and risk during...