During the Harvey Weinstein and #MeToo events, firms with a non-sexist corporate culture, proxied by having women among the five highest paid executives, earn excess returns of 1.6%. Returns for firms with female executives are substantially higher in industries with few women in executive...

We use the exposure of U.S. firms’ directors to the staggered introduction of sustainability disclosure reforms in foreign countries to study the role of the board of directors in shaping corporate sustainability. Using a difference-in-differences design, we document that the board has a...

We examine how country-level legal and institutional investor protection shapes contractual creditor protection. Using debt covenant information for foreign bonds issued in the U.S., we find that bonds of firms incorporated in countries with stronger creditor rights use fewer covenants. This...

We examine the impact of country-level political rights on the cost of debt for corporate bonds issued by firms incorporated in 39 countries. Similar to, but separate from, the relation for creditor rights, greater political rights are associated with lower yield spreads. A one standard...

This paper assesses whether shareholders drive the environmental and social (E&S) performance of firms worldwide. Across 41 countries, institutional ownership is positively associated with E&S performance with additional tests suggests this relation is causal. Institutions are motivated by both...