Family firms are an important part of the U.S. economy. Using a comprehensive sample of publicly traded family firms in the U.S. this dissertation looks into various aspects of their corporate structure. Specifically, this dissertation studies the industry distribution, capital structure...

This dissertation has three essays. In the first essay, I investigate whether the decision to repurchase stock is driven by investor demand for repurchases. Specifically, I hypothesize that firms cater to investor demand for repurchases by initiating repurchases when investors place premiums on...

In this study, we use some relatively unique characteristics of the Brazilian stock market to test corporate governance, capital structure, and payout decisions hypotheses. In Chapter One, we find that a composite index (NM6) that proxy for the main governance practices targeted by Bovespas...