This paper examines the Confederate cotton bonds floated in Europe in March 1863 and traded on the London market. Over our March 27, 1863 to June 17, 1865 sample we isolate two, non-reversed, "turning points" that follow news of Confederate defeat at Gettysburg and Vicksburg in July 1863 and the...

Although it has been well established that financial volatility is related to news and macroeconomic shocks, there has been less emphasis on the importance of underlying economic and political stability. In this paper we study the behavior of consol returns since 1729 and identify a...

Sponsors of defined contribution retirement plans typically limit the investment choices of plan participants to a small number of investment managers and a limited number of investment vehicles. Such restrictions may limit excessive risk-taking by participants but also may preclude...

Purpose – Barry and Brown find that returns are higher for securities that have been listed for shorter periods of time after controlling for firm size and a January effect. The purpose of this paper is to examine the robustness of this period of listing effect and test for a post-listing...

We study corporate philanthropy using an original database that includes firm-level data on dollar giving, giving priorities, governance, and managerial involvement in giving programs. Results provide some support for the theory that giving enhances shareholder value, as firms in the same...

Many college and university 403(b) plans restrict the menu of investment choices to funds offered by TIAA-CREF, the current manager of over half of all 403(b) contributions. Further, in the face of Internal Revenue Code changes that will take effect in 2006 and will make 403(b) plan ERISA...

This paper identifies a sharp decline in the volatility of consol prices after the end of the Napoleonic wars in 1815. The volatility of consol returns drops by more than half after 1815 and our empirical testing confirms a long period of remarkable stability that includes the entire Victorian...