We propose a text-based method for measuring and analyzing the international propagation of uncertainty shocks at the firm level. We apply this method to estimate the impact of Brexit-related uncertainty and find widespread reverberations on listed firms in 81 countries. International firms most...

This paper analyzes how shareholder wealth, firm characteristics, and public finance would be impacted if tax deductibility of interest expenses were eliminated. We find that shareholder value would decrease by 3.5%. Under the new regime, firms would be smaller and less levered, would have less...

Credit guarantees are popular policy responses during crises. Despite their prevalence, evidence of their effectiveness is sparse. We estimate the impacts of UK guarantees implemented during the Great Recession, by exploiting unexpected firm-size eligibility restrictions. We use a...

This paper uses administrative data from a private payroll processor whose clients are primarily very small businesses (median 5 employees) to measure both which firms apply for financial relief through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the effects of this financial relief. Conditional...

The interaction of inflation with a progressive tax system has been known to cause tax rates, and thus tax liabilities, to escalate with nominal income. Often blamed for having undesirable effects on investment and wealth, this feature of modern tax systems has not received formal treatment in...

The personal tax impact on share prices of a permanent distribution via stock repurchase was first modeled by Bierman and West (JF 1966, #4) who argued that the tax impact is minimized under permanent ownership by the same shareholders. Elton and Gruber (JF 1968, #1) faulted the original model...

The modest title chosen by the editor understates the contribution of this paper. To the best of our knowledge, we were the first to use company-based shareholder valuation approach to refute the prevailing view that retention of corporate earnings under the U.S. tax system automatically...

By limiting their attention to the effect of capital gains tax on the price asked by mid-cycle sellers, Elton and Gruber (Review of Economics and Statistics v.52, 1970) overlook a parallel effect of capital loss credit on the bid price offered by mid-cycle buyers. We show that unequal marginal...

Using unique City of Oakland data during COVID-19, we document that small business survival capabilities vary by firm size as a function of revenue resiliency, labor flexibility, and committed costs. Nonemployer businesses rely on low cost structures to survive 73% declines in own-store foot...