We analyze the payout channel choice of listed UK firms and examine whether the choice between dividends, share repurchases, a combination of payout channels, or complete earnings retention is affected by investor sentiment, taxation, major shareholder ownership, and in particular the CEO’s...

Abstract: Are female top managers paid less than their male counterparts? Is the gender gap higher in male-dominated industries? What effect on pay do female non-executive directors and remuneration consultants exert? While we find no pay gap for the figure-head (CEO), there is strong pay...

A positive relation between confidence and effort/investment provision has been<br/>theoretically justified and practically assumed in the literature, but has not been<br/>thoroughly investigated. We test and confirm this positive relation between direct<br/>measures of confidence and choice of effort or...

The art market is subject to frequent booms and busts in both prices and volume,<br/>which are difficult to reconcile with models where agents are rational and<br/>hold homogenous beliefs. This paper shows that (i) volume is mainly driven by<br/>speculative transactions; (ii) positive price-volume correlation...

We investigate the fundamental determinants and value implications of corporate social responsibility (CSR) around the world. We contrast three broad views on CSR: (1) it is a response to government failure; (2) it reflects individual and societal preferences; (3) it is an equilibrium result of a...

For the 5th takeover wave, European M&As were expected to create significant takeover value: the announcement reactions were strongly positive for target shareholders (more than 35%) and the bidding shareholders also expected to gain a small though significant increase in market value of...

This paper reviews the vast academic literature on the market for corporate control.Our main focus is the cyclical wave pattern this market exhibits.From the perspective of takeover waves, we address questions such as: Why do mergers and acquisitions (M&As) occur?Does the ensuing transfer of...

German firms pay out a lower proportion of their cash flows than UK and US firms.However, on a published profits basis, the pattern is reversed.Company law provisions and accounting policies account for these conflicting results.A partial adjustment model is used to estimate the implicit target...

We investigate patterns of abnormal stock performance around insider trades and option exercises on the Dutch market. Listed firms in the Netherlands have a long tradition of employing many anti-shareholder mechanisms limiting shareholders rights. Our results imply that insider transactions are...

Stock markets and betting markets co-exist for professional soccer clubs listed on the London Stock Exchange.For each firm, two pieces of information are released to the stock market on a weekly basis from August to June: experts expectations about game outcomes through the betting odds, and the...