Does an equity analyst's trust in others impact the processing of information from outside sources? We investigate this question using a measure of trust based on surveys conducted in analysts' countries of origin. We find that more trusting analysts not only react faster to management guidance...

Using staggered changes in state corporate income tax rates, we document that firms are more likely to undertake an acquisition and pay cash for it when taxes increase. The likelihood is greater for financially constrained firms. We find no change in the CAR and takeover premia after tax...

We develop a theory of initial public offering (IPO) underpricing based on differentiated underwriting services and localized competition. Even though a large number of investment banks compete for IPOs, if issuers care about non-price dimensions of underwriting, then the industry structure is...

Using a sample of 56 companies going public in 1996-2000 in which top executives received allocations of other hot initial public offerings (IPOs) from the bookrunner, a practice known as spinning, we examine the consequences of spinning. The 56 IPOs had first-day returns that were, on average,...

We hypothesize that corporate income taxes distort firms' incentives to innovate by reducing their pledgeable income. Using a differences-in-differences methodology, we document that large corporate income tax cuts boost corporate innovation. We find a similar but opposite effect for tax...

Despite significant interest in corporate culture, there is little empirical research on its role in influencing corporate misconduct. Using cultural background information on key company insiders, I construct a measure of corporate corruption culture, capturing a firm's general attitude toward...