Institutional investors exhibit substantial home-state bias in private equity. This effect is particularly pronounced for public pension fund investments in venture capital and real estate. Public pension funds achieve performance on in-state investments that is 2-4 percentage points lower than...

Existing models of the size and scope of investment activity traditionally assume an infinite pool of ex-ante identical projects, despite the fact that managers often face a limited choice of projects that vary in quality. In this paper, we investigate optimal project selection in a model in...

We evaluate the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) on shareholders by studying the lobbying behavior of investors and corporate insiders in order to affect the final implemented rules under the Act. Investors lobbied overwhelmingly in favor of strict implementation of SOX, while corporate...

We examine the effect of the introduction of ridehailing in U.S. cities on fatal traffic accidents. The arrival of ridehailing is associated with an increase of approximately 3% in the number of fatalities and fatal accidents, for both vehicle occupants and pedestrians. The effects persist when...

Recent years have seen the rapid emergence of a new type of program aimed at seeding startup companies. These programs, often referred to as accelerators, differ from previously known seed-stage institutions such as incubators and angel groups. While proliferation of such accelerators is...

We examine whether networks among incumbent venture capital firms help restrict entryinto local VC markets in the U.S., thus improving VCs bargaining power overentrepreneurs. We show that VC markets with more extensive networking among theincumbent players experience less entry. The effect is...

We examine whether options granted to non-executive employees affect firm performance. Using new data on option programs, we explore the link between broad-based option programs, option portfolio implied incentives, and firm operating performance, utilizing an instrumental variables approach to...

We examine whether options granted to rank and file employees have effects on the performance of the firm, by exploring the link between broad-based option grants, option portfolio implied incentives and firm operating performance. We employ an instrumental variables approach that combines...

We evaluate the net benefits of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) for shareholders by studying the lobbying behavior of investors and corporate insiders to affect the final implemented rules under the Act. Investors lobbied overwhelmingly in favor of strict implementation of SOX, while corporate...