Using a database of 605,106 option grant filings by insiders between 1992 and 2002, we find significant abnormal stock return reversals around the grant date. Consistent with the hypothesis that managers influence their pay, the reversals are positively related to grant size and the seniority of...

We provide evidence of a dating game that entails picking a grant date ex-post, i.e., after the board's compensation decision is made. We suggest two variants of the dating game. Back-dating (picking a date in the past with a lower stock price compared to board decision date) if the stock price...

Using a database of 605,106 option grant filings by insiders between 1992 and 2002, we find significant abnormal stock return reversals around the grant date. Consistent with the hypothesis that managers influence their pay, the reversals are positively related to grant size and the seniority of...

The paper discusses the economic impact of legal, corporate governance, tax, disclosure, and incentive issues arising from revelation of dating games with regard to executive option grant dates. It provides an estimate of the value loss incurred by shareholders of firms implicated in backdating...

We provide evidence of two variants of a dating game that entails picking a grant date ex post, that is, after the board's compensation decision is made: back-dating (picking a date before the board decision date), and forward-dating (waiting after the board decision date to observe the stock...

We investigate gender differences in insider trading behavior of senior corporate executives in the U.S. between 1975 and 2005. We find that, on average, both female and male executives make positive profits from insider trading, but males earn about twice as much as females; males also trade...