We document a robust cross-sectional positive association across industries between a measure of the economic efficiency of corporate investment and the magnitude of firm-specific variation in stock returns. This finding is interesting for two reasons, neither of which is a priori obvious....

The adjustment of prices after the arrival of new information is one of the most debated issues in finance. We use post-IPO market to examine this subject. The unique setting of immediate aftermarket allows us to assess the speed of price adjustment after the trading has just begun as investors...

Using a hand-collected sample of state-owned enterprises and newly privatized firms around the globe, we examine financial reporting quality in natural advantage (substantial oil reserves or mineral deposits) industries. We find that ultimate state ownership tends to deteriorate financial...

We investigate how politics (party orientation, national elections, and strength of democratic institutions) affect stock market volatility. We hypothesize that labor-intensive industries, industries with larger exposure to foreign trade, industries whose operations require efficient contracts,...

Data on corporate governance and disclosure practices reveal wide within-country variation that decreases with the strength of investors' legal protection. A simple model identifies three firm attributes related to that variation: investment opportunities, external financing, and ownership...

We investigate how predatory government policies (expropriation, lack of property rights protection, corruption, crime) interact with managerial incentives in shaping firm governance structure. Our model shows that owners have lower incentives to encourage valuemaximization by managers if the...

We analyze the role of political instability for the organizational form of foreign investment, whether it takes the form of a majority- or minority-owned investment. We focus on the instability generated by the change of the party in power in a democratic system, rather than on the risk of...