This paper integrates and further develops the analysis of two discussion papers we circulated earlier, “Lucky CEOs” and “Lucky Directors.” Our study contributes to understanding the corporate governance determinants and implications of backdating practices during the decade of...

We examine the role of culture on the prevalence of illegal insider trading. Recent literature suggests that decisions and actions of economic decision-makers, including CEOs and managers, are influenced by behavioural biases (Shefrin, 2007). We hypothesize that nations where individuals are...

Consistent with hedge funds trading on privileged information during the wall-crossing period, we document negative abnormal returns and abnormally high short selling in the trading days just prior to the private placements of U.S. convertible bonds, no pre-placement negative abnormal returns...

In this study, insider trading activity is used as part of a managerial compensation structure. The wage structure changes with the tenure duration of the insider. Managers with shorter tenure rely more on insider profits as part of their compensation. On the other hand, managers with longer...

This article deals with the self-insider, i.e. the possible creation of the inside information by a person and its (abusive) exploitation. It describes the situation in Italy and Germany and then provides a taxonomy of the several cases of self-insider. The article then analyzes the case law of...

Commentators on insider trading are divided into two camps, one in favor of regulation, the other in favor of deregulation. The pleadings for the two positions are manifold but not irreconcilable. We show that important gains to social welfare come with insider trading on negative information...

Criminal enforcement of the insider trading prohibitions under Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 is the root of corporate criminal liability for insider trading in the United States. In the wake of assertions that S.A.C. Capital Advisors, L.P. actively encouraged the unlawful use of material...

We examine how and why insider trading varies across senior executives and their firms. As predicted, the profitability of both purchases and sales are higher for “recordholder” executives (those who have a record of legal infractions), than for other “non-recordholder” executives at the...

Insider trading is one of the most controversial aspects of securities regulation, even among the law and economics community. One set of scholars favors deregulation of insider trading, allowing corporations to set their own insider trading policies by contract. Another set of law and economics...