We examine the effect of paying higher wages on firm performance during the 2008 financial crisis. To identify variation in wages, we rely on heterogeneity in the timing of long-term wage agreements for a sample of UK firms. We instrument for firms signing long-term agreements overlapping with...

We show that in the years following a large broad-based employee stock option (BBSO) grant, employee turnover falls at the granting firm. We find evidence consistent with a causal relation by exploiting unexpected changes in the value of unvested options. A large fraction of the reduction in...

Minority acquisitions, involving less than 50% of the target, represent a distinct organizational choice. With a minority acquisition, the target can mitigate some of the incentive problems that arise in contractual relationships. Less is known, however, about the trade-off between minority...

How employee share ownership plans (ESOPs) affect employee compensation and shareholder value depends on the size. Small ESOPs, defined as those controlling less than 5% of outstanding shares, benefit both workers and shareholders, implying positive productivity gains. However, the effects of...

In stark contrast to the findings based on domestic Mamp;A transactions, we find that the developed-market acquirers experience positive and significant announcement returns in transactions that involve an emerging-market target. On average, over the 1988-2003 period, developed-market acquirer...

Using a database that covers all transactions that involve a developed-market acquirer and an emerging-market target from 1988-2002, this paper studies the stock market's reaction to acquisition announcements in emerging markets. The evidence suggests that the stock market anticipates...

The opioid crisis has implications for firms which must now contend with a lower supply of workers. Consistent with a labor shortage explanation, we find a negative effect of instrumented opioid prescriptions on subsequent individual employment. Similarly, we show a negative relationship between...

When firms from developed markets acquire firms in emerging markets, market-capitalization-weighted monthly joint returns show a statistically significant increase of 1.8%. Panel data estimations suggest that the value gains from cross-border M&A transactions stem from the transfer of majority...

As of 2019, salary history bans have been enacted by 17 states and Puerto Rico with the stated purpose of reducing the gender pay gap. We argue that salary history bans may negatively affect wages as employers lose an informative signal of worker productivity. We empirically evaluate these laws...