Deregulation affects incumbent firms through entry threats (a curse) and entry opportunities (ablessing). To separate these effects, we construct novel network-based measures of U.S. state-level bank deregulation intensity that allow us to isolate the blessing- and curse-related effects of...

We document that the percentage of all U.S. assets that are "safe" has remained stable at about 33 percent since 1952. This stable ratio is a rare example of calm in a rapidly changing financial world. Over the same time period, the ratio of U.S. assets to GDP has increased by a factor of 2.5,...

We examine the causal effect of politicians' partisan ideologies on firms' industrial pollution decisions. Using a regression discontinuity design involving close U.S. congressional elections, we show that plants increase pollution and invest less in abatement following close Republican wins. We...

We propose and test a new channel through which fiscal policy changes affect the supply of intermediated credit and the real economy. Lenders that have greater exposure to firms expected to repatriate a significant amount of foreign income as a result of a 2004-2005 U.S. tax holiday subsequently...

We document that the percentage of all U.S. assets that are "safe" has remained stable at about 33 percent since 1952. This stable ratio is a rare example of calm in a rapidly changing financial world. Over the same time period, the ratio of U.S. assets to GDP has increased by a factor of 2.5,...