The SEC's emphasis on the use of plain English is designed to make disclosures more readable and more informative. Using an experiment, I find that more readable disclosures lead to stronger reactions from small investors, so that changes in valuation judgments are more positive when news is...

In this study we use an experiment to examine whether home bias is caused, at least in part, by a psychological bias that can be reduced by highlighting concrete language in disclosures. Our results show that, when abstract language is highlighted in a prospectus, prospective investors are...

We present 60 experienced credit analysts with financial information for two firms: one that mainly outsources production and one that does not. We find that analysts are better able to identify firm characteristics that make an outsourcer more creditworthy when those characteristics are...