We examine whether Confucianism surrounding corporate headquarters affects informed insider trading. We empirically show that insiders in firms headquartered in regions with higher levels of Confucianism profit more in sales but not in purchases. We further investigate the cross-sectional...

The insider trading policy is an aspect of a firm's internal governance which ensures corporate transparency is maintained and promotes investor confidence. We examine the effect of trading policies on the returns to trades conducted by corporate insiders in a period where the adoption of a...

We test two complementary theories of optimal trading strategies by analyzing transaction pat-terns of corporate insiders: Information-based theories predict that investors trade faster if they compete with others for exploiting the same information. Liquidity-based theories predict the...

We investigate patterns of abnormal stock performance around insider trades on the Dutch market. Listed firms in the Netherlands have a long tradition of limiting shareholders rights. Using a change in corporate governance regulations as a natural experiment we show that governance rules have a...

We investigate patterns of abnormal stock performance around insider trades on the Dutch market. Listed firms in the Netherlands have a long tradition of limiting shareholders rights. Using a change in corporate governance regulations as a natural experiment we show that governance rules have a...

Using a novel dataset containing U.S. companies’ regular board meeting schedules, we find evidence of informed trading by outside directors prior to board meetings. In the days prior to board meetings, when outside directors possess private information, they make purchases that yield higher...

We examine insider trading profitability and common identity between insiders and top executives. In particular, we argue that common gender and the resultant social connections it creates influence access to private information, where insiders benefit from greater information sharing with top...

We show that opportunistic insiders can be identified through the profitability of their trades prior to quarterly earnings announcements (QEAs), and that opportunistic trading is associated with various kinds of firm/managerial misconduct. A value-weighted trading strategy based on (not...

We examine the effectiveness of corporate governance in monitoring private in-house meetings between management and investors. Consistent with better corporate governance curbing the opportunistic corporate disclosure and insider trading behavior, we find a negative association between...

This paper uses a regression discontinuity design to identify the effect of missing relative performance goals on insider trading. I find that CEOs who narrowly miss relative performance goals and hence receive a lower pay earn higher profits from their insider trades subsequent to the...