It is challenging to disentangle the causal impact of media reporting from the impact of the events being reported. We solve this problem by comparing the behaviors of investors with access to different media coverage of the same information event. We use zip codes to identify 19 mutually...

CEOs with large networks earn more than those with small networks. An additional connection to an executive or director outside the firm increases compensation by about $17,000 on average, more so for ldquo;importantrdquo; members such as CEOs of big firms. Pay-for-connectivity is unrelated to...

Edlund and Korn [2002] (EK) proposed that prostitutes are well paid and that the wage premium reflects foregone marriage market opportunities. However, studies of street prostitution in the U.S. have revealed only modest wages and considerable risks of disease and violence, casting doubt on...

We explore whether personal connections between employees at firms and banks influence lending and borrowing practices. Such firm-bank connections predict large concessions in interest rates, comparable to single shifts in credit ratings. Personal relationships also predict larger loan amounts...

This paper documents that the path of credit spreads since a firm's last loan influences the level at which it can currently borrow. If spreads have moved in the firm's favor (i.e., declined), it is charged a higher interest rate than justified by current fundamentals, and if spreads have moved...

We find that a small set of financial columnists has a causal effect on short-term aggregate stock market prices. For some journalists ("bulls") the market reaction is consistently positive, whereas for others ("bears") it is negative. Because bulls and bears are rotated exogenously in our...

Abstract We estimate and explore mechanisms of the impact of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) expansions on the smoking behavior of women. Differential increases in federal EITC benefits by family size in the mid-1990s allow for a comparison of smoking status changes between mothers with one...