We show in a theoretical model that credit default swaps induce managerial agency problems through two channels: reducing the opportunity for managers to transfer value to equityholders from creditors via strategic default, and reducing the intensity of monitoring by creditors, which leads to...

We investigate whether the diversification discount occurs partly as an artifact of poor corporate governance. In panel data models, we find that the discount narrows by 16% to 21% when we add governance variables as regression controls. We also estimate Heckman selection models that account for...

amp;#65279;Company stock option plans have diverse quot;sunsetquot; policies for modifying terms of options held by managers who exit the firm. In our Samp;P 500 sample, these forfeiture, vesting, and expiration provisions are less generous in companies characterized by fast growth, dependence on...

We study whether CEO involvement in the selection of new directors influences the quality of appointments to the board. When the CEO serves on the nominating committee or no nominating committee exists, firms appoint fewer independent outside directors and more gray outsiders with conflicts of...

We conduct an event study of stockholders’ and bondholders’ reactions to companies’ initial reports of their CEOs’ inside debt positions, as required by SEC disclosure regulations that became effective early in 2007. Results show that bond prices rise, equity prices fall, and the...

A bona fide currency functions as a medium of exchange, a store of value, and a unit of account, but bitcoin largely fails to satisfy these criteria. Bitcoin has achieved only scant consumer transaction volume, with an average well below one daily transaction for the few merchants who accept...

I study large charitable stock gifts by Chairmen and CEOs of public companies. These gifts, which are not subject to insider trading law, often occur just before sharp declines in their companies share prices. This timing is more pronounced when executives donate their own shares to their own...

Company stock option plans have diverse acirc;not;Ssunsetacirc;not;? policies for modifying terms of options held by managers who exit the firm. In our Samp;P 500 sample, these forfeiture, vesting, and expiration provisions are less generous in companies characterized by fast growth, dependence on...

We examine value creation and destruction in the tobacco industry due to the radical litigation strategy pursued by Brooke Group and its CEO, Bennett LeBow. Brooke Group has a tiny market share, low margins, high leverage, and a high concentration of management ownership.Beginning in 1996 the...

I study the strength of performance incentives received by outside directors in Fortune 500 firms from compensation, replacement, and the opportunity to obtain other directorships. Previous research has only shown these relations to apply under extreme circumstances such as financial distress....