For a sample comprised of 36,105 U.S. firm-year observations from 1985 to 2008, we find that firms located in more religious counties enjoy cheaper equity financing costs. This result is robust to a battery of sensitivity tests, including alternative assumptions and model specifications,...

This study examines the relation between province-level financial development and the cost of equity in China. Our main findings are that (1) stock market development reduces the cost of equity in general, but the effect diminishes significantly in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and firms with...

The paper examines the impact of business group affiliation on cost of loans in an emerging market setting. It focuses on operational strategy, organizational structure and internationalization policies of business group firms and their impact on borrowing cost of affiliated firms. Bank loans...

We study the impact of internal corporate governance on performance during the current financial crisis using a comprehensive cross-country sample of 4046 publicly traded non-financial firms from 23 countries. Using a broad-based index of corporate governance quality, we find that well-governed...

Using a sample of non-U.S. firms from 43 countries, we investigate whether laws and regulations as well as votes cast by U.S. institutional investors are consistent with an effective shareholder voting process. We find that laws and regulations allow for meaningful votes to be cast as...

We study the transfer of governance across countries through overlapping boards. Companies converge to the governance characteristics and board practices of foreign firms through their directors' foreign board experiences. Learning from foreign firms' governance practices is as important as...

We find that the directorial labor market's ability to align the incentives of managers and shareholders depends on the aggregate level of investor protection in a country. If a country's corporate governance environment is strong and boards are likely to protect the interest of shareholders, a...

Using a sample of non-U.S. firms from 43 countries, we investigate whether laws and regulations as well as votes cast by U.S. institutional investors are consistent with an effective shareholder voting process. We find that laws and regulations allow for meaningful votes to be cast as...

I examine how cross-sectional differences in national culture dimensions affect the probability of CEO turnover and its sensitivity to firm performance after cross-listing by a non-U.S. firm in the United States. I find that three of the Hofstede indexes (long-term orientation, power distance,...

We use the exposure of U.S. firms’ directors to the staggered introduction of sustainability disclosure reforms in foreign countries to study the role of the board of directors in shaping corporate sustainability. Using a difference-in-differences design, we document that the board has a...