This dissertation consists of a theory essay and an empirical essay that investigate a firm's decision to buy or sell corporate assets. It seeks to answer the following research questions: (1) why do firms choose to buy or sell assets? (2) what makes assets in an industry more likely to be...

We examine the participation of public and private firms in merger waves and their outcomes. We show that public firms participate more in mergers and acquisitions than private firms and are more cyclical in their acquisitions. Public firms are also impacted more by macro factors including...

We examine the participation of public and private firms in merger waves and productivity outcomes. We show that public firms participate more than private firms as buyers and sellers of assets and their participation is more cyclical. Public firms are affected more by credit spreads and...

We track firms at birth and compare the growth pattern of IPO firms and their birth-matched counterparts. Firms that are larger at birth with faster initial growth are more likely to attain a larger size later in life and go public. Firms in the top percentile of predicted propensity to go...

Using U.S. Census data, we track firms at birth and compare the growth pattern of IPO firms and their matched always-private counterparts over their life cycle. Firms that are larger at birth with faster initial growth are more likely to attain a larger size and to subsequently go public. We...

Why do small businesses exploit business opportunities better in some areas than others? In a sample of 1.2 million consumer-facing establishments, stores differ significantly across neighborhoods and census tracts in the uptake of risk-free positive NPV forgivable loans to which they are...

We track firms at birth and compare the growth pattern of IPO firms and their birth-matched counterparts. Firms that are larger at birth with faster initial growth are more likely to attain a larger size later in life and go public. Firms in the top percentile of predicted propensity to go...

We track firms at birth and compare the growth and responsiveness to demand shocks of IPO firms and their birth-matched counterparts. Firms that are larger at birth with faster initial growth are more likely to go public. Firms in the top percentile of predicted propensity to go public grow 29...