This study shows that initiation of CDS trading for an entity's debt increases the share of loans retained by loan syndicate lead arrangers and increases loan spread. These findings are consistent with CDS initiation reducing the effectiveness of a lead arranger's stake in the loan to serve as a...

This study finds that the requirement of ASC 842 for firms to capitalize operating leases in financial statements beginning in 2019 resulted in firms affected by the standard reducing existing debt amounts on average between 7% and 10% relative to unaffected firms. We also find that firms with...

I examine the liquidity effect of the implementation of ASC 606: Revenue from contracts with customers. I find that the implementation of ASC 606 increases liquidity. Next, I examine the channels through which the implementation of the standard affects liquidity. Theory suggests that the...

We investigate Chinese firms' use of variable interest entities (VIEs) to evade Chinese regulation on foreign ownership and list in the US. VIEs are explicitly designed to circumvent the intent of Chinese law on foreign control, and potentially exacerbate agency conflicts within the firm. We...

In 2021, many firms began considering and implementing vaccine mandates as a means to return workers to in-person work. In response, twelve states enacted laws banning employer COVID-19 vaccine mandates. We study equity market reactions to these bans and find a 0.64 percentage point increase in...

Exploiting exogenous variation introduced by a significant change in S&P's methodology, we show that credit ratings have a first-order causal impact on capital structure and investment decisions. Quantifying debt capacity within a firm's credit rating (Ratings Capacity) using precise metrics, we...

Why do firms offer non-wage compensation instead of the equivalent amount in financial compensation? We argue that firms use non-wage benefits, specifically maternity leave, to efficiently target workers with desirable characteristics. Using Glassdoor data, we show that firms offer higher...

Leasing's impact on leverage remains an open debate in the literature. Some argue that leasing and secured debt are substitutes, while others argue that leasing can preserve secured debt capacity and facilitate greater borrowing. I exploit a Moody's accounting policy change that unexpectedly...

This paper examines the dispersion in cybersecurity risk across firms. Using new, proprietary data on the Fortune 500 firms, We show that higher productivity firms exhibit abnormal returns. We subsequently document three new facts: (a) higher productivity firms have fewer cybersecurity...

This study provides some of the first evidence on gender-based differences in director retention at US public firms. While men hold the bulk of directorships, female directors are less likely than male directors to depart a board in a given year. However, when boards face adversity by way of...