Using firm-level destination country-specific export data and bank branch data from China, we find that foreign banks can significantly promote firms’ export toward the destination country where the banks are originated from. Our findings are robust after addressing different types of...

Exporting is not only an activity in need of financing, but also a knowledge-intensive activity. Using firm-level destination country-specific export data and bank branch data from China, we find that foreign banks can significantly promote local firms’ export toward the destination country...

This paper analyzes costly favoritism related to physical attractiveness and gender in bank loan markets using a market structure-based method. The rationale is that a concentrated market provides more space for loan officers to discriminate against a certain group of borrowers. Using several...

Using the 2008 corporate tax reform in China as a quasi-natural experiment, we find that compared to unaffected firms, firms facing tax increases report significantly lower profit margins to avoid paying more taxes, while there is no significant difference for firms facing a tax cut. Our results...

Although policy uncertainty has drawn regulators' attention in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, little is known on how to alleviate its adverse effects. In this paper, we examine the role of political connections in mitigating the detrimental impact of policy uncertainty on banks....

Are firms that are managed and owned by females-only appraised differently than those where genders mix at the top? To answer this question we study an instructive sample of 7,467 firms from 22 countries. We find that – when borrowing from banks – firms that are both managed and owned by...