Top sportsmen often refer to competition against other top sportsmen as a motivation to exert more effort. We examine whether a similar pattern exists among another group of top professionals – star analysts. Our evidence suggests that star analysts concentrate their efforts and generate...

We show that status-driven behavior is largely determined by how connected a community is. Using a unique dataset on car purchases in Southern California, we show that social influence intensifies in suburban communities in which neighbors are likely to know each other well. The effect of...

I examine whether changes in CEO status affect risk-related business decisions. I use prestigious awards as shocks to CEO status relative to other CEOs. Firms with award-winning CEOs decrease their idiosyncratic volatility, and their industry betas converge towards one. These firms also reduce...

Using hand-collected data on activist-initiated divestitures, we compare the long- term effects of hedge fund activists on their targets with that of other shareholder activists. We show that the distinguishing features of hedge funds are associated with substantial improvements in target-firm...

This study investigates the effect of underlying risk preferences on analysts' work-related decisions. Specifically, we examine whether facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR), an innate personal characteristic that has been linked to financial risk tolerance, affects analysts' stock coverage...

We find that option returns are significantly lower over nontrading periods, the vast majority of which are weekends. Our evidence suggests that nontrading returns cannot be explained by risk, but are rather the result of widespread and highly persistent option mispricing driven by the incorrect...