Using a new dataset of corporate voting-rights from 1971 to 2015, we find that young dual-class firms trade at a premium and operate at least as efficiently as young single-class firms. As dual-class firms mature, their valuation declines, and they become less efficient in their margins,...

We analyze the impact of the right to adopt a poison pill – a “shadow pill” – on visible pill policy and firm value by exploiting the quasi-natural experiment provided by U.S. states’ staggered adoption of poison pill laws (PPLs) validating the pill. We document that by reducing...

We develop a conceptual framework to understand the incentive structure and pricing mechanisms of Sustainability-Linked-Bonds (SLBs). The model allows us to characterize the conditions under which an SLB is incentive compatible for a firm. We further derive a novel measure which identifies the...

We analyze dynamic trading by an activist investor who can expend costly effort to affect firm value. We obtain the equilibrium in closed form for a general activism technology, including both binary and continuous outcomes. Variation in parameters can produce either positive or negative...

We examine the effects of mandatory ESG disclosure around the world using a novel dataset. Mandatory ESG disclosure increases the availability and quality of ESG reporting, especially among firms with low ESG performance. Mandatory ESG reporting has in turn beneficial effects on firm’s...

We explore how mutual fund investors collectively value sustainability when the tradeoff with performance becomes salient. Following the introduction of Morningstar’s sustainability ratings (the “globe” ratings), mutual funds increased their holdings of sustainable stocks in an attempt to...

Using employer-employee level data linked to individual health records, we document that the incidence of stress, anxiety, depression, psychiatric medication usage, and even suicide increase following acquisitions. These effects are prevalent among employees from both targets and acquirers, in...

We investigate how board overlap affects coordination and performance among public firms. Our identification exploits the staggered introduction of Corporate OpportunityWaivers (COWs) in nine U.S. states since 2000. By reducing legal risk to directors serving on multiple boards, the COW...

This paper studies the informativeness of stock prices, after some companies have defaulted. We show that the average price of companies in the stock market exceeds the average value of surviving plus defaulted companies. This price-value wedge is narrower for company types with higher survival....

We develop a theory of blockchain governance. In our model, the proof-of-work system, which is the most common set of rules for validating transactions in blockchains, creates an industrial ecosystem with specialized suppliers of goods and services. We analyze the interactions between blockchain...