Prior literature provides support both for the existence of target capital structures and internal capital markets (ICM). The issue of whether firms use internal capital to reduce deviations from target capital structures, however, has yet to be examined. We provide the first empirical evidence...

Prior research provides theoretical insight on factors likely to impact the decision to mitigate such as the degree of risk aversion, the cost of market insurance, and the cost of self insurance. We provide empirical evidence related to several hypotheses from the self insurance literature on...

Few papers have analyzed the potential linkages between price distortions and the specific demographic and political traits of customers. The existence of price distortions may have adverse and potentially unintended impacts on certain demographic groups, leading to significant public policy...

This paper examines the effect of hurricane mitigation features and their verification on the transaction prices of single-family homes. Some of these features are obvious to buyers and sellers (visible) and others are not easily observed (hidden). Prior research on the relationship between...

This study examines the effect of the state of the international reinsurance market on the demand for reinsurance by U.S. insurers using data from the years 1993 through 2000. Both the overall demand for reinsurance and the utilization of foreign reinsurance by U.S. insurers are explored. In...

Many companies face the risk of a data breach exposing stored personal information of customers and employees. The frequency of such incidents has been increasing over time and can result in significant costs for the affected firm. This paper examines the stock market's assessment of the cost of...

We analyze life insurance policy surrender activity to determine whether surrender is a function of certain macroeconomic variables and, therefore, highly correlated across policies. Results support the Emergency Fund Hypothesis and the Interest Rate Hypothesis. In addition, we provide evidence...

The effect of federal insurance regulation has been a perennial topic of debate. Proponents have argued that federal regulation would result in a variety of benefits, including greater product innovation, increased speed-to-market, reduction of regulatory costs, and additional cost efficiencies....

The effect of federal insurance regulation has been a perennial topic of debate. Proponents have argued that federal regulation would result in a variety of benefits including greater product innovation, increased speed-to-market, reduction of regulatory costs, and additional cost efficiencies....