We study the effect of credit default swap (CDS) on the corporate bond market. We argue that CDS, by reducing the need of investors to liquidate the bonds in the face of credit deterioration of the issuer, reduces fire sale risk and provides bond liquidity. Given that bond investors are...

We explore the relationship between internal governance and the disciplining mechanisms created by the threat of short selling (i.e. “short-selling potential”). We argue that the presence of short selling increases the cost of agency problems for shareholders and incentivizes them to improve...

Parent guarantees to subsidiary bond issues can circumvent restrictive covenants on parent debt, and transfer wealth from bond- to equity-holders or maximize parent managers' private benefits. We find that parent firms expecting stringent covenants on their own debt more likely guarantee...

We study the link between information barriers in global markets and the organizational form of asset management. Fund families outsource funds in which they are at an informational disadvantage to generate performance. Using a structural model of self-selection, we endogenize the outsourcing...

In a cross-country study, we investigate how staggered passage of national leniency programs from 1990-2012 has affected firms' margins and merger activity. We find that these programs, which give amnesty to cartel conspirators that cooperate with antitrust authorities, reduced the gross margins...

We study right offerings around the world, using a sample of 8,238 rights offers announced during 1995-2008 in 69 countries. Although shareholders prefer having the option to trade rights, issuers deliberately restrict tradability in 38% of the offerings. We argue that firms restrict rights...

Using a representative sample of the Swedish male population from 1966 to 2006, we study which "skills" make it easier for individuals to cope with major economic and social changes. We distinguish between social and cognitive skills and investigate how they differentially affect the incentives...

The rise of social media has encouraged guru dreams because of the low entry barrier and highly skewed distribution of public attention that characterize social media. The pursuit of guru status, however, may be achieved through information provision or cheap talk, and competition inherent to...

When companies raise equity finance they have to make two choices: the issuing method (cash versus rights) and, when they choose the rights issue method, whether rights should be traded or not. We study these choices using a sample of 15,751 rights issues and 22,016 cash offers announced during...

We propose that the presence of short-term investors, such as short sellers, does not necessarily enhance short-termism. On the contrary, based on a sample of 11,969 firms across 33 countries over the 2003-2009 period, we observe that the threat of short selling increases long-term (i.e., R&D)...