We investigate the effect of standard setters in standard setting. We examine how certain professional and political characteristics of FASB members and SEC commissioners predict the accounting “reliability” and “relevance” of proposed standards. Notably, we find FASB members with...

I develop the notion of “thin political markets.” These are esoteric areas of market rule-making where corporate managers possess the technical expertise necessary for informed regulation, enjoy strong economic interests in the outcome, and face little political opposition. The motivating...

In 2010, the U.S. accounting rulemaker (FASB) updated its longstanding constitution to eliminate “reliability” as a fundamental accounting property. FASB argued that “reliability” was misunderstood in practice and that this amendment clarified its original intent. Drawing on primary...

For the past two decades, fair-value accounting — the practice of measuring assets and liabilities at estimates of their current values — has been on the ascent. This marks a major departure from the centuries-old tradition of keeping books at historical cost. It also has implications across...