We examine the role and economic consequences of emotions in influencing the judgment of corporate executives. Analyzing a large sample of U.S. public firms, we find that sunshine-induced good mood leads managers to make upwardly biased earnings forecasts. Importantly, our evidence implies that...

We analyze whether tough IRS monitoring generates a positive externality by constraining managers' bad news hoarding activities. Supporting this prediction, we find a negative relation between the threat of an IRS audit and stock price crash risk. Our evidence is consistent with recent theory...

Using the most recent machine learning-based image-processing techniques, we investigate whether banks factor borrowing firm's chief executive officer (CEO) facial trustworthiness into bank loan contracting. We find that banks tend to grant more favorable loan terms to firms with...

Psychological and upper echelons theories suggest that CEOs with the personality trait of sensation seeking shape corporate policies. In gauging sensation seeking with whether the CEO holds a pilot license, we examine its importance to firms' accounting conservatism. Our evidence implies that...

We examine the impact of managerial mood on corporate tax avoidance—a ubiquitous corporate decision. Using variation in local sunshine as exogenous shocks to managerial mood, we report strong, robust evidence that negative mood induced by cloudy weather leads firms to undertake more aggressive...

Prior research documents that information transmitted via director networks affects firms' policies and real economic activities. We explore whether information flow through director networks influences managers' ability to hoard bad news. We find that the extent of external connections of the...

We examine whether the equity incentive heterogeneity of the executive team engenders a positive externality by curtailing stock price crash risk. Supporting this prediction, we find a negative relation between the equity incentive heterogeneity of the executive team and stock price crash risk....