This study proposes a generalized partial adjustment model of dividends in which managers set target dividends based on adaptively-formed earnings prospects. We show that firms adjust dividends to their target payouts much faster than previously documented. When managers form future earnings...

This study investigates how uncertainty affects firms' target capital structure using a panel data set of U.S. public manufacturers between 2003 and 2018 and finds that high-uncertainty firms have 10.1 (8.1) percentage points lower mean book (market) targets than low-uncertainty firms. This...

This study investigates the predictability of stock market returns using a novel corporate investment measure that captures the lumpiness of firm-level investment. We find that the proportion of firms with investment spikes ("spike") is a strong predictor of excess stock returns. Specifically,...

This study examines the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the quantity and economic value of innovation, finding significant positive effects. A one-standard-deviation increase in the lagged CSR score results in 6.18 more patents being granted to an average firm in a year and...

This appendix comprises four parts. The first part presents proofs of lemmas and propositions. The second part presents some additional robustness tests. The third part reports the results of analyses designed to reconcile our results with a prior empirical study on a closely related issue. The...

We show that stock liquidity increases the propensity of firms to raise debt capital. The positive effect of liquidity on a debt issuance propensity is much stronger in firms with greater default risk. The effect of liquidity on the cost of debt capital is much larger than its effect on the cost...