Using a large sample of firms from 43 markets, we find significant time-series variations in firms’ leverage ratios around the world. Industry median leverage ratios and aggregate leverage ratios also change substantially over time. Relative to actual leverage ratios, target leverage ratios...

This paper examines whether dividend policy is associated with earnings management and whether the relationship varies across countries with wide-ranging degrees of institutional strength and transparency. Based on a sample of 23,429 corporations from 29 countries, we show that dividend payers...

Using a large sample of firms from 45 countries, we find that firms in countries with high climate risk reduce their cash dividends but increasingly use share repurchases to make payouts. The evidence suggests that firms substitute dividends with repurchases to increase their payout flexibility...

Using a large sample of firms from 45 countries, we find that firms in countries with high climate risk reduce their cash dividends but increasingly use share repurchases to make payouts, suggesting that firms substitute dividends with repurchases to increase their payout flexibility in response...

We empirically examine whether adopting a uniform set of accounting standards mitigates information frictions in financial markets and facilitates market integration. Using a difference-in-difference design, we find that after the mandatory adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards...

Using data from 43 markets around the world, we document that firms with larger goodwill balances have a higher stock price crash risk in future years. The positive association between goodwill balances and future crash risk is stronger for firms with weaker incentives to provide transparent...

We examine the effect of increased regulatory enforcement threat on the dividend policies of foreign firms listed in US stock exchanges. The staggered signing of the Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MMoU) by the US and foreign regulators facilitates cross-border regulatory cooperation...