We examine how government ownership affects the top management team's (TMT) pay dispersion and how such TMT pay dispersion affects subsequent firm performance. We test three competing views on the influences of government ownership, referred to as the agency view, the equity view, and the...

Using self-made billionaire entrepreneurs in China as a proxy for large Schumpeterian entrepreneurs, we examine the impact of institutional environment quality on the longevity of such entrepreneurs. We find no evidence that property rights institutions and contracting institutions, which are...

Existing research shows that privately held firms face significant financial constraints that limit their investment and growth. In this study, we show privately held firms' financial constraints also create a negative spillover on publicly listed firms due to the prevalent ownership of...

We examine the consequences of a 2010 Hong Kong regulation that allows, for the first time, companies incorporated in mainland China and cross-listed in Hong Kong (H share companies) to hire mainland domiciled auditors to audit their Hong Kong financial reports. We find that less than one third...

We use quarterly institutional ownership changes to test the effect of investment horizon on institutional investors' incentives to acquire private information on long term earnings. Short horizon institutions' ownership changes contain private information on long term earnings, but only to the...

This study offers evidence on the earnings forecast bias analysts use to please firm management and the associated benefits they obtain from issuing such biased forecasts in the years prior to Regulation Fair Disclosure. Analysts who issue initial optimistic earnings forecasts followed by...

We investigate if the SEC's mandated disclosure of fees for audit and nonaudit services affected the market's perception of auditor independence and earnings quality. Following the initial fee disclosures, we find that the market valuation of quarterly earnings surprises (earnings response...

This study uses Reg FD to determine the relative importance of analysts' private information from firm management versus independent research. Using earnings-related closed conference calls as a proxy for the private communication between management and analysts and the informativeness of stock...

This study provides empirical evidence that equity-based incentives (stock and stock options) encourage CEOs to manage earnings to increase short run stock prices so that they can cash out a portion of their equity holdings at inflated prices. CEOs who hold high equity-based incentives are more...

Previous studies document that publicly traded firms report more small increases in earnings than small decreases in earnings and long strings of consecutive earnings increases. Although the two earnings properties have been partially attributed to earnings management, there is little consensus...