We establish that stock liquidity is conducive to less corporate diversification. Two potential channels are identified: the financial constraint channel and the corporate governance channel. Specifically, we find that the negative effect of liquidity on diversification is stronger among...

We study return predictability using a model of speculative trading among relatively overconfident competitive traders who agree to disagree about the precision of their private information. Although traders apply Bayes Law consistently, returns are predictable. In addition to trading on...

We study the impact of short-sale constraints on market prices and liquidity in imperfectly competitive markets in which market-makers have market power. We show that, with or without information asymmetry, short-sale constraints decrease bid prices, but increase bid-ask spreads and...

We study favoritism via hometown ties, a common source of favor exchange in China, in fellow selection of the Chinese Academies of Sciences and Engineering. Hometown ties to fellow selection committee members increase candidates' election probability by 39 percent, coming entirely from the...

We study a 2004 program designed to motivate Chinese bureaucrats to reduce accidental deaths. Each province received a set of ‘death ceilings' that, if exceeded, would impede government officials' promotions. For each category of accidental deaths, we observe a sharp discontinuity in reported...

We examine how mandatory disclosure of corporate social responsibility (CSR) impacts firm performance and social externalities. Our analysis exploits China's 2008 mandate requiring firms to disclose CSR activities, using a difference-in-differences design. Although the mandate does not require...

Large U.S. firms modify top executives' compensation before pension-related events. Top executives receive one-time increases in pensionable earnings through higher annual bonuses one year before a plan freeze and one year before retirement. Firms also boost pension payouts by lowering plan...

The fractional reserve theory of money creation only considers the reserve requirement but ignores prudential regulations. We study the impacts of three prudential regulations under the Basel III framework on the commercial bank's ability to create money. Using a balance sheet approach, we...

A sender seeks to persuade a group of heterogeneous voters to adopt an action. We analyze the sender's information-design problem when the collective decision is made through a majority vote and voting for the action is personally costly. We show that the sender can exploit the heterogeneity in...