Using a regulatory version of TRACE data that include almost all primary and secondary market trades in corporate bonds over the period 2010-2017, we provide the first comprehensive study on the primary market for corporate bonds. Secondary market illiquidity can drive gains from primary market...

Different market characteristics and investor behavior render the use of underpricing, widely used for equity IPOs, inadequate as a measure of gains from primary market allocations in corporate bonds. We propose a measure that reflects the illiquidity costs that investors save by avoiding...

We investigate the consequences of the “revolving door” for trial lawyers at the SEC’s enforcement division. If future job opportunities motivate SEC lawyers to develop and/or showcase their enforcement expertise, then the revolving door phenomenon will promote more aggressive regulatory...