Papers & Opinions



By Nicolo Fraccaroli | Posted on 25 May 2022

We investigate the link between ideology and the sentiments of parliamentarians when they speak to the central bank they hold accountable. To this end, we collect textual data on the...


By Ana Carolina Garriga | Posted on 30 April 2022

The ability to finance conflict likely affects the odds of sustaining a war and succeeding in it. Recent literature explores rebel group funding, but far less is known about how...


By Logan Emery | Posted on 6 April 2022

We develop the first comprehensive mapping of the revolving door phenomenon in the U.S. by examining the work experience in executive branch agencies of 1,910,150 individuals covering top corporate positions...


By Max Miller | Posted on 4 April 2022

We provide the first large-sample evidence of foreign influence in US politics, showing that meetings between foreign countries and legislators affect government resource allocation directly for countries and indirectly for...


By Deniz Igan | Posted on 16 March 2022

We study how banks’ special interests affect the resolution of failed banks. Using a sample of FDIC auctions between 2007 and 2016, we find that bidding banks that lobby regulators...


By Stefano Ramelli | Posted on 28 January 2022

Donald Trump's 2016 election and his nomination of climate skeptic Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency drastically downshifted expectations about U.S. policy toward climate change. Joseph Biden's 2020...


By Pia Huettl | Posted on 17 January 2022

This paper investigates the political ties of too-big-to-fail bank boards in crisis times. We argue that after a bailout, governments are likely to influence bank board compositions to secure control...


By Thomas Lambert | Posted on 8 December 2021

This paper examines the incidence of special interests in the allocation of loans through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). We find that lobbying at the firm and industry levels helps...


By Kartik Anand | Posted on 22 November 2021

We examine why rational voters support risky “policy gambles”, even when detrimental to welfare, over maintaining a safe status quo. We present a model of electoral competition with two groups...


By Nataliya Gerasimova | Posted on 15 November 2021

I document that political connections are an important driver of investment strategies of U.S. mutual funds. I collect data on mutual fund holdings of U.S. Congress members and equity holdings...


By Stylianos Papageorgiou | Posted on 8 November 2021

In a general equilibrium framework, we study the cost incurred by banks to ''buy" influence on capital regulation via campaign contributions. Our central result is that banks buy influence at...


By Shaoting Pi | Posted on 22 October 2021

We study firm governance when shareholders strategically vote and buy/sell shares. We find that voting for the better policy maximizes portfolio value only when pivotal; otherwise, it is better to...


By Nataliya Gerasimova | Posted on 18 October 2021

This paper provides novel evidence that female politicians increase the proportion of US government procurement contracts allocated to women-owned firms. The identification strategy uses close elections for the US House...


By Nicolo Fraccaroli | Posted on 10 October 2021

This paper investigates whether parliamentary hearings are effective in holding central banks accountable against their mandates. To this end, it applies text analysis on the hearings of the Bank of...


By Elisabeth Kempf | Posted on 4 October 2021

Does partisan perception shape the flow of international capital? We provide evidence from two settings, syndicated corporate loans and equity mutual funds, to show that ideological alignment with foreign governments...