Papers & Opinions

    Central banking | Empirics | Political institutions

    (In)dependent Central Banks

    Paper

    Posted on 25 January 2023

    By Alex Michaelides

    Since the 1980s many countries have reformed the institutional framework governing their central banks to increase operational independence. Collecting systematic biographical information, international press coverage, and independent expert opinions, we...
    READ MORE

    Empirics | Financial markets | Media

    The Stock Market’s Response to the Political Affiliation of News Sources

    Paper

    Posted on 7 November 2022

    By Alberto Manconi

    We use the acquisition of Dow Jones & Co. by News Corporation in 2007 to study whether investors respond to a news source’s political affiliation. Following the acquisition, the price...
    READ MORE

    Financial markets | Media

    Friends in Low Places: The Impact of Political Scandals on Connected Firms’ Stock Prices

    Paper

    Posted on 24 October 2022

    By Susanne Preuss

    Having “friends in high places” can bring many benefits. But what happens if these “friends” are involved in shady business dealings, use taxpayer funds to finance lavish offices or vacations,...
    READ MORE

    Corporate finance | Empirics | Political institutions

    Ruling with Ideology: Politicians’ Beliefs and Privatization

    Paper

    Posted on 3 October 2022

    By Linxiang Ma

    Ideology, the belief system about "how the society should be governed" that some group of people collectively sustains, is a critical factor that motivates economic decisions in democratic countries. However,...
    READ MORE

    Corporate finance | Empirics | Political institutions

    Democracy as a Fundamental Determinant of Cross-Border Merger Activity

    Paper

    Posted on 5 September 2022

    By Thomas Lambert

    Does democracy shape international merger activity? If so, how? The short answer is yes because democratic institutions are conducive to higher-quality corporate governance. In a new paper, we examine 104,425...
    READ MORE

    Corporate finance | Electoral politics | Empirics

    Smokestacks and the Swamp

    Paper

    Posted on 25 August 2022

    By Stefan Lewellen

    We examine the causal effect of politicians' partisan ideologies on firms' industrial pollution decisions. Using a regression discontinuity design involving close U.S. congressional elections, we show that plants increase pollution...
    READ MORE

    Banking | Electoral politics | Theory

    Bailouts by Popular Demand

    Paper

    Posted on 4 August 2022

    By Stylianos Papageorgiou

    We characterize conditions under which the majority of voters supports a bailout despite incurring bailout expenditures. This yields inefficiently high investments when economic prospects are good. When economic prospects are...
    READ MORE

    Empirics | Financial markets | Media

    Corporate Response to the Black Lives Matter Movement

    Paper

    Posted on 30 June 2022

    By AJ Chen

    We investigate determinants that encourage companies to speak out via twitter or their websites in support of Black Lives Matter (BLM) after the death of George Floyd on May 25,...
    READ MORE

    Financial markets | Regulation | Theory

    Clinging Onto the Cliff: A Model of Financial Misconduct

    Paper

    Posted on 17 June 2022

    By AJ Chen

    We propose a novel pressure-based model of financial misconduct. We interpret the robust empirical findings of a high “success rate of crime” as evidence of skewness in the payoff of...
    READ MORE

    Corporate finance | Theory

    Group-Managed Real Options

    Paper

    Posted on 14 June 2022

    By ALI LAZRAK

    We study a standard real-option problem in which sequential decisions are made through voting by a group of members with heterogeneous beliefs. We show that, when facing both investment and...
    READ MORE

    Electoral politics | Financial development | Theory

    Collective and Individual Investments in Financial Literacy

    Paper

    Posted on 10 June 2022

    By Stylianos Papageorgiou

    A collective and an individual investment in financial literacy, plus intrinsic skills, contribute to each household's financial literacy. We show that low- and high-skilled households oppose the collective investment, contrary...
    READ MORE

    Central banking | Electoral politics | Political institutions

    Ideology and Monetary Policy

    Paper

    Posted on 25 May 2022

    By Nicolo Fraccaroli

    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...
    READ MORE

    Central banking | Empirics | Political institutions

    Central Banks and Civil War Termination

    Paper

    Posted on 30 April 2022

    By Ana Carolina Garriga

    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...
    READ MORE

    Corporate finance | Empirics | Regulation

    Exposing the Revolving Door in Executive Branch Agencies

    Paper

    Posted on 6 April 2022

    By Logan Emery

    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...
    READ MORE

    Empirics | Political institutions | Special interest politics

    Foreign Influence in US Politics

    Paper

    Posted on 4 April 2022

    By Max Miller

    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...
    READ MORE