Political Economy
Working Paper
Who Directs the Fed?
During the financial crisis, questions arose concerning links between the Federal Reserve and the business community. This paper provides the first in-depth study of one mechanism creating such links: Reserve Bank directorships. By law, each...Read more
China's Pseudo-monetary Policy
China?s monetary stimulation boosted real GDP growth from an annualized 6.2% in the first quarter of 2009 to 11.9% in the first quarter of 2010. Amidst this phenomenal response, land auction and house prices in major cities soared. We argue that...Read more
A State-Stewardship View on Executive Compensation
We take a state-stewardship view on the corporate governance model and executive compensation policies in economies with strong political involvement. In such a highly politically-oriented institutional environment, the business elites are not...Read more
The Corporate Value of (Corrupt) Lobbying
Using an event study, we examine whether the stock market considers corporate lobbying to be a value-enhancing investment. On January 3, 2006, lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty to bribing politicians, which generated intense scrutiny of...Read more
Law, Politics and the Rise and Fall of German Stock Market Development, 1870-1938
Law and politics had a significant impact on stock market development in Germany between 1870 and the beginning of World War II. IPOs can be a bellwether for stock market development and nearly 1100 were carried out on the Berlin Stock Exchange...Read more
The Incredible Shrinking Stock Market: On the Political Economy Consequences of Excessive Delistings
Over the past two decades, the U.S. stock market has halved in size as the "public firm model" has begun to fall out of favor. We develop a political economy model of delistings from the stock market to study the wider economic consequences of...Read more
The Economics of Disclosure and Financial Reporting Regulation: Evidence and Suggestions for Future Research
This paper discusses the empirical literature on the economic consequences of disclosure and financial reporting regulation, drawing on U.S. and international evidence. Given the policy relevance of research on regulation, we highlight the...Read more
Citizens United vs. FEC and Corporate Political Activism
This paper analyzes the effect that the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision on Citizens United vs. FEC had on corporate political activism. The decision opened the door for corporate treasuries to engage in independent political spending....Read more
Political Determinants of Competition in the Mobile Telecommunication Industry
We study how political factors can shape competition in the mobile telecommunication sector. We show that the way a government designs the rules of the game has an impact on concentration, competition, and prices. Pro-competition rules reduce...Read more
Cross-Border Venture Capital Investments: What Is the Role of Public Policy?
Cross-border venture capital (VC) investments play an important role in the scaling up of high-growth companies. However, policymakers worry that foreign VC investments transfer the majority of economic activity to the investor country. On the...Read more
The Politics of CEOs
This article studies the political preferences of chief executive officers (CEOs) of public companies. We use Federal Election Commission records to compile a comprehensive database of the political contributions made by more than 3800...Read more