Research papers
24 published articles, grouped into three research programs and listed newest first within each. Each entry links to a paper page with a summary and citation, and to a freely available PDF where one exists.
Sustainable Finance · FinTech, AI, and Finance · Investors, Monitors and Corporate Policy
Sustainable Finance (12)
How environmental, social and governance forces shape firm behaviour: pollution and environmental policy, social responsibility, tax practices, and the oversight of managers.
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Ecological Integrity of Avoided Deforestation Projects
2026 · Published in Nature Climate Change 16(7): 769–773
In one sentence: Most accredited avoided-deforestation carbon projects do not maintain the ecological condition of forests better than comparable unprotected areas.
Paper page: Ecological Integrity of Avoided Deforestation Projects ·
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Minimum Wages, State Ownership, and Corporate Environmental Policies
2025 · Published in Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 60(6): 2921–2951
In one sentence: Minimum wage increases lead industrial firms to pollute more and to cut abatement, and state ownership reduces these effects.
Paper page: Minimum Wages, State Ownership, and Corporate Environmental Policies · PDF of Minimum Wages, State Ownership, and Corporate Environmental Policies
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Labor Unionization and Real Earnings Management: Evidence from Labor Elections
2024 · Published in PLOS ONE 19(2): e0292889
In one sentence: Firms whose workers narrowly vote to unionize reduce real earnings management compared with firms where the vote narrowly fails.
Paper page: Labor Unionization and Real Earnings Management: Evidence from Labor Elections · PDF of Labor Unionization and Real Earnings Management: Evidence from Labor Elections
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The Social Cost of Investor Distraction: Evidence from Institutional Cross-Blockholding
2023 · Published in PLOS ONE 18(12): e0286336
In one sentence: When institutional investors hold blocks in several firms in an industry, they are distracted, and the social performance of those firms suffers.
Paper page: The Social Cost of Investor Distraction: Evidence from Institutional Cross-Blockholding · PDF of The Social Cost of Investor Distraction: Evidence from Institutional Cross-Blockholding
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Bank Deregulation and Corporate Environmental Performance
2023 · Published in World Development 161: 106106
In one sentence: After bank branching deregulation in China, firms more exposed to the deregulation emit less pollution per unit of output.
Paper page: Bank Deregulation and Corporate Environmental Performance · PDF of Bank Deregulation and Corporate Environmental Performance
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The Unintended Consequence of Land Finance: Evidence from Corporate Tax Avoidance
2022 · Published in Management Science 68(11): 8319–8342
In one sentence: When Chinese local governments lose land-sale revenue, they enforce taxes more strictly and local firms avoid less tax.
Paper page: The Unintended Consequence of Land Finance: Evidence from Corporate Tax Avoidance · PDF of The Unintended Consequence of Land Finance: Evidence from Corporate Tax Avoidance
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Globalization and U.S. Corporate Tax Policies: Evidence from Import Competition
2022 · Published in Management Science 68(8): 6145–6162
In one sentence: U.S. manufacturers facing more competition from Chinese imports increase their tax-reduction activities.
Paper page: Globalization and U.S. Corporate Tax Policies: Evidence from Import Competition · PDF of Globalization and U.S. Corporate Tax Policies: Evidence from Import Competition
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Does Credit Rating Conservatism Matter for Corporate Tax Avoidance?
2021 · Published in Accounting & Finance 61(4): 5681–5730
In one sentence: When credit rating agencies become more conservative, firms engage in more tax planning.
Paper page: Does Credit Rating Conservatism Matter for Corporate Tax Avoidance? · PDF of Does Credit Rating Conservatism Matter for Corporate Tax Avoidance?
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Institutional Shareholders and Corporate Social Responsibility
2020 · Published in Journal of Financial Economics 135(2): 483–504
In one sentence: Institutional shareholders improve the social and environmental performance of the firms they own.
Paper page: Institutional Shareholders and Corporate Social Responsibility · PDF of Institutional Shareholders and Corporate Social Responsibility
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Does Information Asymmetry Affect Corporate Tax Aggressiveness?
2017 · Published in Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 52(5): 2053–2081
In one sentence: Firms avoid taxes more aggressively after they lose analyst coverage, which raises information asymmetry.
Paper page: Does Information Asymmetry Affect Corporate Tax Aggressiveness? · PDF of Does Information Asymmetry Affect Corporate Tax Aggressiveness?
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Institutions, Board Structure, and Corporate Performance: Evidence from Chinese Firms
2015 · Published in Journal of Corporate Finance 32: 217–237
In one sentence: In China, weaker property-rights protection is associated with more outsiders on corporate boards, and in that environment outsiders improve firm performance.
Paper page: Institutions, Board Structure, and Corporate Performance: Evidence from Chinese Firms · PDF of Institutions, Board Structure, and Corporate Performance: Evidence from Chinese Firms
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Do Analysts Matter for Governance? Evidence from Natural Experiments
2015 · Published in Journal of Financial Economics 115(2): 383–410
In one sentence: Financial analysts act as monitors: when a firm loses analyst coverage, its managers behave in ways that are worse for outside shareholders.
Paper page: Do Analysts Matter for Governance? Evidence from Natural Experiments · PDF of Do Analysts Matter for Governance? Evidence from Natural Experiments
FinTech, AI, and Finance (6)
How financial technology and artificial intelligence change access to credit, innovation, and the way consumers respond to technology-driven markets.
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Cultural Lag, Consumer Literacy, and Coping in AI-Enabled Advertising: A Theoretical Explication and Managerial Solutions
2026 · Published in Journal of Advertising 55(4): 439–461
In one sentence: Consumers’ beliefs, literacy, public policy and public education lag behind AI-enabled advertising, and most people cannot tell AI-enabled ads from traditional ones without disclosure.
Paper page: Cultural Lag, Consumer Literacy, and Coping in AI-Enabled Advertising: A Theoretical Explication and Managerial Solutions · PDF of Cultural Lag, Consumer Literacy, and Coping in AI-Enabled Advertising: A Theoretical Explication and Managerial Solutions
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What Influences Demand for Buy Now, Pay Later Credit?
2024 · Published in Economics Letters 242: 111857
In one sentence: In New Zealand, demand for Buy Now, Pay Later credit is higher among single, younger and lower-income people and falls when interest rates rise.
Paper page: What Influences Demand for Buy Now, Pay Later Credit? · PDF of What Influences Demand for Buy Now, Pay Later Credit?
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Authentically Fake? How Consumers Respond to the Influence of Virtual Influencers
2023 · Published in Journal of Advertising 52(4): 540–557
In one sentence: Followers see virtual influencers as uncanny but “authentically fake”: effective for brand awareness, but weak at persuading people to buy.
Paper page: Authentically Fake? How Consumers Respond to the Influence of Virtual Influencers ·
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Finance and Firm Volatility: Evidence from Small Business Lending in China
2022 · Published in Management Science 68(3): 2226–2249
In one sentence: Access to FinTech credit on Alibaba’s platform makes small online businesses’ sales less volatile and makes them less likely to exit.
Paper page: Finance and Firm Volatility: Evidence from Small Business Lending in China · PDF of Finance and Firm Volatility: Evidence from Small Business Lending in China
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Impact of Competition on Innovations of IT Industry: An Empirical Investigation
2021 · Published in Journal of Management Information Systems 38(3): 647–666
In one sentence: More product-market competition leads IT firms to produce more, and more highly cited, patents.
Paper page: Impact of Competition on Innovations of IT Industry: An Empirical Investigation · PDF of Impact of Competition on Innovations of IT Industry: An Empirical Investigation
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Financial Innovation: The Bright and the Dark Sides
2016 · Published in Journal of Banking & Finance 72: 28–51
In one sentence: Financial innovation is associated with faster bank growth but also with greater bank fragility, and on net with higher economic growth where growth opportunities are better.
Paper page: Financial Innovation: The Bright and the Dark Sides · PDF of Financial Innovation: The Bright and the Dark Sides
Investors, Monitors and Corporate Policy (6)
How analysts, owners, regulators and governments shape corporate investment, risk-taking and firm value.
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Analyst Coverage, Executive Compensation and Corporate Risk-Taking: Evidence from Property–Casualty Insurance Firms
2023 · Published in Journal of Risk and Insurance 90(4): 899–939
In one sentence: When property–casualty insurers lose analyst coverage, they take more risk, especially where managers’ pay rewards risk-taking.
Paper page: Analyst Coverage, Executive Compensation and Corporate Risk-Taking: Evidence from Property–Casualty Insurance Firms · PDF of Analyst Coverage, Executive Compensation and Corporate Risk-Taking: Evidence from Property–Casualty Insurance Firms
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Dual Ownership and Risk-Taking Incentives in Managerial Compensation
2023 · Published in Review of Finance 27(5): 1823–1857
In one sentence: When more of a firm is owned by institutions that hold both its shares and its bonds, CEO pay is designed to encourage less risk-taking.
Paper page: Dual Ownership and Risk-Taking Incentives in Managerial Compensation · PDF of Dual Ownership and Risk-Taking Incentives in Managerial Compensation
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Tariff Uncertainty and Firm Innovation: Evidence from the U.S.–China Permanent Normal Trade Relation
2021 · Published in Journal of Empirical Finance 62: 12–27
In one sentence: Lower uncertainty about future tariffs on Chinese imports led affected U.S. firms to innovate more.
Paper page: Tariff Uncertainty and Firm Innovation: Evidence from the U.S.–China Permanent Normal Trade Relation · PDF of Tariff Uncertainty and Firm Innovation: Evidence from the U.S.–China Permanent Normal Trade Relation
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Marginal Cost of Risk-Based Capital and Risk-Taking
2019 · Published in Journal of Banking & Finance 103: 130–145
In one sentence: A diversification feature of risk-based capital rules leads insurers with lower marginal capital costs to buy riskier bonds.
Paper page: Marginal Cost of Risk-Based Capital and Risk-Taking · PDF of Marginal Cost of Risk-Based Capital and Risk-Taking
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Windfalls of Emperors' Sojourns: Stock Market Reactions to Chinese Firms Hosting High-Ranking Government Officials
2017 · Published in Strategic Management Journal 38(8): 1668–1687
In one sentence: Investors react positively when Chinese firms host visits by the President or Premier, especially private firms and firms with weaker prior performance.
Paper page: Windfalls of Emperors' Sojourns: Stock Market Reactions to Chinese Firms Hosting High-Ranking Government Officials · PDF of Windfalls of Emperors' Sojourns: Stock Market Reactions to Chinese Firms Hosting High-Ranking Government Officials
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How Does Analysts' Forecast Quality Relate to Corporate Investment Efficiency?
2017 · Published in Journal of Corporate Finance 43: 217–240
In one sentence: Higher-quality analyst forecasts are associated with more efficient corporate investment, reducing both under- and over-investment.
Paper page: How Does Analysts' Forecast Quality Relate to Corporate Investment Efficiency? · PDF of How Does Analysts' Forecast Quality Relate to Corporate Investment Efficiency?