Knowledge that Transforms
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Supply chain shocks and firm productivity: The role of reporting quality
Tax administration quality and foreign investment in developing countries: Evidence from participation in tax inspectors without borders
Mandatory disclosure of investors’ fossil fuel holdings
Regulators around the world have begun to require investment companies to provide information regarding fossil fuel investments to external stakeholders. In this paper we examine whether such disclosures impact the investment portfolios and/or investment policies of the disclosing firms. Using a 2016 California disclosure mandate that required some U.S. insurance companies to disclose their fossil fuel investments on a public website, we find the disclosing insurers reduced their fossil fuel investments by approximately 20 % relative to the non-disclosers. Despite this on-average result, we note significant variation in changes to investment portfolios. We find insurers pressured by external stakeholders, including public shareholders and environmental activists, are more likely to divest. In contrast, enhanced Californian regulatory oversight power is unrelated to divesture. Even after the disclosure mandate is reversed, we find the disclosing insurers do not revert to their pre-policy holdings of fossil fuel investments, suggesting the impact created a longer-term change in investment behavior.
With a Grain of Salt: Investor Reactions to Uncertain News and (Non)disclosure
Mandatory carbon disclosure and new business creation
Critical audit matters and internal control quality: The disciplining role of CAM reporting
Social media livestreaming: Investor information or persuasion?
We analyze over 27,000 social media livestreams by Chinese mutual funds to investigate whether they achieve regulators’ goal of improving retail investment decisions. Our findings indicate that livestreams generate significant inflows, often within minutes of their start times. Yet rather than educating investors, livestreams amplify return-chasing behavior and predict sharp declines in fund performance. Investors who buy in response to livestreams would earn higher returns by holding index funds or even cash. Further analyses using deep learning algorithms reveal that livestreams are more persuasive when speakers are more physically attractive, use more positive language, and sound more excited. We conclude that livestreams primarily function as persuasive advertising and that regulators should be wary of educational efforts led by sellers of consumer financial products. We also conclude that prior evidence on the benefits of firms’ social media use in equity markets does not extend to financial product markets in this setting.