We use the introduction of satellite coverage of major retailers to study the capital market implications of unequal access to big data. Satellite data enabled sophisticated investors with access to such data to formulate profitable trading strategies, especially by targeting the upcoming reports of retailers with bad news for the quarter. The introduction of satellite data led to more informed short-selling activity, less informed individual buying activity, and lower stock liquidity around the reports of retailers with satellite coverage. We conclude that unequal access to big data can increase information asymmetry among market participants without immediately enhancing price discovery.

We examine the impact of abortion restrictions on the geographic mobility of college‐educated skilled women. Exploiting the staggered adoption of Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) laws across US states that restrict women's access to abortion, we find that skilled women who relocate exhibit a greater propensity to move to states without TRAP laws (non‐TRAP states) than they did prior to the TRAP law adoption. This pattern is stronger among women in more liberal and less religious areas than among women in more conservative and more religious areas. These findings are consistent with the view that relocation decisions are often driven by the alignment between personal values and the local policy environment. We use the audit industry as a specific setting to address the implications for employer performance. We find that TRAP law adoption increases female auditor turnover at local offices relative to same‐firm offices in non‐TRAP states, and the resulting loss of human capital lowers audit quality.