I test whether retirement plan providers extend preferential corporate loan terms to firms that have an overlapping retirement plan relationship. I find that loans from affiliated retirement plan providers (i.e., relationship loans) have lower spreads than non-relationship loans. Relationship loans are also larger and exhibit longer maturities. These terms benefit shareholders without sacrificing the quality of retirement plans available to employees. The favorable terms within this banking relationship are most likely explained by the ability of retirement plan relationships to alleviate information asymmetries in the corporate loan market rather than a quid pro quo arrangement.

Tax audits are a necessary component of the tax system, but policymakers and others have expressed concerns about their potentially adverse real effects. Understanding the causal effects of tax audits has been hampered by lack of data and because typically tax audits are not randomly assigned. We use administrative data from random tax audits of small businesses to examine the real effects of being subject to a tax audit. We find that audited firms are more likely to go out of business following the audit. The effect is concentrated in firms that underreport their taxes, although we find some evidence that the administrative costs of an audit also negatively affect firm survival. Among firms that continue as going concerns, we find evidence that audits have adverse effects on future revenues but no effect on future wages, employment, or investment. Finally, we find that tax audits have side benefits, causing firms to make changes to improve their tax efficiency.

ABSTRACT Interest in sustainability information, from investors, managers, researchers, and others, has been expanding rapidly. We discuss recent advances and open questions related to sustainability reporting and disclosure through the lens of a supply and demand framework. Our discussion builds on prior research on financial reporting and highlights unique aspects of the provision of sustainability information.