Airlines are insured against most direct costs of an accident, but they cannot insure against demand loss. Our estimation of deviations from expected demand following accidents finds little or no effect prior to airline deregulation and weak indication of a response to recent crashes. These results are consistent with the changes in an airline's equity value following an accident, which are statistically significant, but quite small relative to the total social cost of the accident.

This paper examines the effect of unionization on the profitability of firms. Abnormal monthly common stock returns for a sample of 253 NYSE-listed firms are estimated for the month in which the union petitions for an election and for the month in which the National Labor Relations Board certifies the election outcome. The results suggest that unionization, on average, is associated with a reduction in equity value. When unions win an election, the average loss associated with the unionization drive is 3.8 percent of equity value. When unions lose an election, there is an average net reduction of 1.3 percent in the equity value of the firm.

This paper examines the effect of unionization on the profitability of firms. Abnormal monthly common stock returns for a sample of 253 NYSE-listed firms are estimated for the month in which the union petitions for an election and for the month in which the National Labor Relations Board certifies the election outcome. The results suggest that unionization, on average, is associated with a reduction in equity value. When unions win an election, the average loss associated with the unionization drive is 3.8 percent of equity value. When unions lose an election, there is an average net reduction of 1.3 percent in the equity value of the firm.

Airlines are insured against most direct costs of an accident, but they cannot insure against demand loss. Some have argued that such consumer reaction will discipline unsafe operations. The authors' estimation of deviations from expected demand following accidents finds little or no effect prior to airline deregulation and weak indication of a response to recent crashes. These results are consistent with the changes the authors find in an airline's equity value following an accident, which are statistically significant, but quite small relative to the total social cost of the accident.