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Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis Vol. 60 No. 1 2025

Information Spillover and Corporate Policies: The Case of Listed Options

Gennaro Bernile1; Jianfeng Hu2; Guangzhong Li3; Roni Michaely4

1 University of Miami Miami Herbert Business School · 2 Singapore Management University Lee Kong Chian School of Business · 3 Sun Yat-sen University Business School · 4 Hong Kong University HKU Business School

open access

Abstract

Information production associated with derivatives markets is not a sideshow; rather, it has significantly positive spillover effects on an array of corporate decisions of underlying firms. Using a regression-discontinuity design based on exogenous variation in options availability as an instrument for changes in the information environment, we show that options introductions have causal effects on corporate policies on both sides of the balance sheet. Through improved information efficiency, options availability reduces the need for debt and payout, increases efficient investment, and yields superior innovation. We conduct two independent experiments demonstrating that our instrument’s impact is not derived from alternative channels.

DOI
10.1017/s0022109023001229
Volume
60
Issue
1
Pages
447-481
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

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