Journal of Finance Vol. 80 No. 6 2025

CEO Stress, Aging, and Death

Mark Borgschulte¹; Marius Guenzel²; Canyao Liu³; Ulrike Malmendier^4,5,6

¹ University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · ² University of Pennsylvania · ³ Yale University · ⁴ IZA - Institute of Labor Economics · ⁵ University of Illinois Chicago · ⁶ University of California, Berkeley

Abstract

We assess the long‐term effects of managerial stress on aging and mortality. Using a difference‐in‐differences design, we apply neural network–based machine‐learning techniques to CEOs' facial images and show that exposure to industry distress shocks during the Great Recession produces visible signs of aging. We estimate a one‐year increase in “apparent” age. Moreover, using data on CEOs since the mid‐1970s, we estimate a 1.1‐year decrease in life expectancy after an industry distress shock, but a two‐year increase when antitakeover laws insulate CEOs from market discipline. The estimated health costs are significant, both in absolute terms and relative to other health risks.

DOI

10.1111/jofi.13497

Volume

80

Issue

6

Pages

3401-3442

Language

en

Sources

openalex crossref

Cite

APA 7 MLA 9 Chicago (author–date) Harvard Elsevier Harvard (JFE, JBF…) The Accounting Review Academy of Management American Marketing Association INFORMS (Management Science) Copy citation Copied ✓