Research

Working Papers

Director Labor Market: A Conduit for Corporate Social Responsibility (with Daewoung Choi, Shawn Mobbs, and Josh Pierce)

Abstract: We examine the effect of CEOs' outside directorship experiences on the corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities in their home firms. Using firm-level CSR ratings from MSCI KLD, we discover a positive association between the CSR scores of CEOs’ outside directorship firms and their own firms' CSR scores. Moreover, the greater the difference between the CSR scores of the directorship firms and the CEOs’ home firms, the greater the subsequent change in the CSR scores of the CEOs’ home firms, providing initial evidence of CSR propagation. Our findings remain robust when using ratings from Refinitiv. To alleviate endogeneity concerns, we employ staggered difference-in-differences estimations around large changes in directorship firms' CSR scores and a Heckman two-step sample selection analysis. The propagation is more evident in the social than the environmental dimension, which is less heterogeneous across industries. Our results underscore the director labor market's important role in propagating CSR ideas.

• Presentations: SFA (2024), FMA (2024), EasternFA (2024), NFA (2023, Ph.D. Poster)

Do Firms Voluntarily Respond to Local Social Issues? Evidence from Shocks to Female Labor Market (with Shawn Mobbs, Josh Pierce, and Tian Qiu)

Abstract: Do firms voluntarily respond to local social issues? We explore this question through state-level hospital policies that promote breastfeeding. While these policies have a positive intergenerational impact on infants, they also create challenges for the female workforce, particularly new mothers. Although firms are not required to respond, some proactively adapt by creating a more parenting-friendly work environment. These improvements are concentrated in firms with greater female and minority representation on their boards and those with a high female labor dependency. While these voluntary efforts enhance employee satisfaction, they do not significantly affect firms' operating performance.

• Presentations: AsianFA (2025, scheduled), EasternFA (2025), SFA (2024), FMA (2024), Finance for the Common Good (2024), ASFAAG American Chapter Conference (2024)

Publications

Information Aggregation with Heterogeneous Traders (2024) (with Cary Deck, Laura Razzolini, and Tavoy Reid)

Abstract: The efficient market hypothesis predicts that asset prices reflect all available information. Recent experimental work found the rational expectation model to outperform the prior information model in contingent claim markets when traders hold homogeneous values, despite the no trade equilibrium. However, recent experiments have also demonstrated the inability of contingent claim markets to successfully aggregate information when traders hold highly differentiated asset values. These prior findings beg the question of whether homogeneous values are a necessary condition for efficient market outcomes in contingent claim markets. This paper shows that homogeneous values are not a necessary condition for information aggregation.

• Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance (ABDC: A)