News & Events

Research by Professor Gwen Yu and colleagues finds that language ability can have real consequences.

Anna Costello’s paper, “The Value of Collateral in Trade Finance,” was recently accepted for publication in the Journal of Financial Economics. She finds that a country’s bankruptcy laws have a significant impact on how lenders behave. Using a change in the U.S. bankruptcy code, she shows that an improvement in the rights of trade creditors to reclaim and liquidate the collateral of their bankrupt customers increases their willingness to provide trade credit but also decreases their incentives to monitor. Importantly, improving the rights of trade creditors has negative spillover effects to other lenders, who now face less protection against a bankrupt debtor. Overall, the paper highlights the important role of bankruptcy laws in choosing winners and losers.

Gregory Miller’s paper, “Investor Relations and Information Assimilation,” was recently published in The Accounting Review. The paper examines the role of investor relations professionals and shows that they help the market to assimilate information about the firm. This leads to financial market outcomes such as a more informed price and less volatile stock.