Peer Influence on payout policies

Using a large sample of US public companies, we find robust evidence that firms’ payout policies, i.e., dividends and share repurchases, are significantly influenced by the policies of their industry peers. To overcome endogeneity problems, we employ instrumental variable techniques based on peers’ stock price shocks. Peer influence on payouts is more pronounced among firms that face greater product market competition and operate in better information environments. With regards to dividends, firms, especially smaller and younger firms, are more sensitive to industry peers that are similar to them in size and age. However, mimicking repurchases is concentrated among large and mature firms only. Peer influence on dividends, compared to repurchases, seems more stable across firm and industry conditions. Overall, peer influence on dividends, and, to a less extent, on repurchases, is consistent with a rivalry-based theory of imitation, which posits that firms imitate peers’ actions to maintain their competitive parity

Do Women Managers Keep Firms out of Trouble? Evidence from Corporate Litigation and Policies

We find that firms where women have more power in the top management team, measured by female executives’ plurality and pay slice, face fewer operations-related lawsuits. This effect is robust to several treatments of endogeneity and does not appear to be driven by female executives\u27 greater willingness to settle the cases. Evidence from a simultaneous equations approach suggests that firms where women executives have more power avoid lawsuits partly by avoiding some risky but value-increasing firm policies, such as more aggressive R&D, intensive advertising, and policies inimical to other parties

A clinical study of association of maternal height and estimated foetal weight on mode of delivery

Background: Maternal height and antenatal estimated fetal weight can affect mode of delivery. The aims and objective of this study were to study the association between the mode of delivery and maternal height and estimated foetal weight.Methods: 240 full term primigravida women without any obstetric and medical complications who were admitted in Acharya Vinoba Bhave Rural Hospital Wardha for delivery were randomly selected for study. After delivery 138 women who underwent caesarean delivery formed the study group and 102 women who underwent vaginal delivery formed control group. These two groups were compared for their maternal heights and antenatal estimated foetal weight (by Johnson’s formula).Results: In present study (1) Mean height of women in study group was 147 cm while that in control group was 155 cm. (2) Out of 49 short statured women (height ≤ 145 cm) 47 (95.91%) had emergency caesarean section and 2(4.08%) women were delivered vaginally. (3) Estimated foetal weight in study group was 2956 grams while that in control group was 2845 grams.Conclusions: We conclude that short statured women with larger baby size has higher incidence of emergency caesarean delivery

Hepatic artery embolization for treating giant hemangioma of liver: an experience from a tertiary level hospital in India

Background: Transcatheter hepatic artery embolization (TAE) is a minimally invasive procedure. This study aimed to assess radiological features of giant haemangioma of liver on untrasonography, contrast enhanced tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and digital subtraction angiography, to assess the safety, feasibility and efficacy of transcatheter arterial embolization of hepatic artery in giant liver haemangioma.Methods: This prospective study was conducted in the Interventional Radiology Department, Government Medical College Nagpur from September 2013 till August 2015. Patients were enrolled who were diagnosed with liver hemangioma after obtaining an informed consent. Patients underwent routine investigations and imaging modalities like ultrasonography, contrast enhanced computed tomography. Patients were followed up at 3 months and 9 months.Results: During the study period, 28 patients were enrolled, 9 males, most common age group being 31-50 years. Abdominal discomfort was the most common symptom. Majority of the lesions were hyperechoic and not vascular. On CECT most of the lesions appeared progressive centripetal. On DSA heaptic artery was the most common source of vascular supple. Statistically significant change in size of the lesion was observed on either lobe when imaged via USG or CECT. No long term complications were seen in majority of the patients.Conclusions: This study shows that TAE in Giant Hepatic Haemangiomas is safe, feasible, efficient, and minimally invasive with good patient acceptance, minimal complications and no mortality

Unintended Consequences of the Dodd–Frank Act on Credit Rating Risk and Corporate Finance

Prior research finds that Dodd–Frank Act’s regulations on credit rating agencies (CRAs) increase rated firms’ risk of rating downgrades, regardless of their credit quality. Our difference-in-difference estimates suggest that after Dodd–Frank, low-rated firms, which face steep costs from a further downgrade, significantly reduce their debt issuance and investments compared to similar unrated firms. Our results are not driven by credit supply or the financial crisis. They reveal an unintended consequence of Dodd–Frank: Greater regulatory pressure on CRAs leads to negative spillover effects on firms concerned about credit ratings, regardless of their credit quality

Corporate governance and corruption: A cross-country analysis

10.1111/j.1468-0491.2005.00271.xGovernance182151-17

Regulation and the Evolution of Corporate Boards: Monitoring, Advising or Window Dressing?

An earlier version of this paper was entitled “Deregulation and Board Composition: Evidence on the Value of the Revolving Door.”It is generally agreed that boards are endogenously determined institutions that serve both oversight and advisory roles in a firm. While the oversight role of boards has been extensively studied, relatively few studies have examined the advisory role of corporate boards. We examine the participation of political directors on the boards of natural gas companies between 1930 and 1998. We focus on the expansion of federal regulation of the natural gas industry in 1938 and 1954 and subsequent partial deregulation in 1986. Using data sets covering the periods from 1930 to 1990 and 1978 to 1998, we test whether regulation and deregulation altered the composition of companies' boards as the firms' environment changed. In particular, did regulation cause an increase and deregulation a decrease in the number of political directors on corporate boards? We find evidence that the number of political directors increases as firms shift from market to political competition. Specifically, the regulation of natural gas is associated with an increase in the number of political directors and deregulation is associated with a decrease in the number of political directors on boards

Managerial Power, Stock-Based Compensation, and Firm Performance: Theory and Evidence

We study theoretically and empirically the relation among CEO power, CEO pay and firm performance. Our theoretical model follows the rent extraction view of CEO compensation put forward by the managerial power theory. We test our theoretical findings using the sample of S&P1500 firms. The predicted relation between power and pay is largely supported. However, the relation between power and firm performance has mixed support, suggesting that, while the managerial power theory has relevance in explaining the relation between power and pay, the scope of power needs to be broadened for better understanding of how managerial power affects firm performance