Some of my published and working papers can be downloaded from:  

My SSRN Author Page

My Google Scholar Page 

 

Selected Publications

27. Local Political Corruption and Financial Reporting Conservatism

       with Shanmin Li, Chun Liu, Liang Sun, and Wenrui Zhang, The Accounting Review, Forthcoming, PDF

Firms in corrupt areas choose more conservative accounting to safeguard their resources from corrupt officials' expropriation.

26. CEO Locality and Corporate Social Responsibility

with Dianna Chang and Weichen Yan, British Journal of Management, 2024, Vol. X, pp. 1-26, PDF

 

CEOs working near their hometowns boost CSR because they are familiar with and have strong connections to their local areas, aligning with CSR's focus on local involvement.

 

25. Discontinuous Distribution of Test Statistics Around Significance Thresholds in Empirical Accounting Studies

with Huasheng Gao and Wei Li, Journal of Accounting Research, forthcoming, PDF

Healthy skepticism is warranted towards narrowly significant test statistics in accounting research, due to potential undisclosed discretion in obtaining and reporting results.

24. Institutional Investor Horizons, Information Environment, and Firm Financing Decisions

with Yang Yang Chen, Kangkang Fu, and Endong Yang, Journal of Contemporary Accounting & Economics, 2024, Volume 20 (1), pp. 1-24, PDF

 

Institutional investors’ horizons influence firms’ financing decisions by shaping their information environment.

 

23. Demand Uncertainty, Inventory, and Cost Structure

    with Wing Chun Kwok and George Wong, Contemporary Accounting Research, 2024, Volume 41, Issue 1, pp. 226-254, PDF

Rigid cost structures and high inventory serve as substitutes in alleviating congestion concerns when firms face uncertain demand.

22. Stock Price Crash Risk and Firms’ Operating Leverage

with Louis T.W. Cheng, Wing Chun Kwok, and George Wong, Journal of Financial Stability, 2024, Volume 71, pp. 1-17, PDF

 

Firms facing greater stock price crash risk adopt a more flexible cost structure to delay stock price crashes and mitigate adverse outcomes.

 

21. Bank Lines of Credit as a Source of Long-term Finance

with Yunling Chen and Ronald W Masulis, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 2023, Volume 58 , Issue 4 , pp. 1701 – 1733, PDF (the accepted version with Internet Appendix); PDF (A longer version in 2021)

Long-term credit-line drawdowns act as a valuable bridge financing mechanism.

20. Sustainable Finance: ESG/CSR, Firm Value, and Investment Returns

With Kangkang Fu, Yaling Jin, and Pei Fun Liem, Asia-Pacific Journal of Financial Studies, 2022, Volume 51, Issue 3, pp. 325-371,PDF

 

For firms, there are several specific channels through which ESG/CSR activities create value. However, ESG investors should expect to Do Badly in the long run if they want to Do Good.

 

19. The Determinants of COVID-19 Morbidity and Mortality across Countries

with Dianna Chang, Yu He, and Kelvin Tan, Scientific Reports (the open-access journal of Nature), 2022, 12, 5888, PDF

 

We identify 21 predetermined country-level factors that explain marked variations in weekly COVID-19 morbidity and mortality across 91 countries between January and the end of 2020.

 

18. Credit Default Swaps and Corporate Innovation

with Yangyang Chen, Sarah Qian Wang, Kuo Zhang, and Wenrui Zhang, Journal of Financial Economics, 2019, Vol 134, pp.474-500. PDF

CDS, a recent financial innovation, promotes corporate technological innovation.

17. Macroeconomic Conditions, Financial Constraints, and Firms’ Financing Decisions

with Yunling Chen and Sudipto Dasgupta, Journal of Banking and Finance, 2019, Vol 101 pp. 242-255. PDF

Time-varying macroeconomic conditions shape firms’ financing decisions.

16. Stock Liquidity and Stock Price Crash Risk

with Yangyang Chen and Leon Zolotoy, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 2017, Vol.52, No. 4, 1605-1637. PDF

More liquid stocks are more likely to crash!

15. Advisor’s Industry Expertise, Information Leakage to Industry Rivals, and the Choice of M&A Advisor

with Chander Shekhar, Lewis H.K. Tam, and Jiaquan Yao, 2016, Journal of Business Finance and Accounting, Vol. 43, Issue 1&2, pp. 191-225, PDF

Advisors with greater industry expertise win more deals, earn higher advisory fees, and increase the likelihood of deal completion.

14. The Information Role of Advisors in Mergers and Acquisitions: Evidence from Acquirers Hiring Targets’ Ex-advisors

with Chander Shekhar, Lewis H.K. Tam, and Jiaquan Yao, 2016, Journal of Banking and Finance, Vol 70, pp. 247-264, PDF 

Employing targets’ ex-advisors enables acquirers to pay lower takeover premiums and secure a larger proportion of merger synergies.

13. Managerial Entrenchment and Firm Value: A Dynamic Perspective

with Hong Feng Zhang, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 2015, Vol. 50, Issue 5, 1083-1103. PDF

 Managerial entrenchment hurts firm value, and the effect is causal.

12. Non-executive Employee Stock Options and Corporate Innovation

with Kangkang Fu, Angie Low, and Wenrui Zhang, Journal of Financial Economics, 2015, Vol. 115, Issue 1, 168-188.  PDF

Innovation is about people.

11.Cash Flow Sensitivities and the Allocation of Internal Cash Flow

with Sudipto Dasgupta, George Wong, and Jiaquan Yao, Review of Financial Studies, 2014, Vol.27, Issue 12, 3628-3657.  PDF

 Using an integrated regression framework, we depict a complete picture as to how firms allocate their cash flow across various uses.

10. The Value of Monte Carlo Simulations for Capital Structure Research

with Sudipto Dasgupta, International Review of Finance, 2011, Vol. 11 (Special Issue on Capital Structure I), Issue 1, pp. 19-55.  PDF

 We evaluate statistical inferences in empirical capital structure research using Monte Carlo simulations. 

9. Conglomerate Structure and Capital Market Timing

with Gilles Hilary, Carmen Shih, and Lewis Tam, Financial Management, 2010, pp. 1307-1338 (Lead Article). PDF

 Conglomerates time capital markets more than standalone firms.

8. The Cross-Sectional Determinants of Post-IPO Stock Performance: Evidence from China

with Lewis Tam, Shi Hua Lin, and George Wong, Accounting and Finance, 2010, Vol. 50, Issue 3, pp. 581-603. PDF

 We reveal the cross-sectional determinants of post-IPO long-term stock returns in China.

7. Financial Constraints and Stock Returns - Evidence from Australia

with Howard Chan, Robert Faff, and George Wong, Pacific Basin Finance Journal, 2010, Vol. 18, Issue 3, pp. 306-318. PDF

 We construct an index that measures firms' external financial constraints in an Australian setting.

6. The Effect of Auditor Choice on Financing Decisions

with Sudipto Dasgupta and Gilles Hilary, The Accounting Review, 2009, Vol. 84, No. 4, 1085-1117, PDF

Auditor quality affects the financing decisions of companies.

5. Target Behavior and Financing: How Conclusive is the Evidence?

with Sudipto Dasgupta, Journal of Finance, 2009, Vol 64, No 4, 1767-1796.

· Version 1(April 2006): This version contains additional simulation analysis of the impact of initial leverage on capital structure, the persistence of the leverage ratio, and the importance of fixed effects, as suggested by Lemmon, Roberts, and Zender (2007).

· Version 2 (January 2007): This version contains addition simulation analysis demonstrating that (i) market-timing behavior is consistent with some empirical regularities in the data (ii) tests of market timing behavior do have the power to distinguish between random financing and timing behavior (iii) Probit/Logit models of  debt-equity choice are highly sensitive to small quirks in the data and multinomial Logit regressions that model issuance and repurchase decisions simultaneously need to be interpreted with caution.

· Version 3 (October 2007): This version suggests some simulation-based tests that can distinguish between the various channels through which firm-specific variables affect debt ratios.

· Version 4 (April 2008): This version appears at Journal of Finance   

 A number of existing tests of target behavior have no power to reject alternatives.

 4. Audit Quality, Auditor Compensation and IPO Underpricing

       with André Gygax, Elaine Oon, and Hongfeng Zhang, Accounting and Finance, 2008, Vol.48, 391-416. PDF

 Quality auditors serve as a signalling device that enhances post-issue market value of equity.

3. The Effects of Financial Constrains on Corporate Policies in Australia

       with Tek Jun Tan, George Wong, and Hongfeng Zhang, Accounting and Finance, 2007, Vol.47, 85-108.   PDF

       Peter Brownell Award for best publication in Accounting and Finance 2007

We are among the first to jointly study the impact of financial constraints on companies’ investment decisions and demand for liquidity.

2. The Real Impact of Stock Market Mispricing - Evidence from Australia

       with Lewis Tam, Tek Jun Tan, and George Wong, Pacific Basin Finance Journal, 2007, Vol.15, 388-408. PDF

 Mispricing in Australian capital markets has a significant influence on the real economy, and the influence works though an equity-financing channel.

1. Analysts Coverage and Financing Decisions

       with Sudipto Dasgupta and Gilles Hilary, Journal of Finance, 2006Vol. 61, Issue 6, 3009-3048. PDF

  How many analysts covering a company shapes its financing decisions!

 

Selected Working Papers

 

1. Internal Control Weaknesses and Corporate Environmental Performance: Evidence from Toxic Chemical Pollutants

       with Kangkang Fu, Yiwei Li, and Xiu-Ye Zhang, PDF

2. How Do Misvalued Firms Deploy Internal Cash Flow?

       with Wing Chun Kwok, George Wong, and Jiaquan Yao, PDF

3. Corporate Taxes and Corporate Social Responsibility

     with Yaling Jin, Endong Yang, and Wenrui Zhang, PDF, The FinReg Blog at Duke Law

 

4. Stock Liquidity and Corporate Social Responsibility

       with Weiqiang Tan, Endong Yang, and Wenrui Zhang, PDF

5. Corporate Environmental Risk and the Customer-Supplier Relationship

       with Shantanu Banerjee, Kangkang Fu, Tao Li, and George Wong, PDF

6. Corporate Environmental Liabilities and Capital Structure

       with Kangkang Fu, Tao Li, Lewis Tam, and George Wong, PDF

7. Employee Inside Debt and Acquirer Returns

       with Jun-koo Kang, Le Zhang, and Wenrui Zhang. PDF

8. Does Corporate Social Responsibility Facilitate Public Debt Financing?

       with Bin Xu and Yung Chiang Yang. PDF

9. Equity Financing, Equity Lending, and Price Pressure: The Case of DRIP Arbitrage

       with Tze Chuan 'Chewie' Ang, Xiaoxiong Hu, and Patrick Verwijmeren. PDF

10. Do Patents Portend Productivity Growth? Global Evidence from Private and Public Firms

       with David R. McLean, Bohui Zhang, and Wenrui Zhang. PDF

11. Innovation, Managerial Myopia, and Financial Reporting

       with Gilles Hilary, Jun-koo Kang, and Wenrui Zhang. PDF

Older title: Does Conditional Accounting Conservatism Impede Corporate Innovation?

 

12.  Arbitrage Opportunities from MSCI Index Reconstitutions in Asian Stock Markets

with Jiang Luo, Jiaxin Peng, Shuoge Qian, Choon Wee Tan. PDF