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Social Influence and Networks

Paper Session

Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM (EST)

Hosted By: American Finance Association
  • Chair: Theresa Kuchler, New York University

The Value of Firm Networks: A Natural Experiment on Board Connections

Ester Faia
,
Goethe University-Frankfurt
Maximilian Mayer
,
Goethe University-Frankfurt
Vincenzo Pezone
,
Goethe University-Frankfurt

Abstract

This paper presents causal evidence of the effects of boardroom networks on firm value. We exploit exogenous variation in network centrality arising from a ban on interlocking directorates of Italian financial and insurance companies. We leverage this shock to show that firms that become more central in the network as a result of the shock experience positive abnormal returns around the announcement date. We find that information dissemination plays a central role: results are driven by firms that have higher idiosyncratic volatility, low analyst coverage, and more uncertainty surrounding their earnings forecasts. We also find that firms benefit more from boardroom centrality when they are more central in the input-output network, as this reinforces information complementarities, or when they are less central in the cross-ownership network, as well as when they suffer from low profitability and low growth opportunities. Network centrality also results in higher compensation for board directors.

Exposure to Grocery Prices and Inflation Expectations

Francesco D'Acunto
,
Boston College
Ulrike Malmendier
,
University of California-Berkeley
Juan Ospina
,
Central Bank of Colombia
Michael Weber
,
University of Chicago

Abstract

Consumers rely on the prices changes of goods in their grocery bundles when forming expectations about aggregate inflation. We use micro data that uniquely match individual expectations, detailed information about consumption bundles, and item-level prices. The weights consumers assign to price changes depend on the frequency of purchase, rather than expenditure share, and positive price changes loom larger than negative price changes. Prices of goods offered in the same store but not purchased do not affect inflation expectations, nor do other dimensions. Our results provide empirical guidance for models of expectations formation with heterogeneous consumers.

Competition for Talent: Evidence from a Network of Labor Market Peers

Jae Hyoung Kim
,
Stockholm School of Economics

Abstract

I construct a novel network of labor market peers that is denser and more centralized compared to product and capital market networks. Using my labor market network, I provide robust evidence that focal firms spend more on R&D and suffer more talent outflows when their labor market peers increase the benefits they offer their talented employees. Focal firms use capital markets to finance their labor market responses, issuing stock and increasing cash holdings. The findings highlight the predictive effect of firms’ labor market actions and provide evidence that ties labor markets and capital markets together.

Ownership Network and Firm Growth: What Do Five Million Companies Tell about Chinese Economy

Franklin Allen
,
Imperial College London
Junhui Cai
,
University of Pennsylvania
Xian Gu
,
Durham University
Jun Qian
,
Fudan University
Linda Zhao
,
University of Pennsylvania
Wu Zhu Sr.
,
University of Pennsylvania

Abstract

Ownership network; Equity capital; Firm growth; Bank credit
Discussant(s)
Cesare Fracassi
,
University of Texas-Austin
Camelia Kuhnen
,
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
Daniel Metzger
,
Erasmus University
Dexin Zhou
,
City University of New York-Baruch College
JEL Classifications
  • G0 - General