Research

Current Working Papers and Recent Publications

"Destabilizing Digital 'Bank Walks'," with Naz Koont and Tano Santos, working paper, June 2023

"Regulating Big Tech," BIS Working Papers no. 1063, December 2022

"Private Sanctions," with Oliver Hart and David Thesmar, working paper, August 2023.

"The Political Economy of the Decline in Antitrust Enforcement in the United States," with Filippo Lancieri and Eric A. Posner, Antitrust Law Journal, forthcoming.

"Political Determinants of Competition in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry," with Mara Faccio, The Review of Financial Studies, 2022, vol 35, pp. 1983-2018.

"Exit vs. Voice," with Eleonora Broccardo and Oliver Hart, Journal of Political Economy, forthcoming.

"The New Corporate Governance," with Oliver Hart, University of Chicago Business Law Review, Spring 2022, forthcoming.

"How Pervasive is Corporate Fraud?" with Alexander Dyck and Adair Morse, Review of Accounting Studies, forthcoming.

"What Purpose Do Corporations Purport? Evidence from Letters to Shareholders," with Raghuram Rajan and Pietro Ramella, working paper, March 2023.

"Overconfidence and Preferences for Competition," with Ernesto Reuben and Paola Sapienza, Journal of Finance, forthcoming.

"Civic Capital and Social Distancing during the Covid-19 Pandemic," with John M. Barrios, Efraim Benmelech, Yael V. Hochberg, and Paola Sapienza, working paper, May 2020.

"Kill Zone," with Sai Krishna Kamepalli and Raghuram Rajan, working paper, April 2020.

"The Political Limits of Economics," AEA Papers and Proceedings, 2020, vol. 110, pp. 378-82.  

The Handbook of Technological Finance, with Raghavendra Rau and Robert Wardrop, Palgrave Macmillan, forthcoming 2020.

"Diagnosing the Italian Disease," with Bruno Pellegrino, working paper, April 2019.

"Companies Should Maximize Shareholder Welfare Not Market Value,"  with Oliver Hart, Journal of Law, Finance, and Accounting, 2017, vol. 2(2), pp. 247-275. 

"Is Pollution Value Maximizing? The DuPont Case," with Roy Shapira, working paper, July 2023. To view and download documents related to this paper, click here.

"The Origins of Italian NPLs," with Paolo Angelini and Marcello Bofondi, working paper, June 2017.

"The Role of Academia in the Information Age," with Guy Rolnik, working paper, November 2015.

"Banks Are Where The Liquidity Is," with Oliver Hart, NBER working paper, June 2014.

Publications and Old Working Papers

"Time Varying Risk Aversion," with Luigi Guiso and Paola Sapienza, Journal of Financial Economics, 2018, vol. 128(3), pp. 403-421.

"Corporate Finance," with Robert Vishny, Journal of Political Economy, 2017, vol. 125(6), pp. 1805-1812.

"Towards a Political Theory of the Firm," Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2017, vol. 31(3), pp. 113-30.

"Long-term Persistence," with Luigi Guiso and Paola Sapienza, Journal of the European Economic Association, 2016, vol. 14(6), pp. 1401-1436.

"Monnet's Error?" with Luigi Guiso and Paola Sapienza, Economic Policy, 2016, vol. 31(86), pp. 247-297.

The Impact of Incomplete Contracts on Economics, edited with Philippe Aghion, Mathias Dewatripont, and Patrick Legros, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015.

"The Values of Corporate Culture," with Luigi Guiso and Paola Sapienza, Journal of Financial Economics, 2015, vol. 117(1), pp. 60-76.

"Liquidity and Inefficient Investment," with Oliver Hart, Journal of the European Economic Association, 2015, vol. 13(5), pp. 737-769.

"Procrastination and Impatience," with Ernesto Reuben and Paola Sapienza, Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 2015, vol. 58, pp.63-76.

"Does Finance Benefit Society?," Journal of Finance, 2015, vol. 70(4), pp. 1327–1363.

"The 'cultural revolution' in finance," Journal of Financial Economics, 2015, vol. 117(1), pp. 1-4.

"Corporate Culture, Societal Culture, and Institutions," with Luigi Guiso and Paola Sapienza, American Economic Review, 2015, vol. 105(5), pp. 336-39.

Europa o no: Sogno da realizzare o incubo da cui uscire, Milano: Rizzoli, 2014.

"Morningness-eveningness and intelligence among high-achieving US students: Night owls have higher GMAT scores than early morning types in a top-ranked MBA program," with Davide Piffer, Davide Ponzi, Paola Sapienza, and Dario Maestripieri, Intelligence, 2014, vol. 47, pp. 107-112.

"How stereotypes impair women’s careers in science," with Ernesto Reuben and Paola Sapienza, PNAS 2014, vol. 111(12), pp. 4403-4408.

"Media vs. Special Interests," with Alexander Dyck and David Moss, Journal of Law and Economics, 2013, vol. 56(3), pp. 521-553.

"Understanding Trust," with Paola Sapienza and Anna Toldra-Simats, The Economic Journal, 2013, vol. 123(573), pp. 1212-1332.

"The Determinants of Strategic Default on Mortgages," with Luigi Guiso and Paola Sapienza, Journal of Finance, 2013, vol. 68(4), pp. 1473-1515.

"Innovation and Institutional Ownership" with Philippe Aghion and John Van Reenen, American Economic Review, 2013, vol. 103(1), pp. 277-304.

"Preventing Economists' Capture," in Preventing Regulatory Capture: Special Interest Influence and How to Limit it, eds. Daniel Carpenter and David Moss, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013, pp. 124-151.

"Economic Experts vs. Average Americans," with Paola Sapienza, American Economic Review, 2013, vol. 103(3), pp. 636-642.

A Capitalism for the People: Recapturing the Lost Genius of American Prosperity, New York: Basic Books, 2012.

"Civic Capital as the Missing Link," with Luigi Guiso and Paola Sapienza, in The Handbook of Social Economics, eds. Jess Benhabib, Alberto Bisin, and Matthew O. Jackson, (pp. 417-480), Elsevier, 2012.

"A New Capital Regulation For Large Financial Institutions," with Oliver Hart, American Law and Economic Association Review, 2012.

"The Emergence of Male Leadership in Competitive Environments," with Ernesto Ruben, Pedro Rey-Biel, and Paola Sapienza, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2012, vol. 83(1), pp. 111–117.

"Trust and Finance," with Paola Sapienza, NBER Reporter, 2011(2), pp. 16-19.

"Inefficient Provision of Liquidity," with Oliver Hart, NBER working paper, December 2011.

"Between- and within-sex variation in hormonal responses to psychological stress in a large sample of college students," with Dario Maestripieri, Nicole M. Baran, and Paola Sapienza, 2010, Stress vol. 13(5), pp. 413-424.

"Who Blows the Whistle on Corporate Fraud," with Alexander Dyck and Adair Morse, Journal of Finance, 2010, vol. 65, pp. 2213–2253.

"Paulson's Gift," with Pietro Veronesi, Journal of Financial Economics, 2010, vol. 97(3), pp. 339-368.

"The 2007-8 financial crisis: Lessons from corporate finance," with Anil K. Kashyap, Journal of Financial Economics, 2010, vol. 97(3), pp. 303-305.

"Time Discounting for Primary and Monetary Rewards," with Ernesto Reuben and Paola Sapienza, Economic Letters, 2010, Vol. 106(2), pp. 125-127.

"Civic Capital as the Missing Link," with Paola Sapienza and Luigi Guiso, working paper, March 2010.

"A Loan Modification Approach to the Housing Crisis," with Eric A. Posner, American Law and Economic Review, 2009, vol. 11(2), pp. 575-607.

"Gender Differences in Financial Risk Aversion and Career Choices are Affected by Testosterone," with Dario Maestripieri and Paola Sapienza, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2009, vol. 106(36), pp. 15268-15273.

"Cultural Biases in Economic Exchange?," with Luigi Guiso and Paola Sapienza, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2009, vol. 124(3), pp. 1095-1131.

"Are Elite Universities Losing Their Competitive Edge?," with E. Han Kim and Adair Morse, Journal of Financial Economics, 2009, vol. 93(3), pp. 353-381.

"The Future of Securities Regulation," Journal of Accounting Research, 2009, vol. 47(2), pp. 391-426.

"Is Mistrust Self-Fulfilling?," with Ernesto Reuben and Paola Sapienza, Economic Letters, 2009, vol. 104(2), pp. 89-91

"Yes we can, Secretary Geithner," Economists' Voice, 2009, vol. 6(2), Article 3.

"Can We Infer Social Preferences from the Lab? Evidence from the Trust Game," with Nicole M. Baran and Paola Sapienza, NBER working paper, August 2009.

"Plan B," Economists' Voice, 2008, vol. 5(6), Article 4.

"Why Paulson is Wrong," Economists' Voice, 2008, vol. 5(5), Article 2.

"The Corporate Governance Role of the Media: Evidence from Russia," with Alexander Dyck and Natalya Volchkova, Journal of Finance, 2008, vol. 63(3), pp. 1093-1135.

"Social Capital as Good Culture," with Luigi Guiso and Paola Sapienza, Journal of the European Economic Association, 2008, vol. 6(2-3), pp. 295-320.

"Culture, Gender, and Math," with Luigi Guiso, Ferdinando Monte, and Paola Sapienza, Science, 2008, vol. 320.

"Trusting the Stock Market," with Luigi Guiso and Paola Sapienza, Journal of Finance, 2008, vol. 63(6), pp. 2557 - 2600.

"Theft and Taxes," with Mihir A. Desai, and Alexander Dyck, Journal of Financial Economics, 2007, vol. 84(3), pp. 591-623.

"What Has Mattered to Economics Since 1970," with E. Han Kim and Adair Morse, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Fall 2006, vol. 20(4), pp.189-202.

"Does Culture Affect Economic Outcomes?," with Luigi Guiso and Paola Sapienza, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2006, vol. 20, pp. 23-48.

"Is the U.S. Capital Market Losing Its Competitive Edge?," working paper, November 2006.

"The Cost of Banking Regulation," with Luigi Guiso and Paola Sapienza, NBER working paper, August 2006.

"Private Benefits of Control: An International Comparison," with Alexander Dyck, Journal of Finance, 2004, vol. 59(2).

"Control Premiums and the Effectiveness of Corporate Governance Systems," with Alexander Dyck, Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, 2004, vol. 16(2-3), pp. 51-72.

"The Role of Social Capital in Financial Development," with Luigi Guiso and Paola Sapienza, American Economic Review, 2004, vol. 94, pp. 526-556.

"Does Local Financial Development Matter?," with Luigi Guiso and Paola Sapienza, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2004, vol. 119.

"Bureaucracy as a Mechanism to Generate Information," with Walter Novaes, Rand Journal of Economics, 2004, vol. 35(2), pp. 245-59.

"What Determines Firm Size?" with Krishna Kumar and Raghuram G. Rajan, 2004.

"People's Opium? Religion and Economic Attitudes," with Luigi Guiso and Paola Sapienza, Journal of Monetary Economics, 2003, vol. 50, pp. 225-282.

Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists, with Raghuram G. Rajan, New York: Random House, 2003.

"The Great Reversals: the Politics of Financial Development in the Twentieth Century," with Raghuram G. Rajan, Journal of Financial Economics, 2003, vol. 69(1), pp. 5-50.

"Banks and Markets: The Changing Character of European Finance," with Raghuram G. Rajan, European Central Bank 2nd Annual Conference, 2003.

"Commentary on More Finance More Growth," The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review, 2003, vol. 85(4), pp. 47-52.

"The Media and Asset Prices," with Alexander Dyck, August 2003.

"The Bubble and the Media," with Alexander Dyck, in Corporate Governance and Capital Flows in a Global Economy, eds. Peter Cornelius and Bruce Kogut, New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.

"The Corporate Governance Role of the Media," with Alexander Dyck, in The right to tell: The role of the Media in Development, ed. Roumeen Islam, Washington DC: The World Bank, 2002.

"The Firm as a Dedicated Hierarchy: A Theory of the Origins and Growth of Firms," with Raghuram G. Rajan, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2001, vol. 116, pp. 805-852.

"Financial Systems, Industrial Structure, and Growth," with Raghuram G. Rajan, Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 2001, vol. 17, pp. 467-482.

"The Influence of the Financial Revolution on the Nature of Firms," with Raghuram G. Rajan, American Economic Review, 2001, vol. 91, pp. 206-212.

"The Governance of the New Enterprise," with Raghuram G. Rajan, in Corporate Governance, ed. Xavier Vives (pp. 201-227), Cambridge University Press, 2000.

"Ownership Structures and the Decision to Go Public: Private versus Social Optimality," with Lucian Bebchuk, in Concentrated Corporate Ownership, ed. Randall K. Morck, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.

"The Eclipse of the U.S. Tire Industry," with Raghuram G. Rajan and Paolo Volpin, in Mergers and Productivity, ed. Steven N. Kaplan, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.

"Investment-cash Flow Sensitivities are not Valid Measures of Financing Constraints," with Steven N. Kaplan, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2000, vol. 115(2), pp. 707-712.

"The Tyranny of Inequality: An Inquiry into the Adverse Consequences of Power Struggles," with Raghuram G. Rajan, Journal of Public Economics, 2000, vol. 76, pp. 521-558.

"In Search of New Foundations," Journal of Finance, 2000, vol. 55, pp. 1623-1653.

"The Cost of Diversity: Diversification Discount and Inefficient Investment," with Raghuram G. Rajan and Henri Servaes, Journal of Finance, 2000, vol. 55, pp. 35-80.

"Corporate Governance," in The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics and the Law, ed. Peter Newman, New York: Macmillan, 1998.

"Survival of the Fittest or the Fattest? Exit and Financing in the Trucking Industry," Journal of Finance, June 1998, vol. 53(3), pp. 905-938.

"Power in a Theory of the Firm," with Raghuram G. Rajan, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1998, vol. 113, pp. 387-432.

"Debt, Folklore, and Financial Structure," with Raghuram G. Rajan, Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Winter 1998, vol. 10(4), pp. 102-108.

"Which Capitalism? Lessons from the East Asian Crisis," with Raghuram G. Rajan, Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Fall 1998, vol 11(3), pp. 40-48.

"Why Do Companies Go Public? An Empirical Analysis," with Marco Pagano and Fabio Panetta, Journal of Finance, 1998, vol. 53, pp. 27-64.

"Financial Dependence and Growth," with Raghuram G. Rajan, American Economic Review, 1998, vol. 88, pp. 559-586.

"Efficiency and Distribution in Financial Restructuring: The Case of the Ferruzzi Group," with Alessandro Penati, October 1998.

"Do Investment-Cashflow Sensitivities Provide Useful Measures of Financing Constraints?," with Steven Kaplan, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1997, vol. 112, pp. 169-215.

"The Stock Market as a Source of Capital: Some Lessons from Initial Public Offerings in Italy," with Marco Pagano and Fabio Panetta, European Economic Review, 1996, vol. 40, pp. 1057-1069.

"What Determines the Value of Corporate Votes?," Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1995, vol. 110, pp. 1047-1073.

"Capital Structure Choice when Managers are in Control: Entrenchment versus Efficiency," with Walter Novaes, NBER Working Paper, November 1995.

"What Do We Know about Capital Structure? Some Evidence From International Data," with Raghuram G. Rajan, Journal of Finance, 1995, vol. 50, pp. 1421-1460.

"Insider Ownership and the Decision to Go Public," The Review of Economic Studies, 1995, vol. 62(3), pp. 425-48.

"The Value of the Voting Right: A Study of the Milan Stock Exchange Experience," Review of Financial Studies," 1994, vol. 7(1), pp. 125-48.


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