Research seminars at CJBS

Bo Becker, Professor of Finance, Stockholm School of Economics

Corporate bond markets proved remarkably resilient in the face of a sharp contraction caused by the 2020 COVID-19 (coronavirus) epidemic. We document three important facts: bond issuance increased immediately when the contraction hit; in contrast, syndicated loan issuance was low; Federal Reserve interventions increased bond issuance, loan issuance also increased, but less; bond issuance was concentrated in the investment grade segment, for large and profitable issuers. We compare those findings to previous crises and recessions and document similar patterns. The U.S. bond market is an important and resilient source of funding for corporations.

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Joseph Aldy, Professor of the Practice of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School

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Dr Geoffroy Dolphin, Resources for the Future

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Todd Gormley, Associate Professor of Finance, Olin Business School, Washington University

In 2017, “The Big Three” institutional investors launched campaigns to increase gender diversity on corporate boards. We estimate that their campaigns led firms to add at least 2.5 times as many female directors in 2019 as they had in 2016 and to promote female directors to key board positions. Firms increased female representation by relying less on managers’ existing networks to identify candidates and by placing less emphasis on candidates’ executive experience. Our results highlight index investors’ ability to influence firms’ governance structures and shareholder advocacy’s potential to expand women’s participation in corporate leadership more fully than government mandates.

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Dr Zeynep Clulow, EPRG, University of Cambridge

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Professor Keith Bell, University of Strathclyde

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Professor Alexander MacKay, Harvard Business School

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Professor Sebastian Rausch, ZEW-Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research

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