Using demographic identification to estimate the effects of board size on corporate performance

Motivated by agency theory, we investigate the effect of board size on corporate outcomes. To address endogeneity, we exploit the variations in the director-age populations across the states in the US. We argue that firms with access to a larger pool of potential directors tend to have larger boards. Consistent with this notion, our empirical results show that firms located where the size of the director-age population is larger have significantly larger board size. Because the director-age population represents broad demographic trends outside of any firm’s control, it is unlikely related to firm outcomes or policies and should be exogenous. Using the director-age population as our instrument, we estimate the effects of board size on firm value and profitability. Our approach is less vulnerable to endogeneity and is more likely to show a causal effect.     

Employment and the risk of domestic violence: does the breadwinner’s gender matter?

This article studies the effect on the risk of female victimization of the employment status of the woman and her partner. We use individual-level data from the violence against women surveys for Spain, which also provide information on income and a rich set of sociodemographic characteristics. To address the potential endogeneity of the binary employment indicators, we exploit exogenous geographical information on the employment and unemployment rates by gender and age, within a multivariate probit framework. Our estimation results show that male partner employment plays a major role in the risk of physical violence, while female employment only lowers it when her partner is employed too. The lowest risk appears for more egalitarian couples in which both partners are employed.     

Does intrahousehold bargaining power enhance women's marital satisfaction? A perspective from two competing forces in China

In the context of two competing forces (i.e., socioeconomic transformation vs. traditional cultural norms) influencing Chinese family and its members, the paper uses the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) to empirically examine the causal relation between intrahousehold bargaining power and women's marital satisfaction. By employing an instrumental variable approach, the paper finds that intrahousehold bargaining power negatively affects women's marital satisfaction. This conclusion remains valid after performing various robustness checks. However, there are some heterogeneous effects found that the negative effect is particularly significant among those women of higher age and constrained by external traditional norms. These women are more conservative in their own thoughts and thus tend to support the traditional gender belief of “men being the masters of the family.”     

股权结构与公司绩效关系研究综述——基于内生性和动态性视角

国内外有关股权结构与公司绩效关系的研究文献非常丰富,但这些文献绝大部分都先验地把股权结构作为外生变量来处理,认为二者是从股权结构到公司绩效的一种单向静态关系。在这种假设下,得出的结论与观察到的事实并非一致。股权结构不是一个独立外生变量,而是包括绩效在内的多种因素共同作用的均衡结果。它不仅受当期和上期绩效的作用,同时也可能对当期和下期绩效产生影响,即股权结构不仅是内生的,而且还是动态的。本文综述了国内外目前在这方面的最新研究成果。     

The true effect of students’ employment on the duration of studies

We examine the effect of the first-degree students’ employment on the prolongation of their studies. When employing a popular instrumental variable, the regional unemployment rate, we find a negative impact of students’ employment on duration of studies. Then, adding a predetermined IV – the individual’s employment prior to the beginning of academic studies – turns the estimate positive. Furthermore, we find that the relationship between the extent of students’ employment and duration of their studies depends on their age: among the younger students (aged 22–26), the extent of employment has no effect on the duration of studies, while among the older students, the effect is positive and statistically significant.     

Does sports activity improve health? Representative evidence using local density of sports facilities as an instrument

Using representative and geocoded data from the Swiss Household Panel and the Swiss Business Census, we estimate the effect of sports activity on health. OLS models show that sports activity significantly decreases overweight, sleeping problems, headaches, back problems, and perceived health impediments in everyday activities and significantly increases health satisfaction. Because sports activity is likely to be misreported and correlated with unobserved determinants of health, we use the number of sports facilities within 6 miles of the individual’s residence as an instrument for sports activity. Although the instrument is powerful in explaining sports activity, the second-stage effects on health are mostly statistically insignificant due to the high SEs of the IV estimates.     

Do foreign institutional investors enhance firm innovation in China?

This paper investigates the impact of the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) scheme regulated by the Chinese government on firm innovation in China. By explicitly addressing the potential endogenous relationship between foreign institutional ownership and firm innovation, we find that foreign institutional investors enhance firm innovation in China, suggesting that the Chinese government should further relax its foreign capital investment control, for example, increase the quota of the QFII scheme.     

货币供给的制度内生与需求内生实证研究

文章分别从基础货币投放的被动性、金融机构的"有价证券与外汇"资产渠道以及利率渠道对我国货币供给的内生性进行了实证研究。研究表明:我国货币供给具有较强的内生性,主要表现为基础货币供给的制度内生和信贷供给的需求内生。为提高当前紧缩性货币政策的有效性,货币当局必须稳定人民币汇率升值预期,提高法定存款准备金率、提高贷款利率尤其中长期贷款利率水平,以此削弱货币供给的制度内生和需求内生。     

Exploring the causal effect of religious piety on dividend policy: evidence from historical religious identification

Theory suggests that religious piety is associated with greater risk aversion and more conservative financial policies. Returns to shareholders through dividends are much more certain than returns through capital gains expected to be realized far into the future. We hypothesize that religious piety leads to a higher likelihood of dividend payments. We exploit the variation in religious piety across the US counties and estimate the effect of religion on dividend policy. To draw a causal inference, we use historical religious piety in 1971 as the instrument. Our two-stage least squares results confirm that religious piety induces firms to pay larger dividends.