Finance and Society
Paper Session
Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM (EST)
- Chair: Huan Tang, University of Pennsylvania
Employer Outside Options, Labor Market Frictions, and Corporate Investment
Abstract
Labor market frictions play a critical role in shaping corporate investment decisions by influencing firms' ability to adjust their workforce in response to labor cost shocks. This paper examines how the dynamics of the labor market—specifically, changes in employer outside options driven by globalization, technological advancements, and declining unionization—have altered firms' investment responses to mandated minimum wage increases. Over four decades, we observe a fundamental shift in the sensitivity of investment to wage changes, from significantly negative in earlier periods to economically insignificant in recent years. This evolution reflects firms’ increasing ability to mitigate labor cost shocks through automation, offshoring, and more flexible workforce management. Our findings highlight the broader implications of labor market frictions for corporate decision-making and provide new insights into how firms adapt investment strategies in response to shifting labor market conditions.The Impact of Climate Policies on Financial Markets: Evidence from the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
Abstract
The introduction of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) has triggered statistically significant negative stock market responses for firms within the EU. Comparing EU customers that have non-EU suppliers in CBAM-affected industries with their nontreated peers in the control group, we find an extra cumulative abnormal return of up to -1.3 percentage points over our main five-day event window around December 13, 2022. Furthermore, we document substantial anticipatory market responses reflecting updated beliefs about broader climate policy developments going forward. This paper is the first to provide empirical evidence of carbon border tax impacts on firm valuations through international supply chains. Our findings contribute to the understanding of climate policy transmission through international trade networks and inform the debate on stranded assets resulting from environmental regulations.How Do Nonprofits Use Cash Windfalls? Evidence from $5B in Unrestricted Donations
Abstract
How do nonprofits use unrestricted gifts? Donations to 501(c)(3)’s are increasingly given unrestricted due to concerns that restrictions on use unduly constrain nonprofits. I study the effect of such funding on recipients using a $5B sample of MacKenzie Scott’s gifts from 2019-2022 to 567 nonprofits. I find that, within two years of receiving the gift, nonprofits received 64% of the average gift in additional contributions and spent the entirety of the average gift compared to similar untreated nonprofits. After giving away 26% as grants to individuals and other nonprofits, recipients spent these funds proportionally to their previous activities. Two years after the gift, CEO compensation increased by $20.9K (9%), average director compensation increased by $12K (12.1%), and average compensation of non-senior employees increased by $2.7K (5.8%) compared to similar untreated nonprofits. For every dollar of unrestricted gift and additional contributions, the present value of executive compensation increased by $0.23. Recipient nonprofits do not become less constrained in allocating their revenue to indirect costs or savings. In sum, nonprofits that receive this set of unrestricted gifts do not behave in the hypothesized liquidity-constrained manner.Discussant(s)
Erica Xuewei Jiang
,
University of Southern California
Miao Ben Zhang
,
University of Southern California
Sangmin (Simon) Oh
,
University of Pennsylvania
Lea H. Stern
,
University of Washington
JEL Classifications
- G20 - General