The Journal of Finance publishes leading research across all the major fields of finance. It is one of the most widely cited journals in academic finance, and in all of economics. Each of the six issues per year reaches over 8,000 academics, finance professionals, libraries, and government and financial institutions around the world. The journal is the official publication of The American Finance Association, the premier academic organization devoted to the study and promotion of knowledge about financial economics.
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Search results: 5.
Worrying about the Stock Market: Evidence from Hospital Admissions
Published: 02/03/2016 | DOI: 10.1111/jofi.12386
JOSEPH ENGELBERG, CHRISTOPHER A. PARSONS
Using individual patient records for every hospital in California from 1983 to 2011, we find a strong inverse link between daily stock returns and hospital admissions, particularly for psychological conditions such as anxiety, panic disorder, and major depression. The effect is nearly instantaneous (within the same day) for psychological conditions, suggesting that anticipation over future consumption directly influences instantaneous utility.
The Causal Impact of Media in Financial Markets
Published: 01/06/2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-6261.2010.01626.x
JOSEPH E. ENGELBERG, CHRISTOPHER A. PARSONS
Disentangling the causal impact of media reporting from the impact of the events being reported is challenging. We solve this problem by comparing the behaviors of investors with access to different media coverage of the same information event. We use zip codes to identify 19 mutually exclusive trading regions corresponding with large U.S. cities. For all earnings announcements of S&P 500 Index firms, we find that local media coverage strongly predicts local trading, after controlling for earnings, investor, and newspaper characteristics. Moreover, local trading is strongly related to the timing of local reporting, a particular challenge to nonmedia explanations.
Urban Vibrancy and Corporate Growth
Published: 09/17/2014 | DOI: 10.1111/jofi.12215
CASEY DOUGAL, CHRISTOPHER A. PARSONS, SHERIDAN TITMAN
We find that a firm's investment is highly sensitive to the investments of other firms headquartered nearby, even those in very different industries. A firm's investment also responds to fluctuations in the cash flows and stock prices (q) of local firms outside its sector. These patterns do not appear to reflect exogenous area shocks such as local shocks to labor or real estate values, but rather suggest that local agglomeration economies are important determinants of firm investment and growth.
The Geography of Financial Misconduct
Published: 06/19/2018 | DOI: 10.1111/jofi.12704
CHRISTOPHER A. PARSONS, JOHAN SULAEMAN, SHERIDAN TITMAN
Financial misconduct (FM) rates differ widely between major U.S. cities, up to a factor of 3. Although spatial differences in enforcement and firm characteristics do not account for these patterns, city‐level norms appear to be very important. For example, FM rates are strongly related to other unethical behavior, involving politicians, doctors, and (potentially unfaithful) spouses, in the city.
Anchoring on Credit Spreads
Published: 02/04/2015 | DOI: 10.1111/jofi.12248
CASEY DOUGAL, JOSEPH ENGELBERG, CHRISTOPHER A. PARSONS, EDWARD D. VAN WESEP
This paper documents that the path of credit spreads since a firm's last loan influences the level at which it can currently borrow. If spreads have moved in the firm's favor (i.e., declined), it is charged a higher interest rate than is justified by current fundamentals, whereas if spreads have moved to the firm's detriment, it is charged a lower rate. We evaluate several possible explanations for this finding, and conclude that anchoring to past deal terms is most plausible.