Publications

2013
Working Paper

Financial vs. Strategic Buyers

By: Marc Martos-Vila, Matthew Rhodes-Kropf and Jarrad Harford

This paper introduces the impact of debt misvaluation on merger and acquisition activity. Debt misvaluation helps explain the shifting dominance of financial acquirers (private equity firms) relative to strategic acquirers (operating companies). The effects of... View Details

Keywords: Misvaluation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Private Equity

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03 Dec 2008
What Do You Think?

Can Housing and Credit be “Nudged” Back to Health?

(libertarianism). Think of parents fashioning choices for children in ways that lead to acceptable choices instead of commanding them to do something. Contrast this with what happened in the related housing and credit meltdowns. View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

13 Apr 2017
News

Bros Don’t Let Bros Lend Money

October 1991 (Revised January 2002)
Case

Butler Lumber Company

By: Thomas R. Piper

The Butler Lumber Co. is faced with a need for increased bank financing due to its rapid sales growth and low profitability. Students must determine the reasons for the rising bank borrowing, estimate the amount of borrowing needed, and assess the attractiveness of the... View Details

Keywords: Commercial Banking; Financial Crisis; Borrowing and Debt; Financial Strategy; Financing and Loans; Capital Structure; Forecasting and Prediction

12 Sep 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, September 12, 2017

the past decade, foreign participation in local-currency bond markets in emerging countries increased dramatically. We revisit sovereign debt sustainability under the assumptions that countries can accumulate reserves View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

08 Aug 2017
First Look

First Look at Research and Ideas, August 8, 2017

Barry Abstract—Many markets, including the markets for IPOs and debt issuances, are syndicated, in that a bidder who wins a contract will often invite competitors to join a syndicate that will fulfill the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 2025
Article

The Impact of Minority Representation at Mortgage Lenders

By: W. Scott Frame, Ruidi Huang, Erica Jiang, Yeonjoon Lee, Will Liu, Erik J. Mayer and Adi Sunderam

We study links between the labor market for loan officers and access to mortgage credit. Using novel data matching the (near) universe of mortgage applications to loan officers, we find that minorities are significantly underrepresented among loan officers. Minority... View Details

Keywords: Household Finance; Demographic Economics; Financial Institutions; Diversity; Prejudice and Bias; Mortgages; Personal Finance

24 Sep 2024
Research & Ideas

Why Small Businesses Deserve More Credit

when the economy was growing and stable years following the global financial crisis at the turn of the decade, with conditions that mirrored the US small business landscape today, Kim notes. Researchers analyzed data for 3,169 small firms... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Financial Services; Banking

November 2022 (Revised December 2022)
Case

Ava Labs: Navigating the Next Blockchain

By: Marco Di Maggio and Wenyao Sha

John Wu, President of Ava Labs, the primary developer of the Avalanche blockchain, and Emin Gün Sirer, the software company’s Founder and CEO, team up to develop a lending and borrowing protocol that would jumpstart the Decentralized finance (DeFi) economy on... View Details

Keywords: Blockchain; Decentralized Finance; Alternative Assets; Financial Instruments; Assets; Decisions; Financing and Loans; Technology Industry; Financial Services Industry

May 1998
Case

Stone Industries

By: David F. Hawkins

Managers must decide how to account for a debt refinancing. View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Borrowing and Debt

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23 May 2017
First Look

First Look at New Ideas and Research: May 23, 2017

Corporate Debt in Emerging Markets By: Alfaro, Laura, Gonzalo Asis, Anusha Chari, and Ugo Panizza Abstract—This paper documents a set of stylized facts about leverage and... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

June 2015 (Revised July 2016)
Case

Gilbert Lumber Company

By: Steven Rogers and Kenneth Cooper

The Gilbert Lumber Co. is faced with a need for increased bank financing due to its rapid sales growth and low profitability. Students must determine the reasons for the rising bank borrowing, estimate the amount of borrowing needed, and assess the attractiveness of... View Details

Keywords: Commercial Banking; Financial Crisis; Borrowing and Debt; Financial Strategy; Financing and Loans; Capital Structure; Forecasting and Prediction

December 1987 (Revised April 1996)
Case

Waste Management, Inc.

In early 1985 the CEO of Waste Management, Inc. is deliberating over several equity-linked debt alternatives to finance the retirement of debt. The teaching objective is to expose students to various forms of equity-linked debt financing alternatives. View Details

Keywords: Equity; Borrowing and Debt; Service Industry