FINS5581 Empirical Corporate Governance - 2019

FINS5581

Postgraduate

Term 3

6 Units of Credit

On Campus

Banking & Finance

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This course outline is provided in advance of offering to guide student course selection. Please note that while accurate at time of publication, changes may be required prior to the start of the teaching session. You should always access the current online version of the outline when the Term commences.

1. Course Details

Summary of Course

FINS5581 is an elective for students in the PhD and MPhil programs. The course explores a number of empirical questions and statistical techniques from corporate finance, with application to topics in corporate governance. Topics covered include applications of agency theory and optimal contracting theory, an overview of internal and external corporate control mechanisms, and a survey of major methodological approaches used in this research area including their strengths and weaknesses. The primary topics to be covered are corporate boards of directors, executive incentives, and manifestations of poor governance. We will also discuss some of the major databases used for this type of research. The topics to be covered are all in the lecturer’s area of expertise.

The course assumes a sound knowledge of the economic theory relating to the foundations of finance, including basic agency theory and financial contract theory. The course will emphasize both the major economic questions concerning the needs for and the effectiveness of these critical corporate governance mechanisms and to help researchers to create effective research designs necessary to produce compelling evidence of causal relationships.

Teaching Times and Locations

Please note that teaching times and locations are subject to change. Students are strongly advised to refer to the Class Timetable website for the most up-to-date teaching times and locations.

View course timetable

Course Policies & Support

The Business School expects that you are familiar with the contents of this course outline and the UNSW and Business School learning expectations, rules, policies and support services as listed below:

Program Learning Outcomes
Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
Student Responsibilities and Conduct
Special Consideration
Protocol for Viewing Final Exam Scripts
Student Learning Support Services

Further information is provided in the Assessment and Policies and Support sections.

Course Aims and Relationship to Other Courses

By the end of the course, you should be familiar with some of the classic research as well as some of the most cutting edge work in the field of corporate governance. You should also understand the major empirical approaches employed in this research area, and a good understanding of what makes for a strong research paper and to be well-equipped to undertake your own research studies. However, ultimately, the time and effort that each student devotes to the course will determine how much he or she learns.

This course will focus primarily on recent research over the last couple of years. We will explore key questions in corporate governance and their effects on corporate decision making. In the process of studying these topics, I will primarily emphasize the empirical predictions of theory, and the statistical methodology used in corporate finance and the strengths and weaknesses of the existing statistical evidence.

This is a Postgraduate (PhD) course. Participants should have a strong interest in corporate finance. Students will find many of the econometric techniques covered in Research Method in Finance 1 and 2 very useful in undertaking their research projects and they should be prepared to use these techniques. In addition, students should have a solid background in the microeconomic theory of the firm.

Student Learning Outcomes

The Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) are what you should be able to demonstrate by the end of this course, if you participate fully in learning activities and successfully complete the assessment items.

CLOs also contribute to your achievement of the Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs), which are developed across the duration of a program for all coursework students in the Business School. More information on PLOs is available under Policies and Support. PLOs are, in turn, directly linked to UNSW graduate capabilities and the aspiration to develop “globally focussed graduates who are rigorous scholars, capable of leadership and professional practice in an international community”.

The following table shows how the CLOs for this course relate to the overall PLOs and indicates where each CLO and PLO is assessed:

Course Learning Outcomes	Program Learning Outcomes	Course Assessment Item
On successful completion of the course, you should be able to:	This course helps you to develop the following Program Learning Outcomes:	This learning outcome will be assessed in the following items:
Understand major corporate governance mechanisms.	PLO 1: Business knowledge PLO 6: Global and cultural competence PLO 1: Specialist knowledge	Class contribution Written critiques of articles Class presentations (2) Original Research paper & optional presentation
Explain major theories and evidence concerning major corporate governance mechanisms.	PLO 1: Business knowledge PLO 5: Responsible business practice PLO 1: Specialist knowledge PLO 2: Research capability	Class contribution Written critiques of articles Class presentations (2) Original Research paper & optional presentation
Explain and evaluate major empirical approaches used in undertaking research in corporate governance.	PLO 1: Business knowledge PLO 2: Problem solving PLO 1: Specialist knowledge PLO 2: Research capability	Class contribution Written critiques of articles Class presentations (2) Original Research paper & optional presentation
Analyze data and test hypotheses and familiarity with the major databases in this research area.	PLO 1: Business knowledge PLO 2: Problem solving PLO 1: Specialist knowledge PLO 2: Research capability	Class contribution Written critiques of articles Class presentations (2) Original Research paper & optional presentation
Develop critical economic perspectives and analytical skills, and be able to articulate your own research results through written reports and oral presentation.	PLO 2: Problem solving PLO 7: Leadership development PLO 1: Specialist knowledge PLO 2: Research capability	Class contribution Written critiques of articles Class presentations (2) Original Research paper & optional presentation
Construct written work which is logically and professionally organized and articulated. Summarise your analysis and key findings in a highly succinct, but compelling fashion.	PLO 2: Problem solving PLO 3: Business communication PLO 1: Specialist knowledge	Written critiques of articles Original Research paper & optional presentation
Communicate ideas in a succinct and clear manner and be able to defend your economic analysis and statistical approaches in Q&A.	PLO 1: Business knowledge PLO 2: Problem solving PLO 3: Business communication PLO 7: Leadership development PLO 1: Specialist knowledge PLO 2: Research capability	Class contribution Written critiques of articles
The class will function as a team to understand the strengths and weakness of each piece of research covered in class.	PLO 3: Business communication PLO 4: Teamwork PLO 6: Global and cultural competence PLO 1: Specialist knowledge PLO 2: Research capability	Class contribution
Understanding how governance mechanisms are used to monitor and discipline corporate managers and directors and what our common methods of extracting private benefits of control.	PLO 1: Business knowledge PLO 2: Problem solving PLO 5: Responsible business practice PLO 7: Leadership development PLO 1: Specialist knowledge PLO 2: Research capability	Class contribution Written critiques of articles
Highlight how effective corporate governance mechanisms are across countries and how they can be supported or undercut by government decisions.	PLO 6: Global and cultural competence PLO 1: Specialist knowledge PLO 2: Research capability	Class contribution Written critiques of articles

2. Staff Contact Details

Position	Title	Name	Email	Location	Phone	Consultation Times
Lecturer-in-charge	Prof	Ron Masulis		Room: 354, Business School bulding - Ref E12	+61 2 9385 5860	Monday 1-2 pm (or by appointment)

3. Learning and Teaching Activities

Approach to Learning and Teaching in the Course

The teaching and learning approach adopted emphasises the importance of developing critical thinking and analytical skills. This is achieved through a mix of lectures, class presentations and discussions, and a research paper.

Learning Activities and Teaching Strategies

Weekly Class Activities:

In order to obtain the full benefit from the course, students should:

Read the assigned reading for each class and be prepared to ask critical questions and to answer specific questions about the readings.
Attend all seminar classes and arrive on time.
Actively participate in class: Answer questions posed by the instructor, and ask your own questions.
If issues are still not clear, first ask your classmates, then ask me, send me a mail, or come to my office during the consultation hours.

The rationale for the above suggestions and requirements in following these points is necessary to achieve the learning outcomes specified in Section 2.4. The design of the course presupposes that students are interested in the topics and will endeavour to learn the material presented. Lectures and class discussions and presentations are all aimed to facilitate your learning. However, ultimately, the time and effort each student devotes to the course will determine how much he or she learns from it.

During a typical 3-hour session, the first half of class will be devoted to covering the lecture material, which will be primarily based on survey paper readings and student presentations and discussions of assigned readings. These lectures are intended to establish an analytical framework for investigating major corporate governance mechanisms. The lecturer will focus on the most challenging concepts and students are encouraged to engage in a dialogue to facilitate better understandings of the materials. The lecturer will also highlight examples of effective writing in the assigned readings.

The second half of the class will generally involve student presentations and discussions of the research articles on key issues raised during lectures, prior class discussions and assigned readings. These will help students develop both an understanding of the theoretical underpinning of the literature and a familiarity with how these theories are evaluated empirically.

Beyond the classroom:

You are required to do the required readings as well as preparing for class discussions and presentations and completing a research paper. Outside the class, students are encouraged to form study groups to engage in interactive critical discussions of the assigned research articles. Students are also expected to attend the weekly finance seminars.

You are encouraged to fully utilise the available consultation hours to best prepare for the assignments. For the assignments, I will provide extra assistance in terms of suggesting further readings and discussing issues related to your presentations and research paper.

4. Assessment

Formal Requirements

In order to pass this course, you must:

achieve a composite mark of at least 50 out of 100;
meet any additional requirements described in the Assessment Summary section.

You are expected to attempt all assessment requirements in the course.

Assessment Structure

Assessment Task	Weighting	Length	Due Date
Class participation	25%	–	Various
Research presentations with PowerPoint slides	25%	–	Various
Research Paper	50%	–	End of the term
Total	100%	–	–

Assessment Summary

As a student at UNSW you are expected to display academic integrity in your work and interactions. Where a student breaches the UNSW Student Code with respect to academic integrity, the University may take disciplinary action under the Student Misconduct Procedure.

To assist you in understanding what academic integrity means, and how to ensure that you do comply with the UNSW Student Code, it is strongly recommended that you complete the Working with Academic Integrity module before submitting your first assessment task. It is a free, online self-paced Moodle module that should take about one hour to complete.

Class Participation and Analysis (25%)

You are required to attend and participate during in-class discussions. Overall participation quality will account for 25% of the final grade, conditional upon the submission of two presentations critically evaluating specifically assigned readings.

Active participation in the discussion of these questions (and not mere attendance of class) is essential to obtain a good mark for this assessment component. Also note that quality is far more important than quantity. The final mark will be decided at the end of the term.

Assignment Submission Procedure

All assignments can be submitted through Moodle or in hard copy at class time.

Assessment Feedback

Feedback on student performance from formative and summative assessment tasks will be provided to students in a timely manner. Assessment tasks completed within the teaching period of a course, other than a final assessment, will be assessed and students provided with feedback, with or without a provisional result, within 10 working days of submission, under normal circumstances. Feedback on continuous assessment tasks (e.g. laboratory and studio-based, workplace-based, weekly quizzes) will be provided prior to the midpoint of the course.

Special Consideration

You can apply for special consideration when illness or other circumstances beyond your control, interfere with your assessment performance (to apply see Special Consideration on the UNSW Current Students page). Special Consideration is primarily intended to provide you with an extra opportunity to demonstrate the level of performance of which you are capable.

Special Consideration applications will be assessed centrally by the Case Review Team within Student Lifecycle. The Case Review team will update the online application with the outcome and add any relevant comments.

Please note the following:

Applications can only be made through Online Services in myUNSW. Applications will not be accepted by teaching staff. The lecturer-in-charge/course coordinator will be automatically notified when you lodge an online application for special consideration.
Applying for special consideration does not automatically mean that you will be granted a supplementary exam or other concession.
If you experience illness or misadventure in the lead up to an exam or assessment, you must submit an application for special consideration, either prior to the examination taking place, or prior to the assessment submission deadline, except where illness or misadventure prevent you from doing so.
If you sit the exam/submit an assignment, you are declaring yourself well enough to do so and are unable to subsequently apply for special consideration.
If you become unwell on the day of the exam, you must provide evidence dated within 24 hours of the exam, with your application.
The current provisions will continue for exceptional circumstances, for example, if a student falls sick during an exam. Other exceptions will continue to be examined on a case by case basis by the Student Lifecycle team.
Special consideration requests do not allow the awarding of additional marks to students.

Further information on Business School policy and procedure, as well as supplementary exam dates for the current term, can be found under “Special Consideration” on the Policies and Support page.

The School of Banking and Finance supports the concept to leave the course lecturer-in-charge to stipulate a penalty of 0 to 10% of the percentage weight of the assessment component or part thereof per day. Details of such penalties will be available on the course Moodle page.

Applications for extension are restricted to cases of serious illness, bereavement or misadventure and students must provide documentary evidence. Decisions on such applications will be based on policies that are consistent with the policies adopted by UNSW Business School for such cases.

Protocol for Viewing Final Exam Scripts

The UNSW Business School has set a protocol under which students may view their final exam script. Individual schools within the Faculty may also set up a local process for viewing final exam scripts, so it is important that you check with your School. Further school specific information may be included below.

Further to the Business School protocol for viewing final exam scripts:

A student must lodge a request to view his or her final exam script within 5 working days immediately following the official release of overall course results. This request must be emailed to the School of Banking and Finance at bankfin@unsw.edu.au.
The School may fix a time at which all students wishing to see their exams will be permitted to do so. The date for viewing all final exam scripts with the School of Banking and Finance is the 10th working day after the official release of overall course results, and the School may fix a time for each course on that day. The School may refuse to allow access to the exams at other times.

Protocol for Viewing Other Exam Scripts is the similar to that of viewing final exam scripts except the working days are defined with reference to the release date of specific assessment result.

Quality Assurance

The Business School is actively monitoring student learning and quality of the student experience in all its programs. A random selection of completed assessment tasks may be used for quality assurance, such as to determine the extent to which program learning goals are being achieved. The information is required for accreditation purposes, and aggregated findings will be used to inform changes aimed at improving the quality of Business School programs. All material used for such processes will be treated as confidential.

5. Course Resources

All required readings, and information on assessments can be found on the subject web page (See Moodle below). Students are strongly advised to log into the subject web page at least once a week. Additional readings: Additional academic reference papers will be listed on Moodle. They are available in full-text format (pdf files) from the library. The easiest way to find them is to (1) SSRN.com or (2) the faculty member’s personal or university webpage.

Course Outline – required and recommended readings

* Denotes required readings

** Denotes required literature surveys

Background Reading Prior to First Class

*Shleifer, A. and W. Vishny, 1997, A Survey of Corporate Governance, Journal of Finance 52, 737-783.

Becht, M., P. Bolton and A. Roell, 2003, Corporate Governance and Control in The Handbook of the Economics of Finance, Volume 1A, Corporate Finance (eds.) G. Constantinides, M. Harris and R. Stultz, North-Holland.

*Cochrane, J., 2014, Writing Tips for PhD Students, University of Chicago note.

McCloskey, D., 1985, Economical Writing, Economic Inquiry 24, 187-222.

Research Strategies & Corporate Finance Paradigms

*Jensen, M. and W. Meckling, 1976, Theory of the Firm: Managerial Behavior, Agency Costs, and Ownership Structure, Journal of Financial Economics 3(4): 305-60.

Hellwig, M., 2009, A Reconsideration of the Jensen-Meckling Model of Outside Finance, Journal of Financial Intermediation 18, 495-525.

Fama, E. 1980. Agency Problems and the Theory of the Firm, Journal of Political Economy 88(2): 288-307.

*Fama, E., and M. Jensen, 1983, Separation of Ownership and Control, Journal of Law and Economics 26, 301-325.

*Jensen, M., 1986, Agency Costs of Free Cash Flow, Corporate Finance, and Takeovers, American Economic Review 323-329.

Klein, B. and K. Leffler, 1981, The Role of Market Forces in Assuring Contractual Performance, Journal of Political Economy 89:4, 615- .

Methodological Approaches in Corp. Governance I – Endogeneity & Natural Experiments

*Athey, S. and G. Imbens, 2017, The State of Applied Econometrics: Causality and Policy Evaluation, Journal of Economic Perspectives 31(2), 3-32.

*Atanasov, V. and B. Black, 2016, Shock-Based Causal Inference in Corporate Finance and Accounting Research, Critical Finance Review, 5: 207–304

Atanasov, V. and B. Black, 2017, The Trouble with Instruments: Re-examining Shock-based IV Design, SSRN working paper.

*Karpoff, J. and M. Wittry, 2017, Institutional & Legal Context in Natural Experiments: The Case of State Anti-Takeover Laws, Journal of Finance, forthcoming.

*Roberts, M. and T. Whited, 2013, Endogeneity in Empirical Corporate Finance, Handbook of the Economics of Finance (PA), 493-572.

Li, K. and N. Prabhala, 2006, Self-Selection Models in Corporate Finance, Chapter 2 in Handbook of Corporate Finance: Empirical Corporate Finance (Elsevier/North Holland) B. Espen Eckbo, editor.

*Handout on Corporate Governance Data Sources

Methodological Approaches in Corp. Governance II – Matching Methods & DID

*Roberts, M. and T. Whited, 2013, Endogeneity in Empirical Corporate Finance, Handbook of the Economics of Finance (PA), 493-572.

*Bertrand, M. and S. Mullainathan, 2003, Enjoying the Quiet Life? Corporate Governance and Managerial Preferences, Journal of Political Economy 111, 1043-1075.

Bertrand, M. and E. Duflo and S. Mullainathan, 2004, How Much Should We Trust Differences–in-Differences Estimates? Quarterly Journal of Economics 119, 249-275.

*Gormley, T. and D. Matsa, 2014, Common Errors: How to (and Not to) Control for Unobservable Heterogeneity, Review of Financial Studies 27(2).

*Petersen, M., 2009, Estimating Standard Errors in Finance Panel Data Sets: Comparing Approaches, Review of Financial Studies 22(1), 434-480.

*Chaney, T., D. Sraer and D. Thesmar, 2012, The Collateral Channel: How Real Estate Shocks Affect Corporate Investment, American Economic Review 102, 2381-2409.

Karpoff, J., A. Koester, D.S. Lee and G. Martin, 2017, Proxies and Databases in Financial Misconduct Research, The Accounting Review, forthcoming.

Methodological Approaches in Corporate Governance III – DDR

*Roberts, M. and T. Whited, 2013, Endogeneity in Empirical Corporate Finance, Handbook of the Economics of Finance (PA), 493-572 (sections on Matching and DDR).

Bakke, T. and T. Whited, 2012, Threshold Events and Identification: A Study of Cash Shortfalls, Journal of Finance 67(3), 1083–1111.

*Colak, G. and T. Whited, 2007, Spin-offs, Divestitures and Conglomerate Investment, Review of Financial Studies 20, 557-595.

Bena, J. and T. Xu, 2013, Competition and Ownership Structures of Closely-Held Firms, Review of Financial Studies 30(5), 1583-1626.

*Cunat, V., M. Guadalupe and M. Gine, 2012, The Vote Is Cast: The Effect of Corporate Governance on Shareholder Value, Journal of Finance 67(5), 1943-1977.

Chang, Y., H. Hong, E. Liskovich, 2015, Regression Discontinuity and the Price Effects of Stock Market Indexing, Review of Financial Studies 28(1), 213-246.

Chemmanur, T. and X. Tian, 2017, Do Antitakeover Provisions Spur Corporate Innovation? A Regression Discontinuity Analysis, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, forthcoming.

*Crane, A., S. Michenaud and J. Weston, 2016, The Effect of Institutional Ownership on Payout Policy: A Regression Discontinuity Design Approach, Review of Financial Studies 29 (6), 1377-1408.

Kwan, A., R. Masulis and T. McInish, 2015, Trading Rules, Competition for Order Flow and Market Fragmentation, Journal of Financial Economics 115, 330-48.

Corporate Decisions & Boards of Directors

**Hermalin, Benjamin E., and Michael S. Weisbach, 2003. Boards of Directors as an Endogenously Determined Institution: A Survey of the Economic Literature, Federal Reserve Bank of New York Economic Policy Review 9(1): 7–26.

Adams, R., B. Hermalen and M. Weisbach, 2010, The Role of Boards of Directors in Corporate Governance: A Conceptual Framework and Survey, Journal of Economic Literature 48:1, 58-107.

Adams, Renee, 2017, Boards and the Directors Who Sit on Them, in The Handbook of the Economics of Corporate Governance, coedited with B. Hermalin and M. Weisbach, 2017, Elsevier Publishers.

Masulis, R., C. Wang, and F. Xie and S. Zhang, January 2017, Older and Wiser or Too Old to Govern? UNSW working paper.

Knyazeva, A., D. Knyazeva and R. Masulis, 2013, The Supply of Corporate Directors and Board Independence, Review of Financial Studies 26: 1561-1605.

Guo, L. and R. Masulis, 2015, Board Structure and Monitoring: New Evidence from CEO Turnovers, Review of Financial Studies 28 (10), 2770-2811.

Liu, C.Y., A. Low, R. Masulis and L. Zhang, July 2019, Monitoring the Monitor: Distracted Institutional Investors and Board Governance, SSRN working paper.

Masulis, R. and E. J. Zhang, July 2017, How Valuable Are Independent Directors? Evidence from External Distractions, UNSW working paper.

Masulis, R. and S. Mobbs, February 2018, Independent Director Reputation Incentives: CEO Compensation Contracting and Financial Reporting, UNSW working paper.

Masulis, R. and S. Reza, 2015, Agency Problems of Corporate Philanthropy, Review of Financial Studies, 28:2, 592-636.

Masulis, R. and S. Reza, January 2018, Private Benefits and Corporate Investments: The Case of Corporate Philanthropy, SSRN working paper.

Masulis, R. and S. Mobbs, 2014, Independent Director Incentives: Where Do Talented Directors Spend their Time and Energy? Journal of Financial Economics 111, 406-429.

Masulis, R., C. Wang and F. Xie, 2012, Globalizing the Boardroom - The Effects of Foreign Directors on Corporate Governance and Firm Performance, Journal of Accounting and Economics 53:3, 527-554.

Banerjee, S. and R. Masulis, January 2018, Ownership, Investment and Governance: The Costs and Beneﬁts of Dual Class Shares, UNSW working paper.

Banerjee, S., R. Masulis and A. Upadhyay, February 2018, Mitigating Effects of Gender Diverse Board in Companies with Aggressive Management, UNSW working paper.

*Coles, J., N. Daniel, and L. Naveen, 2008, Boards: Does One Size Fit All? Journal of Financial Economics 87, 329-356.

Masulis, R., S. Shen, and Z. Hong, July 2019, Personal Liability and Board Quality, HKU working paper.

*Hwang, B. and S. Kim, 2009, It Pays to Have Friends, Journal of Financial Economics 93, 138-158.

*Duchin, R., J. Matsusaka and O. Ozbas, 2010, When Are Outside Directors Effective? Journal of Financial Economics 96, 195-214.

*Coles, J., N. Daniel, and L. Naveen, 2014, Co-opted Boards, Review of Financial Studies 27(6), 1751-1796.

Armstrong, C., J. Core and W. Guay, 2014, Do Independent Directors Cause Improvements in Firm Transparency, Journal of Financial Economics 113, 383-403.

Recent Research

Adams, R., A. Akyol and P. Verwijmeren, 2018, Director Skill Sets, Journal of Financial Economics, forthcoming.

*Aggarwal, R., S. Dahiya and N. Prabhala, 2018, The Power of Shareholder Votes: Evidence from Director Elections, Journal of Financial Economics, forthcoming.

*Andonov, A., Y. Hochberg, and J. Rauh, 2017, Political Representation and Governance: Evidence from the Investment Decisions of Public Pension Funds, Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University Working Paper No. 226.

Appel, I., T. Gormley and D. Keim, 2016, Passive Investors, Not Passive Owners, Journal of Financial Economics, 121(1), 111-141

Armstrong, C., J. Core, and W. Guay, 2014. Do independent directors cause improvements in firm transparency?, Journal of Financial Economics 113, 383-403.

*Balsmeier, B., L. Fleming and G. Manso, 2017, Independent Boards and Innovation, Journal of Financial Economics 123, 536-557.

Bates, T., D. Becher and J. Wilson, May 2017, Performance-Based Turnover on Corporate Boards, ASU Working Paper.

Belot, F., E. Ginglinger, M. Slovin and M. Suishka, 2014, Freedom of Choice between Unitary and Two-Tier Boards; An Empirical Analysis, Journal of Financial Economics 112, 364-385.

Borokhovich, K., T. Boulton, K. Brunarski and Y. Harman, October 2014, The Incentives of Grey Directors: Evidence from Unexpected Executive and Board Chair Turnovers, Journal of Corporate Finance 28, 102-115.

Bouwman, C., 2011, Corporate Governance Propagation through Overlapping Directors, Review of Financial Studies 24:7, 2358-2394.

Brochet, F. and S. Srinivasan, 2014, Accountability of Independent Directors, Evidence from Firms Subject to Securities Litigation, Journal of Financial Economics 111, 430-449.

Burt, A., and C. Hrdlicka, 2017. Return Predictability Through Board Links, SSRN Working Paper.

*Cai, J., T. Nguyen, and R. Walkling, 2017, Director Appointments–It Is Who You Know, Drexel U. Working Paper.

Campello, M., D. Ferres, G. Ormazabal, 2017, Whistleblowers on the Board? The Role of Independent Directors in Cartel Prosecutions, SSRN working paper.

Celikyurt, U., M. Sevilir and A. Shivdasani, 2014, Venture Capitalists on Boards of Mature Public Firms, Review of Financial Studies 27(1), 56-101.

*Chen, K. and W. Guay, 2017, Busy Directors and Shareholder Satisfaction, SSRN Working paper.

Chen, M. and H. Mas, 2017, Lead Directors, Monitoring and Forced CEO Turnover, Georgia State working paper.

Chen, M., Q. Wu and E. Zhivotova, 2017, Director Reputation and Settling-Up. Evidence from Internal and External Labor Markets, Georgia State working paper.

Cohen, A. and C. Wang, 2013, How Doe Staggered Boards Affect Shareholder Value? Evidence from a Natural Experiment, Journal of Financial Economics 110, 627-641.

Coles, J., N. Daniel and L. Naveen, 2014, Board Advising, Arizona State working paper.

Cornelli, F., Z. Kominek, and A. Ljungqvist, 2013, Monitoring Managers: Does it Matter?, Journal of Finance, 68 (2), 431-481.

Cremers, K., L. Litov and S. Sepe, March 2016, Staggered Boards and Firm Value, Revisited, University of Notre Dame working paper.

Dass, N., O. Kini, V. Nanda, B. Onal and J. Wang, 2014, Board Expertise: Do Directors from Related Industries Help Bridge the Information Gap? Review of Financial Studies 27(5), 1533-1592.

Denis, D., D. Denis and M. Walker, 2015, CEO Assessment and the Structure of Newly Formed Boards, Review of Financial Studies 28, 3338-3366.

Eckbo, E., K. Nygaard and K. Thorburn, 2016, Does Gender-Balancing the Board Reduce Firm Value?, Dartmouth Working Paper.

Fahlenbrach, R., A. Low and R. Stulz, 2010, Why Do Firms Appoint CEOs as Outside Directors?, Journal of Financial Economics 97, 12-32.

Fahlenbrach, R., A. Low and R. Stulz, 2017, Do Independent Director Departures Predict Future Bad Events? Review of Financial Studies 30 (7), 2313-2358.

Falato, A., D. Kadyrzhanova and U. Lel, 2014, Distracted Directors: Does Board Busyness Hurt Shareholder Value?, Journal of Financial Economics 113(3), 404-426.

*Fauver, L., M. Hung, X. Li and A. Taboada, 2017, Board Reforms and Firm Value: Worldwide Evidence, Journal of Financial Economics 125, 120-142.

Ferreira, D., M. Ferreira and B. Mariano, 2017, Creditor Control Rights and Board Independence, Journal of Finance forthcoming.

Fisman, R., R. Khurana and M. Rhodes-Kropf, 2014, Governance and CEO Turnover: Do Something or Do the Right Thing? Management Science 60 (2), 319-337.

*Field, L. and A. Mkrtchyan, 2017, The Effect of Director Experience on Acquisition Performance, Journal of Financial Economics 123, 488-511.

*Field, L. and M. Lowry, 2017, Contrasts in Governance: Newly Public Firms Versus Mature Firms, SSRN Working Paper.

Fogel, K., L. Ma and R. Morck, January 2015, Powerful Independent Directors, NBER Working Paper No. 19809.

Fos, V., 2016, The disciplinary effects of proxy contests. Management Science, 63(3), 655-671.

Fos, V., K. Li, K and M. Tsoutsoura, 2017, Do Director Elections Matter? Review of Financial Studies, forthcoming.

Fracassi, C. and G. Tate, 2012, External Networking and Internal Firm Governance, Journal of Finance 67, 153-194.

Francis, B., I. Hasan and Q. Wu, 2015, Professors in the Boardroom and their Impact on Corporate Governance and Firm Value, Financial Management 44(3), 547-581.

Houston, J., J. Lee and H. Shan, 2017, In search of board independence: Former employees, shades of gray and director classification, 2017 FIRS conference working paper.

Huang, Q., F. Jiang, E. Lie, K. Yang, 2014, The role of investment banker directors in M&A, Journal of Financial Economics 112, 269-286.

Giannetti, M., G. Liao and X. Yu, 2015, The Brain Gain of Corporate Boards: Evidence from China, Journal of Finance 70(4), 1629-1682.

Intintoli, V., K. Kahle and W. Zhao, January 2017, Is Good Advice Hard to Find? The Impact of Director Connectedness on Financing and Investment, U of Arizona Working Paper.

Jiang, W., H. Wan and S. Zhao, 2016, Reputation Concerns of independent Directors: Evidence from Individual Director Voting, Review of Financial Studies, 29 (3) 655-696.

Karpoff, J. and M. Wittry, February 2017, Institutional and Legal Context in Natural Experiments: The Case of State Antitakeover Laws, University of Washington Working Paper.

*Khanna, E. H. Kim and Y. Lu, 2015, CEO Connectedness and Corporate Fraud, Journal of Finance 70(3), 1203-1252.

Kim, E. Han and Yao Lu, October 2015, Are Executive Suite Independence and Board Independence Interrelated? University of Michigan Working Paper.

Kim, S. and S. Oh, 2017, Board Diversity and Director Dissent in Corporate Boards, Working Paper.

Lamoreaux, P., L. Litov and L. Mauler, 2015, Lead Independent Directors: Good Governance or Window Dressing?, SSRN working paper.

Lee, J., K. Lee and J. Nagaragan, 2014, Birds of a Feather: Value Implications of Political Alignment between Top Management and Directors, Journal of Financial Economics 112, 232-250.

Levit, D. and N. Malenko, 2016, The Labor Market for Directors and Externalities in Corporate Governance, Journal of Finance 71(2), 775-808.

Li, F. and S. Srinivasan, 2011, Corporate governance when founders are directors, Journal of Financial Economics 102, 454-469.

Li, H., H. Ryan, L. Wang and B. Yang, 2013, Family Firms and Boards of Directors: Evidence from Board Tenure, Georgia State working paper.

Lie, E. and K.D. Yang, 2016. Board Independence, Corporate Spending, and Cash Holdings, Working Paper.

Lin, C., M. Officer, R. Wang and H. Zou, 2013, Directors' and Officers' Liability Insurance and Loan Spreads, Journal of Financial Economics 110 (1), 37–60.

Lin, C., T. Schmid and Y. Sun, 2017, Conflict or collusion? How employees in the boardroom affect executive compensation, 2017 FIRS conference working paper.

Lu, J. and W. Wang, 2017. Managerial Conservatism, Board Independence, and Corporate Innovation, Working Paper.

Malm, J. and S. Mobbs, 2016, Independent Directors and Corporate Litigation, University of Alabama Working Paper.

Muravyer, A., I. Berezinets and Y. Ilina, July 2014, The Structure of Corporate Boards and Private Benefits of Control: Evidence from the Russian Stock Exchange, International Review of Financial Analysis 34, 247-261.

Nguyen, B.D. and K. Nielsen, 2010, The Value of Independent Directors: Evidence from Sudden Deaths, Journal of Financial Economics 98, 550–567.

Ravina, E. and P. Sapienza, 2010, What Do Independent Directors Know? Evidence from Their Trading, Review of Financial Studies 23(3), 962-1003.

Re-Jin, J.G., Q. Sun and X. Zuo, 2017, Innovation Diffusion in Network of Corporate Boards, Working Paper.

*Schmidt, C. and R. Fahlenbrach, 2017, Do Exogenous Changes in Passive Institutional Ownership Affect Corporate Governance and Firm Value? Journal of Financial Economics 124, 285-306.

*Stern, L., I. Erel, C. Tan and M. Weisbach, 2017, Selecting Directors Using Machine Learning, SSRN working paper

*Wang, S., 2017, Are Independent Directors with Industry Expertise More Informed? SSRN working paper.

Wang, C., F. Xie, and M. Zhu, 2015, Industry Expertise of Independent Directors and Board Monitoring, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 50 (5), 929–962.

Yang, D.R., 2016. Waiting Out Storms in the Absence; Outside Directors' Selective Attendance at Board Meetings, CICF Working Paper.

Yang, T. and S. Zhao, 2014, CEO Duality and Firm Performance: Evidence from an Exogenous Shock to the Competitive Environment, Journal of Banking and Finance 49, 534-552.

Managers Incentives - Overview

**Murphy, K., 2013, Executive Compensation: Where We Are and How We Got There, Handbook of the Economics of Finance (PA), 211-356.

Edmans, A. and X. Gabaix, 2016, Executive Compensation: A Modern Primer, Journal of Economic Literature 54 (4), 1232-1287.

*Edmans, A., X. Gabaix and D. Jenter, 2017, Executive Compensation: A Survey of Theory and Evidence, ECGI working paper.

*Hermalin, H. and M. Weisbach, Assessing Managerial Ability: Implications for Corporate Governance, Chapter 3 of The Handbook of the Economics of Corporate Governance, coedited with B. Hermalin and M. Weisbach, 2017, Elsevier Publishers.

Tervio, M., 2008, The Difference that CEOs Make: An Assignment Model Approach,” American Economic Review 98(3), 642-668.

Gabaix, X. and A. Landier, 2008, Why Has CEO Pay Increased So Much? Quarterly Journal of Economics 123, 49-100.

Benabou, R. and J. Tirole, 2016, Bonus Culture: Competitive Pay, Screening and Multitasking, Journal of Political Economy, 124(2), 305-370.

Graham, J., C. Harvey, M. Puri, 2013, Managerial attitudes and corporate actions, Journal of Financial Economics 109, 103-121.

Managers Incentives - Corporate Decisions & Risk-taking

*Dou, Y., R. Masulis and J. Zein, June 2017, Shareholder Wealth Consequence of Insider Pledging of Company Stock as Collateral for Personal Loans, UNSW working paper.

Masulis, R. and S. Zhang, February 2017, What Drives Senior Executive Compensation Gaps, Tournament Incentives or Managerial Power?, UNSW working paper.

Masulis, R. and S. Mobbs, February 2018, Independent Director Reputation Incentives: CEO Compensation Contracts and Financial Accounting Quality, UNSW working paper.

Liu, C.Y., R. Masulis and J. Stanfield, July 2019, CEO Option Compensation Can Be a Bad Option: Evidence from Product Market Relationships, UNSW working paper.

Morck, R., A. Shleifer and R. Vishny, 1988, Managerial Ownership and Market Valuation: An Empirical Analysis, Journal of Financial Economics 20, 293-315.

Core, John E., Robert W. Holthausen, and David F. Larcker, 1999, Corporate governance, chief executive officer compensation, and firm performance, Journal of Financial Economics 51:3, 371-406

Bertrand, Marianne, and Sendhil Mullainathan, 2001, Are CEOs Rewarded for Luck? The Ones without Principals Are, Quarterly Journal of Economics 116, 901-932.

Adams, R., H. Almeida and D. Ferreira, 2005, Powerful CEOs and Their Impact on Corporate Performance, Review of Financial Studies 18:4, 1403-1432.

Low, A., 2009, Managerial risk-taking behavior and equity-based compensation, Journal of Financial Economics 92, 470-490.

Benmelech, E., E. Kandel and P. Veronesi, 2010, Stock based compensation and CEO (Dis) Incentives, Quarterly Journal of Economics 125, 1769-1820.

Tchistyi, A., D. Yermack and H. Yun, 2011, Negative Hedging: Performance Sensitive Debt and CEOs’ Equity Incentives, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 46(3) 657-686.

*Wei, C. and D. Yermack, 2011, Investor Reactions to CEOs’ Inside Debt Incentives, Review of Financial Studies 24, 3813-3840.

Edmans, A. and X. Gabaix, 2011, Tractability in Incentive Contracting, Review of Financial Studies 24(9), 2865-2894.

Recent Research

Anton, M., F. Ederer, M. Gine, and M. Schmalz, 2017, Common Ownership, Competition, and Top Management Incentives, SSRN working paper.

*Armstrong, C., D. Larcker, G. Ormazabal, and D. Taylor, 2013, The relation between equity incentives and misreporting: The role of risk-taking incentives. Journal of Financial Economics, 109(2), 327-350.

Armstrong, C. J. Core and W. Guay, 2016, Why Do CEOs Hold So Much Unconstrained Equity? MIT Working Paper.

Babenko, I, B. Bennett, J. Bizjak and J. Coles, 2017, Clawback Provisions, Arizona State working paper.

Babenko, I. and R. Sen, 2016, Do Non-Executive Employees Have Information? Evidence from Employee Stock Purchase Plans, Management Science, 62 (7), 1878-1898.

*Bates, T., D. Becher and J. Wilson, 2017, Performance-Based Turnover on Corporate Boards, SSRN working paper

Benmelech, E. and C. Frydman, 2015, Military CEOs. Journal of Financial Economics, 117(1), 43-59.

Bereskin, F. And D. Cicero, 2013, CEO Compensation Contagion: Evidence from an Exogenous Shock, Journal of Financial Economics 107(2), 477-493.

*Bernile, G., V. Bhagwat and R. Rau, 2017, What doesn't kill you will only make you more risk-loving: early-life disasters and CEO behaviour, Journal of Finance 72(1), 167–206

Bettis, C., J. Bizjak, J. Coles and S. Kalpathy, 2016, Performance-Vesting Provisions in Executive Compensation, Arizona State working paper.

Bettis, C., J. Bizjak and S. Kalpathy, 2015, Why Do Insiders Hedge their Ownership? An Empirical Examination, Financial Management, 44(3), 655-683.

*Bizjak, J., S. Kalpathy, and V. Mihov, January 2018, Performance Contingencies in CEO Equity Awards and Debt Contracting, working paper, Texas Christian University.

Butler, A. and U. Gurun, 2012, Educational Networks, Mutual Fund Voting Patterns, and CEO Compensation, Review of Financial Studies, 25(8), 2533-2562.

*Chu, J., J. Faasse and R. Rau, 2018, Do compensation consultants enable higher CEO pay? A disclosure rule change as a separating device, Management Science forthcoming

Coles, J., Z. Li and Y. Wang, 2017, Industry Tournament Incentives, Review of Financial Studies, forthcoming.

Coles, J., and Z. Li, 2013, Managerial Attributes, Incentives, and Performance, Arizona State working paper.

Cornaggia, J., K. Cornaggia and H. Xia, 2016, Revolving Doors on Wall Street, Journal of Financial Economics 120(2), 400-419.

Cronqvist, H., A. Makhija, S. Yonker, 2012, Behavioral consistency in corporate finance: CEO personal and corporate leverage. Journal of Financial Economics 103, 20-40.

Cunat, V., M. Gine and M. Guadalupe, 2015, Say Pays! Shareholder Voice and Firm Performance, Review of Finance 1-36.

Custódio, C., M. Ferreira, P. Matos, 2013, Generalists versus specialists: Lifetime work experience and chief executive officer pay, Journal of Financial Economics 108, 471-492.

*Dasgupta, S., A. Wang and X. Li, 2017, Product Market Competition Shocks, Firm Performance, and Forced CEO Turnover, Review of Financial Studies forthcoming.

**Davidson, R., A. Dey, A., Smith, 2015, Executives’ “off-the-job” behavior, corporate culture, and financial reporting risk, Journal of Financial Economics 117(1), 5-28.

Deng, X. and H. Gao, 2013, Nonmonetary Benefits, Quality of Life and Executive Compensation, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 48(1), 197-218.

Edmans, A., V. Fong and K. Lewellen, 2017, Equity Vesting and Investment, Review of Financial Studies 30(7), 2229-2271.

*Edmans, A., V. Fang and A. Hung, 2017, The long-term consequences of short-term incentives, ECGI Working Paper.

*Edmans, A., P. Chaigneau and D. Gottlieb, 2018, Does Improved Information Improve Incentives? Journal of Financial Economics, forthcoming.

*Edmans, A., L. Goncalves-Pinto, M. Groen-Xu, and Y. Wang, 2018, Strategic News Releases in Equity Vesting Months, Review of Financial Studies forthcoming.

Ellul, A., C. Wang and K. Zhang, 2016, Labor unemployment risk and CEO incentive compensation, University of Indiana working paper.

Engelberg, J., P. Gao and C. Parsons, 2013, The Price of a CEO Rolodex, Review of Financial Studies 26(1), 79-114.

**Falato, A., D. Li and T. Milbourn, 2015, Which Skills Matter in the Market for CEOs? Evidence from Pay for CEO Credentials, Management Science 61(12), 2845-2869.

Fee, C., C. Hadlock, J. Pierce, 2013, Managers with and without style: Evidence using exogenous variation, Review of Financial Studies 26, 567-601

*Focke, F., E. Maug, and A. Niessen-Ruenzi, 2017, The Impact of Firm Prestige on Executive Compensation, Journal of Financial Economics, 123(2): 313-336.

Gabaix, X., A. Landier and J. Sauvagnet, 2014, CEO Pay and Firm Size: An Update after the Crisis, The Economic Journal 124, 574 F40-F59.

Gillan, S. L., J.C. Hartzell, A. Koch, A., & L. T. Starks, 2017, Getting the Incentives Right: Backfilling and Biases in Executive Compensation Data. Review of Financial Studies, Forthcoming.

Smith G. and P. Swan, 2014, Concentrated Institutional Investor Really Reduce Executive Compensation While Raising Incentives? Critical Finance Review 3, 49-83.

Gopalan, R., T. Milbourn, F. Song, and A. Thakor, 2014, Duration of Executive Compensation, Journal of Finance 69 (6), 2777–2817.

Graham, J., C. Harvey and M. Puri, 2016, A Corporate Beauty Contest, Management Science, forthcoming.

Gormley, T. and D. Matsa, 2016, Playing It Safe? Managerial Preferences, Risk, and Agency Conflicts, Journal of Financial Economics 122 (3), 431-455.

Gormley, T., D. Matsa and T. Milbourn, 2013, CEO Compensation and Corporate Risk-Taking: Evidence from a Natural Experiment", Journal of Accounting and Economics 56, 79-101.

Hayes, R., M. Lemmon and M. Qiu, 2012, Stock Options and Managerial Incentives for Risk Taking: Evidence from FAS 123R, Journal of Financial Economics 105, 174-190.

Harford, J. and R. Schonlau, 2013, Does the Director Labor Market Offer Ex Post Settling-Up for CEOs? The Case of Acquisitions, Journal of Financial Economics 110(1), 18-36.

Jayaraman S. and T. Milbourn, 2012, The Role of Stock Liquidity in Executive Compensation, The Accounting Review 87(2), 537-564.

Jayaraman S. and T. Milbourn, 2015, CEO Equity Incentives and Financial Misreporting: The Role of Auditor Expertise, The Accounting Review 90(1), 321-350.

Jenter, D., and F. Kanaan, 2015, CEO turnover and relative performance evaluation, Journal of Finance 70 (5), 2155–2184.

Kaplan, S., M. Klebanov, M. Sorensen, 2012, Which CEO characteristics and abilities matter?, Journal of Finance 67, 973-1007.

Kolasinski, A. and X. Li, 2013, Can Strong Boards and Trading Their Own Firm’s Stock Help CEOs Make Better Decisions? Evidence from Acquisitions by Overconfident CEOs, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 48(4), 1173-1206.

*Korczak, P., T. Nguyen, and M. Scapin, December 2017, Banker-Directors and CEO Inside Debt, University of Bristol working paper.

Lee, L., M. Lowry and S. Shu, 2015, Investing in Connections: Corporate Jets and Firm Value, Boston College working paper.

*Lie, E. and K. Yang, January 2018, Import Penetration and Executive Compensation, working paper, University of Iowa.

Lui, P. and Y. Xuan, 2016, The Contract Year Phenomenon in the Corner Office: An Analysis of Firm Behavior during CEO Contract Renewals, SSRN working paper.

*Ma, P., J. Shin, and C. Wang, September 2017, Relative Performance Benchmarks: Do Boards Follow the Informativeness Principle? Working paper, Harvard Business School.

Minnick,K. L., Burns, N., Starks, 2017, L. CEO Tournaments: A Cross-Country Analysis of Causes, Cultural Influences and Consequences, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Forthcoming

Morse, A., V. Nanda and A. Seru, 2011, Are Incentive Contracts Rigged by Powerful CEOs? Journal of Finance 66, 1779-1821.

Pan, Y., T. Y. Wang, and M. S. Weisbach. 2015. Learning about CEO ability and stock return volatility, Review of Financial Studies 28(6), 1623-1666.

*Pan, Y., T. Y. Wang, and M. S. Weisbach, 2016, CEO Investment Cycles, Review of Financial Studies 29, 2955-2999.

Peters, F. and A. Wagner, 2014, The Executive Turnover Risk Premium, Journal of Finance 69 (4), 1529-1563.

Sen, R. and R. Tumarkin, 2016, Stocking Up: Executive Optimism and Share Retention, Journal of Financial Economics 118(2), 399-430.

Shue, K. 2013, Executive networks and firm policies: evidence from the random assignment of MBA peers, Review of Financial Studies 26, 1401-1442.

Shue, K., and R. Townsend, 2016, Growth through Rigidity: Understanding Recent Trends in Executive Compensation, Journal of Financial Economics, 123(1), 1-21.

Shue, K., & R. Townsend, 2017, How do quasi-random option grants affect CEO risk-taking? (No. w23091). National Bureau of Economic Research working paper.

6. Course Evaluation & Development

Feedback is regularly sought from students and continual improvements are made based on this feedback. At the end of this course, you will be asked to complete the myExperience survey, which provides a key source of student evaluative feedback. Your input into this quality enhancement process is extremely valuable in assisting us to meet the needs of our students and provide an effective and enriching learning experience. The results of all surveys are carefully considered and do lead to action towards enhancing educational quality.

The current course format is influenced by versions of this course taught in previous years. In previous years, negative comments generally related to the quantity of reading material, and the need to give students more hands-on practices. Positive comments on undertaking a group project were noted, as were comments that suggested a less 'academic' research project. This encouraged the move toward a case study and pitch-book mode of assessment as well as the inclusion of the M&A simulation game. [These comments pertain to the M&A course where I am responsible for some lectures.]

7. Course Schedule

Note: for more information on the UNSW academic calendar and key dates including study period, exam, supplementary exam and result release, please visit: https://student.unsw.edu.au/new-calendar-dates

Week	Activity	Topic	Assessment/Other
Week 1: 17 September	Lecture	Overview of Corporate Governance Mechanisms and Theoretical Background	Class participation
Week 2: 24 September	Lecture	Endogeneity & Natural Experiments	Class Discussion
Week 3: 1 October	Lecture	Matching Methods & Diff-in-Diff & Discontinuity Design Regression (DDR)	Class Discussion
Week 4: 8 October	Lecture	Boards of Directors: Overview & Early Studies	Class Discussion HW Assignment
Week 5: 10 October - Replacement Class	Lecture	Boards of Directors: Recent Literature	Presentations/Critiques and Class Discussion
Week 6: 15 October	Critiques of Articles	Boards of Directors - Recent Literature	Presentations/Critiques and Class Discussion
Week 7: 22 October	Critiques of Articles	Boards of Directors - Recent Literature	Presentations/Critiques and Class Discussion
Week 8: 5 November	Lecture	Overview of Executive Incentives	Class Discussion HW Assignment
Week 9: 12 November	Critiques of Articles	Executive Incentives - Recent Literature	Presentations/Critiques and Class Discussion
Week 10: 19 November	Critiques of Articles	Executive Incentives - Recent Literature	Presentations/Critiques and Class Discussion
Week 11: 24 September - iLab	iLab: Practice Accessing Databases	Corporate Governance Databases	Class Participation Practice Assignment
Week 12: 1 October - iLab	iLab: Practice Accessing Databases	Corporate Governance Databases (continued)	Class Participation and Practice Assignmet
Week 13: 8 October	Term Paper	Work on Course Research Paper	Research Paper

8. Policies and Support

Information about UNSW Business School protocols, University policies, student responsibilities and education quality and support.

Program Learning Outcomes

The Business School places knowledge and capabilities at the core of its curriculum via seven Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs). These PLOs are systematically embedded and developed across the duration of all coursework programs in the Business School.

PLOs embody the knowledge, skills and capabilities that are taught, practised and assessed within each Business School program. They articulate what you should know and be able to do upon successful completion of your degree.

Upon graduation, you should have a high level of specialised business knowledge and capacity for responsible business thinking, underpinned by ethical professional practice. You should be able to harness, manage and communicate business information effectively and work collaboratively with others. You should be an experienced problem-solver and critical thinker, with a global perspective, cultural competence and the potential for innovative leadership.

All UNSW programs and courses are designed to assess the attainment of program and/or course level learning outcomes, as required by the UNSW Assessment Design Procedure. It is important that you become familiar with the Business School PLOs, as they constitute the framework which informs and shapes the components and assessments of the courses within your program of study.

PLO 1: Business knowledge

Students will make informed and effective selection and application of knowledge in a discipline or profession, in the contexts of local and global business.

PLO 2: Problem solving

Students will define and address business problems, and propose effective evidence-based solutions, through the application of rigorous analysis and critical thinking.

PLO 3: Business communication

Students will harness, manage and communicate business information effectively using multiple forms of communication across different channels.

PLO 4: Teamwork

Students will interact and collaborate effectively with others to achieve a common business purpose or fulfil a common business project, and reflect critically on the process and the outcomes.

PLO 5: Responsible business practice

Students will develop and be committed to responsible business thinking and approaches, which are underpinned by ethical professional practice and sustainability considerations.

PLO 6: Global and cultural competence

Students will be aware of business systems in the wider world and actively committed to recognise and respect the cultural norms, beliefs and values of others, and will apply this knowledge to interact, communicate and work effectively in diverse environments.

PLO 7: Leadership development

Students will develop the capacity to take initiative, encourage forward thinking and bring about innovation, while effectively influencing others to achieve desired results.

These PLOs relate to undergraduate and postgraduate coursework programs. Separate PLOs for honours and postgraduate research programs are included under 'Related Documents'.

Business School course outlines provide detailed information for students on how the course learning outcomes, learning activities, and assessment/s contribute to the development of Program Learning Outcomes.

UNSW Graduate Capabilities

The Business School PLOs also incorporate UNSW graduate capabilities, a set of generic abilities and skills that all students are expected to achieve by graduation. These capabilities articulate the University’s institutional values, as well as future employer expectations.

UNSW Graduate Capabilities	Business School PLOs
Scholars capable of independent and collaborative enquiry, rigorous in their analysis, critique and reflection, and able to innovate by applying their knowledge and skills to the solution of novel as well as routine problems.	PLO 1: Business knowledge PLO 2: Problem solving PLO 3: Business communication PLO 4: Teamwork PLO 7: Leadership development
Entrepreneurial leaders capable of initiating and embracing innovation and change, as well as engaging and enabling others to contribute to change	PLO 1: Business knowledge PLO 2: Problem solving PLO 3: Business communication PLO 4: Teamwork PLO 6: Global and cultural competence PLO 7: Leadership development
Professionals capable of ethical, self-directed practice and independent lifelong learning	PLO 1: Business knowledge PLO 2: Problem solving PLO 3: Business communication PLO 5: Responsible business practice
Global citizens who are culturally adept and capable of respecting diversity and acting in a socially just and responsible way.	PLO 1: Business knowledge PLO 2: Problem solving PLO 3: Business communication PLO 4: Teamwork PLO 5: Responsible business practice PLO 6: Global and cultural competence

While our programs are designed to provide coverage of all PLOs and graduate capabilities, they also provide you with a great deal of choice and flexibility. The Business School strongly advises you to choose a range of courses that assist your development against the seven PLOs and four graduate capabilities, and to keep a record of your achievements as part of your portfolio. You can use a portfolio as evidence in employment applications as well as a reference for work or further study. For support with selecting your courses contact the UNSW Business School Student Centre.

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism

Academic Integrity is honest and responsible scholarship. This form of ethical scholarship is highly valued at UNSW. Terms like Academic Integrity, misconduct, referencing, conventions, plagiarism, academic practices, citations and evidence based learning are all considered basic concepts that successful university students understand. Learning how to communicate original ideas, refer sources, work independently, and report results accurately and honestly are skills that you will be able to carry beyond your studies.

The definition of academic misconduct is broad. It covers practices such as cheating, copying and using another person’s work without appropriate acknowledgement. Incidents of academic misconduct may have serious consequences for students.

Plagiarism

UNSW regards plagiarism as a form of academic misconduct. UNSW has very strict rules regarding plagiarism. Plagiarism at UNSW is using the words or ideas of others and passing them off as your own. All Schools in the Business School have a Student Ethics Officer who will investigate incidents of plagiarism and may result in a student’s name being placed on the Plagiarism and Student Misconduct Registers.

Below are examples of plagiarism including self-plagiarism:

Copying: Using the same or very similar words to the original text or idea without acknowledging the source or using quotation marks. This includes copying materials, ideas or concepts from a book, article, report or other written document, presentation, composition, artwork, design, drawing, circuitry, computer program or software, website, internet, other electronic resource, or another person's assignment, without appropriate acknowledgement of authorship.

Inappropriate Paraphrasing: Changing a few words and phrases while mostly retaining the original structure and/or progression of ideas of the original, and information without acknowledgement. This also applies in presentations where someone paraphrases another’s ideas or words without credit and to piecing together quotes and paraphrases into a new whole, without appropriate referencing.

Collusion: Presenting work as independent work when it has been produced in whole or part in collusion with other people. Collusion includes:

Students providing their work to another student before the due date, or for the purpose of them plagiarising at any time
Paying another person to perform an academic task and passing it off as your own
Stealing or acquiring another person’s academic work and copying it
Offering to complete another person’s work or seeking payment for completing academic work

Collusion should not be confused with academic collaboration (i.e., shared contribution towards a group task).

Inappropriate Citation: Citing sources which have not been read, without acknowledging the 'secondary' source from which knowledge of them has been obtained.

Self-Plagiarism: ‘Self-plagiarism’ occurs where an author republishes their own previously written work and presents it as new findings without referencing the earlier work, either in its entirety or partially. Self-plagiarism is also referred to as 'recycling', 'duplication', or 'multiple submissions of research findings' without disclosure. In the student context, self-plagiarism includes re-using parts of, or all of, a body of work that has already been submitted for assessment without proper citation.

To see if you understand plagiarism, do this short quiz: https://student.unsw.edu.au/plagiarism-quiz

Cheating

The University also regards cheating as a form of academic misconduct. Cheating is knowingly submitting the work of others as their own and includes contract cheating (work produced by an external agent or third party that is submitted under the pretences of being a student’s original piece of work). Cheating is not acceptable at UNSW.

If you need to revise or clarify any terms associated with academic integrity you should explore the 'Working with Academic Integrity' self-paced lessons available at: https://student.unsw.edu.au/aim.

For UNSW policies, penalties, and information to help you avoid plagiarism see: https://student.unsw.edu.au/plagiarism as well as the guidelines in the online ELISE tutorials for all new UNSW students: http://subjectguides.library.unsw.edu.au/elise. For information on student conduct see: https://student.unsw.edu.au/conduct.

For information on how to acknowledge your sources and reference correctly, see: https://student.unsw.edu.au/referencing. If you are unsure what referencing style to use in this course, you should ask the lecturer in charge.

Student Responsibilities and Conduct

Students are expected to be familiar with and adhere to university policies in relation to class attendance and general conduct and behaviour, including maintaining a safe, respectful environment; and to understand their obligations in relation to workload, assessment and keeping informed.

Information and policies on these topics can be found on the 'Managing your Program' website.

Workload

It is expected that you will spend at least ten to twelve hours per week studying for a course except for Summer Term courses which have a minimum weekly workload of twenty to twenty four hours. This time should be made up of reading, research, working on exercises and problems, online activities and attending classes. In periods where you need to complete assignments or prepare for examinations, the workload may be greater. Over-commitment has been a cause of failure for many students. You should take the required workload into account when planning how to balance study with employment and other activities.

We strongly encourage you to connect with your Moodle course websites in the first week of semester. Local and international research indicates that students who engage early and often with their course website are more likely to pass their course.

View more information on expected workload

Attendance

Your regular and punctual attendance at lectures and seminars or in online learning activities is expected in this course. The Business School reserves the right to refuse final assessment to those students who attend less than 80% of scheduled classes where attendance and participation is required as part of the learning process (e.g., tutorials, flipped classroom sessions, seminars, labs, etc.).

View more information on attendance

General Conduct and Behaviour

You are expected to conduct yourself with consideration and respect for the needs of your fellow students and teaching staff. Conduct which unduly disrupts or interferes with a class, such as ringing or talking on mobile phones, is not acceptable and students may be asked to leave the class.

View more information on student conduct

Health and Safety

UNSW Policy requires each person to work safely and responsibly, in order to avoid personal injury and to protect the safety of others.

View more information on Health and Safety

Keeping Informed

You should take note of all announcements made in lectures, tutorials or on the course web site. From time to time, the University will send important announcements to your university e-mail address without providing you with a paper copy. You will be deemed to have received this information. It is also your responsibility to keep the University informed of all changes to your contact details.

Student Support and Resources

The University and the Business School provide a wide range of support services and resources for students, including:

Business School EQS Consultation Program
The Consultation Program offers academic writing, literacy and numeracy consultations, study skills, exam preparation for Business students. Services include workshops, online resources, individual and group consultations.
Level 1, Room 1035, Quadrangle Building.
BUS.EQS.Consultations@unsw.edu.au
02 9385 4508

Communication Resources
The Business School Communication and Academic Support programs provide online modules, communication workshops and additional online resources to assist you in developing your academic writing.

Business School Student Centre
The Business School Student Centre provides advice and direction on all aspects of admission, enrolment and graduation.
Level 1, Room 1028 in the Quadrangle Building
02 9385 3189

UNSW Learning Centre
The UNSW Learning Centre provides academic skills support services, including workshops and resources, for all UNSW students. See their website for details.
Lower Ground Floor, North Wing Chancellery Building.
learningcentre@unsw.edu.au
02 9385 2060

Educational Support Service
Educational Support Advisors work with all students to promote the development of skills needed to succeed at university, whilst also providing personal support throughout the process. Check their website to request an appointment or to register in the Academic Success Program.
John Goodsell Building, Ground Floor.
advisors@unsw.edu.au
02 9385 4734

Library services and facilities for students
The UNSW Library offers a range of collections, services and facilities both on-campus and online.
Main Library, F21.
02 9385 2650

Moodle eLearning Support
Moodle is the University’s learning management system. You should ensure that you log into Moodle regularly.
externalteltsupport@unsw.edu.au
02 9385 3331

UNSW IT
UNSW IT provides support and services for students such as password access, email services, wireless services and technical support.
UNSW Library Annexe (Ground floor).
itservicecentre@unsw.edu.au
02 9385 1333

Disability Support Services
UNSW Disability Support Services provides assistance to students who are trying to manage the demands of university as well as a health condition, learning disability or who have personal circumstances that are having an impact on their studies. Disability Advisers can arrange to put in place services and educational adjustments to make things more manageable so that students are able to complete their course requirements. To receive educational adjustments for disability support, students must first register with Disability Services.
Ground Floor, John Goodsell Building.
disabilities@unsw.edu.au
02 9385 4734

UNSW Counselling and Psychological Services
Provides support and services if you need help with your personal life, getting your academic life back on track or just want to know how to stay safe, including free, confidential counselling.
Level 2, East Wing, Quadrangle Building.
counselling@unsw.edu.au
02 9385 5418

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1. Course Details

Summary of Course

Teaching Times and Locations

Course Policies & Support

Course Aims and Relationship to Other Courses

Student Learning Outcomes

2. Staff Contact Details

3. Learning and Teaching Activities

Approach to Learning and Teaching in the Course

Learning Activities and Teaching Strategies

​Weekly Class Activities:

Beyond the classroom:

4. Assessment

Formal Requirements

Assessment Structure

Assessment Summary

Class Participation and Analysis (25%)

Assignment Submission Procedure

Assessment Feedback

Special Consideration

Protocol for Viewing Final Exam Scripts

Quality Assurance

5. Course Resources

Course Outline – required and recommended readings

Background Reading Prior to First Class

Research Strategies & Corporate Finance Paradigms

Methodological Approaches in Corp. Governance I – Endogeneity & Natural Experiments

Methodological Approaches in Corp. Governance II – Matching Methods & DID

Methodological Approaches in Corporate Governance III – DDR

Corporate Decisions & Boards of Directors

Recent Research

Managers Incentives - Overview

Managers Incentives - Corporate Decisions & Risk-taking

Recent Research

6. Course Evaluation & Development

7. Course Schedule

8. Policies and Support

RELATED DOCUMENTS

UNSW Graduate Capabilities

Plagiarism

Cheating

Workload

Attendance

General Conduct and Behaviour

Health and Safety

Keeping Informed

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Weekly Class Activities: