BUS-F 635 Empirical Corporate Finance

• 15 weeks
• 3 credits
• Prerequisite(s): BUS-F600

Course objective

The objective of this course is to provide students with a solid background in empirical corporate finance and an understanding of key aspects of empirical research design. We will start by discussing the methods and techniques used in the field of empirical corporate finance. We will proceed with a detailed discussion of the various themes in corporate finance.
An understanding of corporate finance theory is essential, as tests are often informed and motivated by it. Both research design and econometric tools will be presented in the context of a paper or series of papers. Applied methods will be covered along with corporate finance topics.
Classes will discuss how different areas in the literature have developed and use these examples to help students understand how research questions are developed and executed.

Subjects covered

• Different econometric methods used in corporate finance: their advantages, costs and limitations
• Firms’ financial constraints: concepts and measurements
• Firms’ financial constraints and their impacts on corporate investments and human capital
• Institutional Investors and how they affect corporate governance and corporate performance
• Hedge fund activism
• Entrepreneurial finance
• Private equity and venture capital
• Labor, finance and inequality
• Various issues in firms’ investments in Corporate Social Responsibility