This paper examines the impact of political connections (i.e., lobbying and contributions) on time it takes to detect corporate misconduct size penalties following securities class actions (SCAs), restatements Accounting Auditing Enforcement Releases (AAERs). We find firms with exhibit longer periods for SCAs, such ability conceal translates into a larger settlement size. In addition, we politi...

What role does political influence play in access to finance? Does this role differ across markets? Using a comprehensive cross-country dataset, I characterize how and why domestic political connections affect firms’ propensities to cross-list securities abroad. Connected firms have better access to foreign capital markets; moreover, the effect of connections is magnified for firms located in c...

Despite increasingly large scale social protection programmes in Africa, we have limited evidence on the political economy processes involved. We investigate community-based processes for food aid allocation and the role of political and social networks, using the case of Ethiopia in the aftermath of a serious drought. Local political authorities are in charge of food transfers, in terms of fre...