Stephan Hollander

• Tilburg University

We propose a text‐based method for measuring the cross‐border propagation of large shocks at the firm level. We apply this method to estimate the expected costs, benefits, and risks of Brexit and find widespread reverberations in listed firms in 81 countries. International (i.e., non‐U.K.) firms most exposed to Brexit uncertainty (the second moment...

We construct text-based measures of the primary concerns listed firms associated with the spread of COVID-19 and other epidemic diseases. We identify which firms perceive to lose or gain from a given epidemic and textually decompose the epidemic’s effect on the firm’s demand and supply. We find that the effects of COVID-19 manifest as a simultaneou...

Using tools described in our earlier work (Hassan et al., 2019, 2020), we develop text- based measures of the costs, benefits, and risks listed firms in the US and over 80 other countries associate with the spread of Covid-19 and other epidemic diseases. We identify which firms expect to gain or lose from an epidemic disease and which are most affe...

Using tools from computational linguistics, we construct new measures of the impact of Brexit on listed firms in the United States and around the world: the share of discussions in quarterly earnings conference calls on costs, benefits, and risks associated with the UK’s intention to leave the EU. Using this approach, we identify which firms expect...

We adapt simple tools from computational linguistics to construct a new measure of political risk faced by individual U.S. firms: the share of their quarterly earnings conference calls that they devote to political risks. We validate our measure by showing that it correctly identifies calls containing extensive conversations on risks that are polit...

Firms often include summaries with earnings releases. However, manager-generated summaries may be prone to strategic tone and content management, compared to the underlying disclosures they summarize. In contrast, computer algorithms can summarize text without human intervention and may provide useful summary information with less bias. We use mult...

How do the distance constraints faced by lenders in acquiring borrower information affect the design of bank loan contracts? Theoretical studies posit that greater information asymmetry leads to the allocation of stronger ex ante decision rights to the lender (the uninformed party). Consistent with this hypothesis, we find that, upon inception, con...

We document economically significant indirect costs of providing conference calls — increase in information asymmetry and more negative immediate market reaction — when managers fail to elicit questions during the calls’ question-and-answer (Q&A) session. We establish this result by focusing on earnings calls where managers fetch either zero questi...

This study explores the implications of using spatially aggregated data when testing for supplier differentiation in the market for audit services. I present a statistical model that identifies the nature and sources of aggregation bias when important variation exists within aggregate units, and then subject it to empirical analysis. I find, as pre...

How do the distance constraints lenders face in monitoring debt agreements affect the contracting role of debt covenants? Theoretical studies posit that physical distance erodes lenders’ ability to monitor their borrowers. We argue that debt covenants are a key mechanism for resolving contracting frictions of this type. Consistent with this conject...

ABSTRACT In this paper, we exploit the open nature of conference calls to explore whether managers withhold information from the investing public. Our evidence suggests that managers regularly leave participants on the conference call in the dark by not answering their questions. We find that the best predictors of such an event are firm size, a CE...

We examine whether the equity ownership in financial institutions held by members of the U.S. Congress is associated with these institutions receiving government support under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). We find that the equity ownership of members of the House of Representatives, but not the Senate, is positively associated with voti...