Finance Seminar（2017-24）

Topic: How do the CEO political leanings affect REIT business decisions?

Speaker: Xiaoying Deng, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics

Time: Friday, 22 December, 11:30-13:00

Place: Room 217, Guanghua Building 2

Abstract:

Business decisions made by the real estate industry can have a profound effect on the well- being of people who live, work, or shop in these buildings. While these decisions may be informed by evidence, the available evidence is often incomplete, unrepresentative or otherwise less than ideal. Therefore, the personal opinions or judgments of senior executives can have an effect. In this paper, we study these effects in two parts: risk-taking and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities. Since political opinion is a relatively stable measure, which is also associated with preferences for risk and CSR, we examine how the political leanings of the CEOs are related to these effects. Based on the data from 1999 to 2013, we find that Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) with Democrat-leaning CEOs tend to take more risks, as evidenced by higher levels of leverage, more capital expenditures and risky investments. We further find that politically active CEOs are more broadly engaged in different types of CSR activities.

Introduction:

邓筱莹，2010年本科毕业于西南财经大学，2014年获新加坡国立大学地产金融博士学位，现为上海财经大学房地产学与金融学助理教授。主持国家自科基金青年项目。主要研究领域为房地产金融,公司金融，家庭金融,金融中介,她的研究成果发表于Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics等国际期刊。

Your participation is warmly welcomed!