Home > Academic Departments > Finance > Journal of Corporate Finance Special Issue Conference 2025
Information, Contracts and Firms
June 12-13, 2025
Bocconi University, Milan, Italy

The conference, hosted by the BAFFI CAREFIN Center at Bocconi University, brings together top academics to explore how information and contracts shape firms. The event features keynote speakers, panel discussions and paper sessions, offering attendees opportunities for networking, idea exchange and meaningful dialogue.

Call for Papers

The center and the Journal of Corporate Finance invite paper submissions for the conference. Some example topics for the Journal of Corporate Finance Special Issue (JCFSI) include:

  • Fraud and corruption
  • The structure of financing
  • Contracts and firm value
  • Contracting and incentives
  • The role of information and contracts for other key stakeholders (such as employees, customers, or suppliers)
  • The role of information intermediaries
  • How firms determine their disclosure policies, particularly in regard to forming contracts with other parties
  • The impact of big data on corporate contracts

The conference has two paper submission tracks:

  • The conference-track accepts paper submissions only for conference presentations
  • The dual-track accepts paper submissions for both conference presentation and consideration for the Journal of Corporate Finance Special Issue.

Submissions will open soon.
Submissions can made until November 18, 2024, at midnight CST

Submit Paper

  • Audra Boone, Texas Christian University and ECGI
  • Bruce Carlin, Rice University and NBER
  • Emanuele Colonnelli, University of Chicago, CEPR, and NBER
  • Tony Cookson, University of Colorado
  • Jason Donaldson, University of Southern California and CEPR
  • Massimo Guidolin, Bocconi University
  • Alberto Manconi, Bocconi University and CEPR
  • Milena Petrova, Bocconi University and Syracuse University
  • Giorgia Piacentino, University of Southern California, CEPR, and NBER
  • Matt Ringgenberg, University of Utah
  • Merih Sevilir, ESMT Berlin and Halle Institute for Economic Research and ECGI
  • The JCF Editorial Team including Editors in Chief, Heitor Almeida and Kristine W. Hankins
  • Pat Akey, University of Toronto/INSEAD and ECGI
  • Nihat Aktas, WHU
  • Ian Appel, University of Virginia and ECGI
  • Tom Bates, Arizona State University
  • Bo Becker, Stockholm School of Economics, ECGI, and CEPR
  • Alice Bonaime, University of Arizona
  • Jonathan Cohn, University of Texas at Austin
  • Joan Farre-Mensa, University of Illinois at Chicago
  • Eli Fich, Drexel University and ECGI
  • Nick Gantchev, Warwick University, ECGI, and CEPR
  • Stu Gillan, University of North Texas
  • Brett Green, Washington University St Louis
  • Jack He, University of Georgia
  • Davidson Heath, University of Utah
  • Rawley Heimer, Arizona State University
  • Christoph Herpfer, University of Virginia
  • Jerry Hoberg, University of Southern California
  • Sterling Huang, NYU Shanghai
  • Ryan Israelsen, Michigan State University
  • Jessica Jeffers, HEC Paris and CEPR
  • Sandy Klasa, University of Arizona
  • Naz Koont, Stanford University
  • Filippo Mezzanotti, Northwestern, and NBER
  • Jordan Nickerson, University of Washington
  • Adriano Rampini, Duke University, CEPR, and NBER
  • Jörg Rocholl, ESMT Berlin and CEPR
  • Farzad Saidi, University of Bonn and CEPR
  • Christoph Schiller, Ohio State University
  • Philip Valta, University of Bern
  • Victoria Vanasco, Centre de Recerca en Economia International and CEPR
  • Malcolm Wardlaw, University of Georgia
  • Constantine Yannelis, University of Cambridge
Mike Ewens Mike Ewens, David L. and Elsie M. Dodd Professor of Finance, Columbia University

Thursday, June 12
8:45 - 9:00 am Welcome: Conference Chair Audra Boone (TCU)
9:00 - 10:20 am Session 1 JCF Special Issue Session
Chair: Kam-Ming Wan (Hanken)

Shareholder Empowerment and Ownership Structure in a Free-contracting Environment
Mike Burkart, Salvatore Miglietta, and Charlotte Ostergaard
Discussant: John Barry (Rice)

When Trust Breaks: Academic Misconduct, Innovation Networks, and Capital Discrimination
Jianxiang Hou, Kebin Wang, and Tian Wu
Discussant: Tracy Wang (Minnesota)

The Firm as a Knowledge Aggregator
Jiasun Li
Discussant: Simona Abis (Colorado)
10:40 am - 12:00 pm Session 2 (Two Concurrent Sessions)
  Session 2A
Chair: Kristine Hankins (Kentucky)

The Consequences of Index Investing on Managerial Incentives
George Nurisso
Discussand: Alberto Manconi (Bocconi)

The Economics of Investor Engagement
Davidson Heath, Daniele Macciocchi, and Matthew Ringgenbert
Discussant: Ian Appel (UVA)

Value-Destroying Activism
Dongliang Lu
Discussant: Paul Voss (HEC Paris)
  Session 2B
Chair: Morten Bennedsen

Beyond ESG: Executive Pay Metrics and Shareholder Support
Nickolay Gantchev, Mariassunta Giannetti, and Marcus Hober
Discussant: Sterling Huang (NYU Shanghai)

On a Spending Spree: The Real Effects of Heuristics in Managerial Budgets
Paul Decaire and Denis Sosyura
Discussant: Oliver Dessaint (INSEAD)

Race, Gender, and Employee Turnover: Evidence from Mergers and Acquisitions
Rui Dai, Tingting Liu, and Cong Roman Wang
Discussant: Merih Sevilir (ESMT)
12:00-1:30 pm Lunch
Keynote: Mike Ewens (Columbia)
1:30 - 2:50 pm Session 3 (Two Concurrent Sessions)
  Session 3A
Chair: Tony Cookson (Colorado)

Collateralized Loan Obligations as Fire-Sale Insulation
Will Diamond, Luigi Falasconi, and Clara Xu
Discussant: Cecilia Parlatore (NYU)

Banking on Deposit Relationships: Implications for Hold-Up Problems in the Loan Market
Jin Cao, Emilia Garcia-Appendini, and Cédric Huylebroek
Discussant: Heitor Almeida (UIUC)

Data as Collateral: Open Banking for Small Business Lending
Tong Yu
Discussant: Adriano Rampini (Duke)
  Session 3B
Chair: Milena Petrova (Bocconi/Syracuse)

Contract Rigidity in Municipal Financing and Monetary Policy Transmission to the Real Economy
Igor Cunha and Michael Varley
Discussant: Ryan Israelsen (Michigan State)

Kamikazes in Public Procurements: Bid-rigging and Real Non-market Outcomes
Dimas Fazio and Alminas Zaldokas
Discussant: Martin Schmalz (Oxford)

Financial Innovation, Investor ESG Preferences, and the Cost of Public Financing
Daniel Garrett, Brian Gibbons, and Mahdi Shahrabi
Discussant: Igor Cunha  (Kentucky)
3:10 - 4:25 pm Panel 1: Collateralizing Intangible Assets Jason Donaldson (USC), Jan Eberly (Northwestern), Giorgia Piacentino (USC), and Adriano Rampini (Duke)

Friday
9:00 - 10:20 am Session 4: JCF Special Issue Session
Chair: Simi Kedia (Rutgers)

Insider Trading with Options
Matteo Vacca
Discussant: Pat Akey (INSEAD)

The Real Cost of Readability: Market and Real Efficiency in the Age of Machine Reading
Wei Li, Yun Shi, and Shijie Zeng
Discussant: Nicola Limodio (Bocconi)

The Bright Side of Regulatory Fragmentation: Evidence from Stock Price Crash Risk
Ming Gu, Dongxu Li, and Zhitao Xiong
Discussant: Philip Valta (Bern)
10:20 - 10:45 am Coffee Break
10:45 am - 12:00 pm Panel 2: The Changing Information Environment Tony Cookson (Colorado), Laurent Fresard (USI, SFI), and Ryan Israelsen (Michigan State)
12:00 - 1:00 pm Lunch
1:00-2:00 pm Session 5 (Two Concurrent Sessions)
  Session 5A
Chair: Heitor Almeida (UIUC)

Contract Completeness of Company Bylaws and Entrepreneurial Success
Paul Beaumon, Johan Hombert, and Adrien Matray
Discussant: Bo Bian (University of British Columbia)

How Do Venture Capitalists (Actually) Make Decisions? Internal Evidence from a Private Start-up Accelerator
Tristan Fitzgerald and Korok Ray
Discussant: Juanita Gonzalez-Uribe (London School of Economics)

Revolving Credit to SMEs: The Role of Business Credit Cards
Matteo Benetton and Greg Buchak
Discussant: Matt Denes (Carnegie Mellon)
  Session 5B
Chair: Alminas Zaldokas (NUS)

Borrowers in the Shadows: The Promise and Pitfalls of Alternative Credit Data
Mark Jansen, Sam Kruger, Gonzalo Maturana, and Amin Shams
Discussant: Erik Mayer (Wisconsin)

Corporate Social Responsibility in Supply Chains: Evidence from Conflict Minerals Disclosure
Jiaying Li, Samuel Piotrowski, and Karin Thorburn
Discussant: Hannes Wagner (Bocconi)

Beyond the Fundamentals: How Media-Driven Narratives Influence Cross-Border Capital Flows
Wentong Chen, Isha Agarwal, and Eswar Prasad
Discussant: Shimon Kogan (Reichman / Wharton)
Information coming soon.