Do progressive social norms affect economic outcomes? Evidence from corporate takeovers

Yangyang Chen, Edward Podolski, S. Ghon Rhee and Madhu Veeraraghavan

Journal of Empirical Finance, 2017, vol. 41, issue C, 76-95

Abstract: This paper investigates how religion-induced attitudes toward change and diversity affect corporate acquisition decisions. By studying the variation in religious adherence across U.S. counties, we find that acquirer announcement returns and total synergy are larger in counties in which progressive religious denominations are popular. In contrast, conservative religious denominations affect neither acquirer announcement returns nor total synergies. Our evidence indicates that religion-induced social norms are an important driver of large corporate transactions, while various religious denominations affect corporate outcomes differently.

Keywords: Religion; Corporate takeovers; Mainline Protestants; Behavioral finance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G32 G34 Z1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:empfin:v:41:y:2017:i:c:p:76-95

DOI: 10.1016/j.jempfin.2017.01.003

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