Steven R. Cox

The source of value of voting rights and related dividend promises

Abstract This paper examines the relative share pricing of 98 firms with two classes of common stock trading in the United States from 1984 to 1999. The firms feature common stock classes with differential voting rights and, in some cases, differential rights to dividends. The observed voting premiums are higher than those reported in previous studies of U.S. firms and are dependent on the form of dividend promise to the low-vote shareholder. The voting premium is higher in the presence of a control threat, when insiders do not hold controlling voting power, and during periods of poor firm performance.

Are Business and Economics Students Taught to Be Noncooperative

Abstract Students of business management and economics are taught, in part, to be motivated by profits and self-interest. As a result, students who major in business and economics might be expected to exhibit greater levels of noncooperative behavior. In this article, we examine the relationship between the choice of academic major and cooperative behavior, by investigating whether students with certain tendencies toward cooperation self-select to specific disciplines or whether the tendencies develop as the students progress through their course of study.

Initial public offerings by mutual thrifts: The regulatory impact

This study analyzes the abnormal returns from a sample of 311 mutual thrift IPOs to investigate the presence of deliberate underpricing and to measure the impact of the changing regulatory environment. The large initial returns are maintained over the following year, indicating deliberate underpricing. Cross-sectional regressions show that the adjusted returns are positively related to the percentage of insiders participating in the IPO and to the size of the conversion. The adjusted returns significantly decrease after regulations are tightened, and there is a rapid rise in adjusted returns when uncertainty is introduced relating to the actual impact of these regulations. (JEL G280)