题　目：The Fear of Divorce: The Unintended Consequence of Unilateral Divorce Laws on Corporate Innovation

嘉　宾：吴强 教授 香港理工大学会计与金融学院

主持人：幸婧 副教授 上海交通大学安泰经济与管理学院

时　间：2024年5月9日（周四）10:00-11:30

地　点：上海交通大学 徐汇校区安泰楼A507室

内容简介:

Unilateral divorce laws (UDLs) are designed to increase the ease of divorce by eliminating the need for consent from both partners. Such laws lead to an increase in individuals’ perceived risk of divorce and loss of wealth, especially for those who are the primary financial contributors within a family. Using state-level variation in the timing and adoption of these divorce laws in the United States, we investigate whether and how UDLs affect corporate risk-taking behaviors, with a focus on innovation. Our results suggest that firms generate fewer patents after the enactment of UDLs. This effect is more pronounced in states with a higher property loss risk and divorce probability, consistent with the idea that individuals’ higher risk of wealth loss discourages them from engaging in innovative activities. Further analysis reveals that there is a decline in research and development investment, along with a decrease in innovation efficiency and productivity after the passage of UDLs, suggesting that the reduced innovation can be attributed to both corporate managers and inventors. Overall, our findings shed new light on the impact of family laws on corporate behavior through the lens of individuals’ risk-taking incentives and working efforts.

演讲人简介：

吴强教授是香港理工大学会计与金融学院主管研究的院副主任,院学术委员会主任，ESG和可持续发展中心常务主任，ESG硕士项目主管。吴教授的研究方向包括ESG,企业社会责任、公司避税、公司治理、债务契约、数字经济，和创新等。他发表了60多篇国际论文，其中13篇发表在《金融时报》（Financial Times Top 50）国际顶级期刊上，包括会计研究杂志（Journal of Accounting Research）、会计评论（The Accounting Review）、金融经济学杂志 (Journal of Financial Economics)、金融和定量分析杂志 (Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis)、当代会计研究 (Contemporary Accounting Research)，商业伦理杂志(Journal of Business Ethics), 和研究政策（Research Policy）。吴教授的著作被学术界引用7000 次。 吴教授的著作也被彭博社、路透社、道琼斯通讯社、CNBC、WAMC、AICPA、Accounting Today、AAA、CFO Magazine、Catalyst、Bankrate 等主要商业媒体广泛引用。吴教授在美国和香港的大学指导过近30名博士研究生/博士后。吴教授在多个国际会计和金融期刊担任总编辑，编辑，和副主编。

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