Working Papers

Job Market Paper: The Flight of Scientific Talent: Financial Distress and Knowledge Spillovers

With Jing (Sophia) Xue

We study how financial distress affects the reallocation of scientific human capital and innovation beyond distressed firms. Combining confidential U.S. Census employer–employee records with firm financial information, R&D surveys, and inventor-level patent data, we find that firms facing greater refinancing pressure disproportionately lose scientifically oriented inventors. At potential destination firms, incumbent inventors with greater predetermined exposure to reallocating scientific talent, based on geographic proximity and technological similarity, exhibit higher subsequent patent productivity. The increase in patenting is disproportionately concentrated in inventions citing knowledge developed by scientifically oriented inventors at financially vulnerable firms. Greater exposure is also associated with increased science-linked patenting, particularly among development-oriented incumbent inventors. Together, our findings suggest that financial distress reshapes the allocation of scientific expertise across firms, facilitating the diffusion and application of scientific knowledge in subsequent innovation.

When Debt Relief Hits Main Street: Evidence from Consumer Credit Channel

Solo author

Using administrative Census data, this paper investigates how weakened creditor protections, designed to offer consumer debt relief, create unintended economic spillovers by restricting consumer credit access. Leveraging staggered adoptions of third-party debt collection restrictions and granular household data, I show that consumers in affected states reduce credit card spending relative to nearby peers. Consistent with reduced demand, establishment-level analyses document that businesses experience lost revenue, especially for nontradable goods and discretionary purchases, along with declines in employment and payroll. The findings highlight that, beyond the firm borrowing channel, creditor protections shape local business activity through a novel demand-side consumer credit channel.  

Presented: AFA (2026), NFA (2025), SFA (2025), Goizueta Doctoral Research Conference (2024), Emory University (2024), 20th Annual WashU Finance Conference (Ph.D. Session with Award 2024), Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta (2024)

Corporate Behavior When Running the Firm for Stakeholders: Evidence from Hospitals

With Christoph Herpfer and Gonzalo Maturana

We study how stakeholder versus shareholder orientation affects firm behavior. We exploit the staggered introduction of state-level attorney general approval provisions governing nonprofit-to-for-profit hospital conversions and implement a difference-in-differences design. Stronger regulatory constraints limiting for-profit conversion lead hospitals to increase emergency room spending and expand treatment of Medicaid patients, while reallocating resources away from profitable service lines and toward unprofitable ones. These changes are accompanied by higher staffing and improved patient satisfaction. Patient-level health outcomes remain unchanged. We also document spillover effects on neighboring nonprofit hospitals. The evidence is consistent with tax-based incentives playing a role in shaping hospital behavior.

Presented: FRA Early Ideas session (2021), University of Connecticut Finance Conference (2023), MSUFCU Conference (2023), NFA (2023), WFA (2024), AFA (2025), SFS Cavalcade (2025)

Work in Progress 

The Real Effect of Medical Debt Protection: Evidence from Municipal Bonds (Updated draft coming soon)

Main findings: Greater medical debt protection increases the yields of municipal bonds issued by hospitals.

Internal Capital Allocation within Nonprofits Firms: Winner Picking or Subsidization?

NWGSYPS WSSLPS!

Break a leg!