This paper documents that classified boards substantially reduce the cost of debt. The evidence is not consistent with the argument that bondholders benefit from board classification because they are concerned about hostile ...

Using Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) as a natural experiment, we find evidence consistent with an optimal level of board independence for credit ratings. We test two hypotheses that could explain this optimality: information ...

Using Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) as a natural experiment, we find evidence consistent with an optimal level of board independence for credit ratings. We test two hypotheses that could explain this optimality: information ...