Female Directors and Firm Value: New Evidence from Directors’ Deaths

The authors thank David Simchi-Levi (the editor), an anonymous associate editor, three referees, Renee Adams, Kenneth Ahern, Yakov Amihud, Jonathan Berk, Utpal Bhattacharya, Daniel Bias, Eric de Bodt, Vicente Cuñat, Hans Degryse, Ran Duchin, Florian Eugster, Rüdiger Fahlenbrach, Daniel Ferreira, Miguel Ferreira, Vyacheslav (Slava) Fos, Mireia Giné, Vidhan Goyal, Moqi Groen-Xu, Randi Hjalmarsson, Harrison Hong, Dirk Jenter, Christoph Kaserer, Daehyun Kim, Peter Koudijs, Chen Lin, Ernst Maug, Holger Mueller, Daniel Paravisini, Raghu Rau, Zacharias Sautner, Meik Scholz, Esad Smajlbegovic, Siri Terjesen, Karin Thorburn, Jean Tirole, Sheridan Titman, Margarita Tsoutsoura, Patrick Verwijmeren, Yupana Wiwattanakantang, and David Yermack, as well as conference and seminar participants at the 2016 Meeting of the American Finance Association, the 2016 Financial Intermediation Research Society Conference, the 2016 Verband der Hochschullehrer für Betriebswirtschaft e.V. Annual Meeting, the 19th Annual Conference of the Swiss Society for Financial Market Research, the 2015 Paris December Finance Meeting, the Corporate Governance Luncheon at New York University, the University of Mannheim, the London School of Economics, Erasmus University, KU Leuven, Institut d'Économie Scientifique et de Gestion, the University of Gothenburg, and the University of Edinburgh for helpful comments. The authors also thank Matyas Hanko, Georg Harsch, Andrea Karaman, Kirsty Ke, Oliver Lauche, Alexander Schumann, and Hening Zheng for excellent research assistance. Part of this research was conducted while D. Urban was visiting at New York University and the London School of Economics. An earlier version of this paper was circulated under the title “The Economic Consequences of a ‘Glass-Ceiling’: Women on Corporate Boards and Firm Value.” The usual caveat applies.