The Brattle Group Prizes are awarded annually for outstanding papers on corporate finance. The winning papers are chosen by the Associate Editors of The Journal of Finance. All papers published in issues of The Journal of Finance from the first five issues of the given year, and December of the previous year, are eligible. The prizes are awarded at the AFA’s annual meeting by a representative of Brattle. The amounts of the prizes are  $25,000 for first prize and $10,000 each for two distinguished papers. We congratulate the winners on their achievements!

First Prize: Andreas Fuster, Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham, Tarun Ramadorai, and Ansgar Walther
Predictably Unequal? The Effects of Machine Learning on Credit Markets, The Journal of Finance, February 2022

Abstract:

Innovations in statistical technology in functions including credit-screening have raised concerns about distributional impacts across categories such as race. Theoretically, distributional effects of better statistical technology can come from greater flexibility to uncover structural relationships or from triangulation of otherwise excluded characteristics. Using data on U.S. mortgages, we predict default using traditional and machine learning models. We find that Black and Hispanic borrowers are disproportionately less likely to gain from the introduction of machine learning. In a simple equilibrium credit market model, machine learning increases disparity in rates between and within groups, with these changes attributable primarily to greater flexibility.

Distinguished Paper: Asaf Bernstein
Negative Home Equity and Household Labor Supply, The Journal of Finance, December 2021

Abstract:

Each year, the associate editors of The Journal of Finance select three winners to receive the Brattle Group Prize for outstanding papers in corporate finance. The Brattle Group supports this yearly award in an effort to recognize the importance of excellence in providing groundbreaking analysis and debate on compelling issues facing the corporate finance community. The Brattle Group has funded this yearly award for more than 20 years. These prizes are presented at the AFA’s annual meeting, and this year’s awards were announced at the virtual 2022 ASSA/American Finance Association’s (AFA) Annual Meeting on January 7–9. All papers published in the prior year’s issues of The Journal of Finance are eligible. We congratulate the winners on their achievement!

First Prize Paper: Peter M. DeMarzo and Zhiguo He
Leverage Dynamics without Commitment, The Journal of Finance, December 2020

Abstract:

Banking on Deposits: Maturity Transformation without Interest Rate Risk, The Journal of Finance, February 2021

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The Limits of Limited Liability: Evidence from Industrial Pollution, The Journal of Finance, February 2021

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The Brattle Group Prizes for best papers in Corporate Finance for 2020, judged as exceptional by the associate editors of The Journal of Finance, were awarded at the 2021 ASSA/American Finance Association’s (AFA) Annual Meeting on January 3–5. The prizes, awarded annually, are funded through a grant from The Brattle Group and presented at the AFA’s annual meeting. The winners of the first prize receive $25,000 and distinguished papers each receive $10,000. All papers published in the prior year’s issues of The Journal of Finance are eligible for the prizes. The Brattle Group congratulates the winners for their achievement.

First Prize Paper: Barney Hartman-Glaser and Benjamin Hébert

The Insurance Is the Lemon: Failing to Index Contracts, The Journal of Finance, January 2020

Abstract:

We model the widespread failure of contracts to share risk using available indices. A borrower and lender can share risk by conditioning repayments on an index. The lender has private information about the ability of this index to measure the true state that the borrower would like to hedge. The lender is risk‐averse and thus requires a premium to insure the borrower. The borrower, however, might be paying something for nothing if the index is a poor measure of the true state. We provide sufficient conditions for this effect to cause the borrower to choose a nonindexed contract instead.

Distinguished Paper: Olivier Darmouni

Informational Frictions and the Credit Crunch, The Journal of Finance, July 2020

Abstract:

In this paper, I estimate the magnitude of an informational friction limiting credit reallocation to firms during the 2007 to 2009 financial crisis. Because lenders rely on private information when deciding which relationship to end, borrowers looking for a new lender are adversely selected. I show how to separately identify private information from information common to all lenders but unobservable to the econometrician by using bank shocks within a discrete choice model of relationships. Quantitatively, these informational frictions appear to be too small to explain the credit crunch in the U.S. syndicated corporate loan market.

Distinguished Paper: Adriano Rampini, S. Viswanathan, and Guillaume Vuillemey

Risk Management in Financial Institutions, The Journal of Finance, March 2020

Note:

This paper was retracted in July 2021 and The Brattle Group Prize for Distinguished Paper was returned. 

The Brattle Group Prizes for best papers in Corporate Finance for 2019, judged as exceptional by the associate editors of The Journal of Finance, were awarded at the 2020 American Finance Association’s (AFA) Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA on January 3–5, 2020. The prizes, awarded annually, are funded through a grant from The Brattle Group and presented at the AFA’s annual meeting by a Brattle representative. The winners of the first prize receive $25,000 and distinguished papers each receive $10,000. All papers published in the prior year’s issues of The Journal of Finance are eligible for the prizes. The Brattle Group congratulates the winners for their achievement.

First Prize Paper: Arpit Gupta

Foreclosure Contagion and the Neighborhood Spillover Effects of Mortgage Defaults, The Journal of Finance, October 2019

Abstract:

In this paper, I identify shocks to interest rates resulting from two administrative details in adjustable‐rate mortgage contract terms: the choice of financial index and the choice of lookback period. I find that a 1 percentage point increase in interest rate at the time of adjustable‐rate mortgage (ARM) reset results in a 2.5 percentage increase in the probability of foreclosure in the following year, and that each foreclosure filing leads to an additional 0.3 to 0.6 completed foreclosures within a 0.10‐mile radius. In explaining this result, I emphasize price effects, bank‐supply responses, and borrower responses arising from peer effects.

Distinguished Paper: David Schoenherr

Political Connections and Allocative Distortions, The Journal of Finance, April 2019

Abstract:

Exploiting a unique institutional setting in Korea, this paper documents that politicians can increase the amount of government resources allocated through their social networks to the benefit of private firms connected to these networks. After winning the election, the new president appoints members of his networks as CEOs of state‐owned firms that act as intermediaries in allocating government contracts to private firms. In turn, these state firms allocate significantly more procurement contracts to private firms with a CEO from the same network. Contracts allocated to connected private firms are executed systematically worse and exhibit more frequent cost increases through renegotiations.

Distinguished Paper: Andrey Malenko and Nadya Malenko

Proxy Advisory Firms: The Economics of Selling Information to Voters, The Journal of Finance, October 2019

Abstract:

We analyze how proxy advisors, which sell voting recommendations to shareholders, affect corporate decision‐making. If the quality of the advisor’s information is low, there is overreliance on its recommendations and insufficient private information production. In contrast, if the advisor’s information is precise, it may be underused because the advisor rations its recommendations to maximize profits. Overall, the advisor’s presence leads to more informative voting only if its information is sufficiently precise. We evaluate several proposals on regulating proxy advisors and show that some suggested policies, such as reducing proxy advisors’ market power or decreasing litigation pressure, can have negative effects.

The Brattle Group Prizes for best papers in Corporate Finance for 2018, judged as exceptional by the associate editors of The Journal of Finance, were awarded at the 2019 American Finance Association’s (AFA) Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA, on January 4-6, 2019. The prizes, awarded annually, are funded through a grant from The Brattle Group and presented at the AFA’s annual meeting by a Brattle representative. The winners of the first prize receive $25,000 and distinguished papers each receive $10,000. All papers published in the prior year’s issues of The Journal of Finance are eligible for the prizes. The Brattle Group congratulates the winners for their achievement.

First Prize Paper: Anthony A. DeFusco

“Homeowner Borrowing and Housing Collateral: New Evidence from Expiring Price Controls,” The Journal of Finance, April 2018.

Abstract:

I empirically analyze how changes in access to housing collateral affect homeowner borrowing behavior. To isolate the role of collateral constraints from that of wealth effects, I exploit the fully anticipated expiration of resale price controls on owner‐occupied housing in Montgomery County, Maryland. I estimate a marginal propensity to borrow out of housing collateral that ranges between $0.04 and $0.13 and is correlated with homeowners’ initial leverage. Additional analysis of residential investment and ex‐post loan performance indicates that some of the extracted funds generated new expenditures. These results suggest a potentially important role for collateral constraints in driving household expenditures.

Distinguished Paper: Nicolae Gârleanu and Lasse Heje Pedersen

“Efficiently Inefficient Markets for Assets and Asset Management,” The Journal of Finance, August 2018.

Abstract:

We consider a model where investors can invest directly or search for an asset manager, information about assets is costly, and managers charge an endogenous fee. The efficiency of asset prices is linked to the efficiency of the asset management market: if investors can find managers more easily, more money is allocated to active management, fees are lower, and asset prices are more efficient. Informed managers outperform after fees, uninformed managers underperform, while the average manager’s performance depends on the number of “noise allocators.” Small investors should remain uninformed, but large and sophisticated investors benefit from searching for informed active managers since their search cost is low relative to capital. Hence, managers with larger and more sophisticated investors are expected to outperform.

Distinguished Paper: James Dow and Jungsuk Han

“The Paradox of Financial Fire Sales: The Role of Arbitrage Capital in Determining Liquidity,” The Journal of Finance, February 2018.

Abstract:

How can fire sales for financial assets happen when the economy contains well‐capitalized but nonspecialist investors? Our explanation combines rational expectations equilibrium and “lemons” models. When specialist (informed) market participants are liquidity‐constrained, prices become less informative. This creates an adverse selection problem, decreasing the supply of high‐quality assets, and lowering valuations by nonspecialist (uninformed) investors, who become unwilling to supply capital to support the price. In normal times, arbitrage capital can “multiply” itself by making uninformed capital function as informed capital, but in a crisis, this stabilizing mechanism fails.

The Brattle Group Prizes for best papers in Corporate Finance for 2017, judged to be exceptional by the associate editors of The Journal of Finance, were awarded at the 2017 American Finance Association’s Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, PA on January 5-7, 2018. The prizes, handed out annually, are funded through a grant from The Brattle Group and awarded at the AFA’s annual meeting by a Brattle representative. The winners of the first prize receive $25,000 and distinguished papers each receive $10,000. All papers published in the prior year’s issues of The Journal of Finance are eligible for the prizes. The Brattle Group congratulates the winners for their achievement.

First Prize Paper: Emily Breza and Andres Liberman
“Financial Contracting and Organizational Form: Evidence from the Regulation of Trade Credit,” The Journal of Finance, February 2017.

Abstract:
We present evidence that restrictions to the set of feasible financial contracts affect buyer-supplier relationships and the organizational form of the firm. We exploit a regulation that restricted the maturity of the trade credit contracts that a large retailer could sign with some of its small suppliers. Using a within-product difference-in-differences identification strategy, we find that the restriction reduces the likelihood of trade by 11%. The retailer also responds by internalizing procurement to its own subsidiaries and reducing overall purchases. Finally, we find that relational contracts can mitigate the inability to extend long trade credit terms.

Distinguished Paper: Brian T. Melzer
“Mortgage Debt Overhang: Reduced Investment by Homeowners at Risk of Default,” The Journal of Finance, April 2017.

Abstract:
Homeowners at risk of default face a debt overhang that reduces their incentive to invest in their property: in expectation, some value created by investments in the property will go to the lender. This agency conflict affects housing investments. Homeowners at risk of default cut back substantially on home improvements and mortgage principal payments, even when they appear financially unconstrained. Meanwhile, they do not reduce spending on assets that they may retain in default, including home appliances, furniture, and vehicles. These findings highlight an important financial friction that has stifled housing investment since the Great Recession.

Distinguished Paper: Martin C. Schmalz, David A. Sraer, and David Thesmar
“Housing Collateral and Entrepreneurship,” The Journal of Finance, February 2017

Abstract:
We show that collateral constraints restrict firm entry and postentry growth, using French administrative data and cross-sectional variation in local house-price appreciation as shocks to collateral values. We control for local demand shocks by comparing treated homeowners to controls in the same region that do not experience collateral shocks: renters and homeowners with an outstanding mortgage, who (in France) cannot take out a second mortgage. In both comparisons, an increase in collateral value leads to a higher probability of becoming an entrepreneur. Conditional on entry, treated entrepreneurs use more debt, start larger firms, and remain larger in the long run.

The Brattle Group Prizes for best papers in Corporate Finance for 2016, judged to be exceptional by the associate editors of The Journal of Finance, were awarded at the 2017 American Finance Association’s Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL on January 6-8, 2017. The prizes, handed out annually, are funded through a grant from The Brattle Group and awarded at the AFA’s annual meeting by a Brattle representative. The winners of the first prize receive $25,000 and distinguished papers each receive $10,000. All papers published in the prior year’s issues of The Journal of Finance are eligible for the prizes. The Brattle Group congratulates the winners for their achievement.

First Prize Paper: Johannes Stroebel
“Asymmetric Information about Collateral Values,” The Journal of Finance, June 2016.

Abstract:
I empirically analyze credit market outcomes when competing lenders are differentially informed about the expected return from making a loan. I study the residential mortgage market, where property developers often cooperate with vertically integrated mortgage lenders to offer financing to buyers of new homes. I show that these integrated lenders have superior information about the construction quality of individual homes and exploit this information to lend against higher quality collateral, decreasing foreclosures by up to 40%. To compensate for this adverse selection on collateral quality, nonintegrated lenders charge higher interest rates when competing against a better-informed integrated lender.

Distinguished Paper: Jean-Noël Barrot
“Trade Credit and Industry Dynamics: Evidence from Trucking Firms,” The Journal of Finance, October 2016.

Abstract:
Long payment terms are a strong impediment to the entry and survival of liquidity-constrained firms. To test this idea and its implications, I consider the effect of a reform restricting the trade credit supply of French trucking firms. In a difference-in-differences setting, I find that trucking firms’ corporate default probability decreases by 25% following the restriction. The effect is persistent, concentrated among liquidity-constrained firms, and not offset by a decrease in profits. The restriction also triggers an increase in the entry of small trucking firms.

Distinguished Paper: Brendan Daley and Brett Green
“An Information-Based Theory of Time-Varying Liquidity,” The Journal of Finance, April 2016.

Abstract:
We propose an information-based theory to explain time variation in liquidity and link it to a variety of patterns in asset markets. In “normal times,” the market is fully liquid and gains from trade are realized immediately. However, the equilibrium also involves periods during which liquidity “dries up,” which leads to endogenous liquidation costs. Traders correctly anticipate such costs, which reduces their willingness to pay. This foresight leads to a novel feedback effect between prices and market liquidity, which are jointly determined in equilibrium. The model also predicts that contagious sell-offs can occur after sufficiently bad news.

The Brattle Group Prizes for best papers in Corporate Finance for 2015, judged to be exceptional by the associate editors of The Journal of Finance, were awarded at the 2016 American Finance Association’s Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA on January 3-5, 2016. The prizes, handed out annually, are funded through a grant from The Brattle Group and awarded at the AFA’s annual meeting by a Brattle representative. The winners of the first prize receive $10,000 and distinguished papers each receive $5,000. All papers published in the prior year’s issues of The Journal of Finance are eligible for the prizes. The Brattle Group congratulates the winners for their achievement.

First Prize Paper: Shai Bernstein
“Does Going Public Affect Innovation?” The Journal of Finance, August 2015.

Abstract:
This paper investigates the effects of going public on innovation by comparing the innovation activity of firms that go public with firms that withdraw their initial public offering (IPO) filing and remain private. NASDAQ fluctuations during the book-building phase are used as an instrument for IPO completion. Using patent-based metrics, I find that the quality of internal innovation declines following the IPO, and firms experience both an exodus of skilled inventors and a decline in the productivity of the remaining inventors. However, public firms attract new human capital and acquire external innovation. The analysis reveals that going public changes firms’ strategies in pursuing innovation.

Distinguished Paper: Ulf Axelson and Philip Bond
“Wall Street Occupations,” The Journal of Finance, October 2015.

Abstract:
Many finance jobs entail the risk of large losses, and hard-to-monitor effort. We analyze the equilibrium consequences of these features in a model with optimal dynamic contracting. We show that finance jobs feature high compensation, up-or-out promotion, and long work hours, and are more attractive than other jobs. Moral hazard problems are exacerbated in booms, even though pay increases. Employees whose talent would be more valuable elsewhere can be lured into finance jobs, while the most talented employees might be unable to land these jobs because they are “too hard to manage.”

Distinguished Paper: Robin Greenwood, Samuel G. Hanson, and Jeremy C. Stein
“A Comparative-Advantage Approach to Government Debt Maturity,” The Journal of Finance, August 2015.

Abstract:
We study optimal government debt maturity in a model where investors derive monetary services from holding riskless short-term securities. In a setting where the government is the only issuer of such riskless paper, it trades off the monetary premium associated with short-term debt against the refinancing risk implied by the need to roll over its debt more often. We extend the model to allow private financial intermediaries to compete with the government in the provision of short-term money-like claims. We argue that, if there are negative externalities associated with private money creation, the government should tilt its issuance more toward short maturities, thereby partially crowding out the private sector’s use of short-term debt.

The Brattle Group Prizes for best papers in Corporate Finance for 2014, judged to be exceptional by the associate editors of The Journal of Finance, were awarded at the 2015 American Finance Association’s Annual Meeting in Boston, MA on January 3-5, 2015. The prizes, handed out annually, are funded through a grant from The Brattle Group and awarded at the AFA’s annual meeting by a Brattle representative. The winners of the first prize receive $10,000 and distinguished papers each receive $5,000. All papers published in the prior year’s issues of The Journal of Finance are eligible for the prizes. The Brattle Group congratulates the winners for their achievement.

First Prize Paper: Douglas W. Diamond and Zhiguo He
“A Theory of Debt Maturity: The Long and Short of Debt Overhang,” The Journal of Finance, April 2014.

Abstract:
Debt maturity influences debt overhang, the reduced incentive for highly levered borrowers to make real investments because some value accrues to debt. Reducing maturity can increase or decrease overhang even when shorter term debt’s value depends less on firm value. Future overhang is more volatile for shorter term debt, making future investment incentives volatile and influencing immediate investment incentives. With immediate investment, shorter term debt typically imposes lower overhang; longer term debt can impose less if asset volatility is higher in bad times. For future investments, reduced correlation between assets-in-place and investment opportunities increases the shorter term debt overhang.

Distinguished Paper: Ulf Axelson, Tim Jenkinson, Per Stromberg, and Michael S. Weisbach
“Borrow Cheap, Buy High? The Determinants of Leverage and Pricing in Buyouts,”The Journal of Finance, December 2013.

Abstract:
Private equity funds pay particular attention to capital structure when executing leveraged buyouts, creating an interesting setting for examining capital structure theories. Using a large, international sample of buyouts from 1980 to 2008, we find that buyout leverage is unrelated to the cross-sectional factors, suggested by traditional capital structure theories, that drive public firm leverage. Instead, variation in economy-wide credit conditions is the main determinant of leverage in buyouts. Higher deal leverage is associated with higher transaction prices and lower buyout fund returns, suggesting that acquirers overpay when access to credit is easier.

Distinguished Paper: Ricardo J. Caballero and Alp Simsek
“Fire Sales in a Model of Complexity,” The Journal of Finance, December 2013.

Abstract:
We present a model of financial crises that stem from endogenous complexity. We conceptualize complexity as banks’ uncertainty about the financial network of cross exposures. As conditions deteriorate, cross exposures generate the possibility of a domino effect of bankruptcies. As this happens, banks face an increasingly complex environment since they need to understand a greater fraction of the financial network to assess their own financial health. Complexity dramatically amplifies banks’ perceived counterparty risk, and makes relatively healthy banks reluctant to buy risky assets. The model also features a novel complexity externality.

The Brattle Group Prizes for best papers in Corporate Finance for 2013, judged to be exceptional by the associate editors of The Journal of Finance, were awarded at the 2014 American Finance Association’s Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, PA on January 3-5, 2014. The prizes, handed out annually, are funded through a grant from The Brattle Group and awarded at the AFA’s annual meeting by a Brattle representative. The winners of the first prize receive $10,000 and distinguished papers each receive $5,000. All papers published in the prior year’s issues of The Journal of Finance are eligible for the prizes. The Brattle Group congratulates the winners for their achievement.

First Prize Paper: Francisco Perez-Gonzalez and Hayong Yun
“Risk Management and Firm Value: Evidence from Weather Derivatives,” The Journal of Finance, October 2013.

Distinguished Paper: Maxim Mironov
“Taxes, Theft, and Firm Performance,” The Journal of Finance, August 2013.

Distinguished Paper: Markus K. Brunnermeier and Martin Oehmke
“The Maturity Rat Race,” The Journal of Finance, April 2013.

The Brattle Group Prizes for best papers in Corporate Finance for 2012, judged to be exceptional by the associate editors of The Journal of Finance, were awarded at the American Finance Association’s Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA on January 4-6, 2013. The prizes, handed out annually, are funded through a grant from The Brattle Group and awarded at the AFA’s annual meeting by a Brattle representative. The winners of the first prize receive $10,000 and distinguished papers each receive $5,000. All papers published in the prior year’s issues of The Journal of Finance are eligible for the prizes. The Brattle Group congratulates the winners for their achievement.

First Prize Paper: Marianne Bertrand and Adair Morse
“Information Disclosure, Cognitive Biases, and Payday Borrowing,” The Journal of Finance, December 2011.

First Prize Paper: Philipp Schnabl
“The International Transmission of Bank Liquidity Shocks: Evidence from an Emerging Market,” The Journal of Finance, June 2012.

Distinguished Paper: Vicente Cunat, Mireia Gine, and Maria Guadalupe
“The Vote Is Cast: The Effect of Corporate Governance on Shareholder Value,” The Journal of Finance, October 2012.

The Brattle Group Prizes for best papers in Corporate Finance for 2011, judged to be exceptional by the associate editors of The Journal of Finance, were awarded at the American Finance Association’s Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL on January 6-8, 2012. The prizes, handed out annually, are funded through a grant from The Brattle Group and awarded at the AFA’s annual meeting by a Brattle representative. The winners of the first prize receive $10,000 and two distinguished papers each receive $5,000. All papers published in the prior year’s issues of The Journal of Finance are eligible for the prizes. The Brattle Group congratulates the winners for their achievement.

First Prize Paper: Efraim Benmelech and Nittai K. Bergman
“Bankruptcy and the Collateral Channel,” The Journal of Finance, April 2011.

Distinguished Paper: Arthur Korteweg
“The Net Benefits to Leverage,” The Journal of Finance, December 2010.

Distinguished Paper: Andrew Hertzberg, José M. Liberti and Daniel Paravisini
“Public Information and Coordination: Evidence from a Credit Registry Expansion,” The Journal of Finance, April 2011.

The Brattle Group Prizes for best papers in Corporate Finance for 2010, judged to be exceptional by the associate editors of The Journal of Finance, were awarded at the American Finance Association’s Annual Meeting in Denver, CO on January 7-9, 2011. The prizes, handed out annually, are funded through a grant from The Brattle Group and awarded at the AFA’s annual meeting by a Brattle representative. The winners of the first prize receive $10,000 and two distinguished papers each receive $5,000. All papers published in the prior year’s issues of The Journal of Finance are eligible for the prizes. The Brattle Group congratulates the winners for their achievement.

First Prize Paper: Andrew Hertzberg, José M. Liberti, and Daniel Paravisini
“Information and Incentives Inside the Firm: Evidence from Loan Officer Rotation,” The Journal of Finance, June 2010.

Distinguished Paper: Thorsten Beck, Ross Levine, and Alexey Levkov
“Big Bad Banks? the Winners and Losers from Bank Deregulation in the United States,” The Journal of Finance, October 2010.

Distinguished Paper: José M. Liberti and Atif R. Mian
“Collateral Spread and Financial Development,” The Journal of Finance, February 2010.

The Brattle Group Prizes for best papers in Corporate Finance for 2009, judged to be exceptional by the associate editors of The Journal of Finance, were awarded at the American Finance Association’s Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA on January 3-5, 2010. The prizes, handed out annually, are funded through a grant from The Brattle Group and awarded at the AFA’s annual meeting by a Brattle representative. The winners of the first prize receive $10,000 and two distinguished papers each receive $5,000. All papers published in the prior year’s issues of The Journal of Finance are eligible for the prizes. The Brattle Group congratulates the winners for their achievement.

First Prize Paper: Ulf Axelson, Per Strömberg, and Michael S. Weisbach
“Why Are Buyouts Levered? The Financial Structure of Private Equity Funds,” The Journal of Finance, August 2009.

Distinguished Paper: Paul Oyer
“The Making of an Investment Banker: Stock Market Shocks, Career Choice, and Lifetime Income,” The Journal of Finance, December 2008.

Distinguished Paper: Mark T. Leary
“Bank Loan Supply, Lender Choice, and Corporate Capital Structure,” The Journal of Finance, June 2009.

The Brattle Group Prizes for best papers in Corporate Finance for 2008, judged to be exceptional by the associate editors of The Journal of Finance, were awarded on January 4, 2009 at the American Finance Association’s Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA. Papers published in the December 2007, February, April, June, and October 2008 issues of The Journal of Finance were eligible for the prizes. The Brattle Group congratulates the winners for their achievement.

First Prize Paper: Heitor Almeida and Thomas Philippon
“The Risk-Adjusted Cost of Financial Distress,” The Journal of Finance, December 2007.

Distinguished Paper: Michael L. Lemmon, Michael R. Roberts, and Jaime F. Zender
“Back to the Beginning: Persistence and the Cross-Section of Corporate Capital Structure,” The Journal of Finance, August 2008.

Distinguished Paper: Daniel Paravisini
“Local Bank Financial Constraints and Firm Access to External Finance,” The Journal of Finance, October 2008.

The Brattle Prizes for best papers in Corporate Finance for 2007, judged to be exceptional by the associate editors of The Journal of Finance, were awarded on January 5, 2008 at the American Finance Association’s Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA. Papers published in the December 2006, February, April, June, and October 2007 issues of The Journal of Finance were eligible for the prizes. The Brattle Group congratulates the winners for their achievement.

First Prize Paper: Ilya A. Strebulaev
“Do Tests of Capital Structure Theory Mean What They Say?” The Journal of Finance, August 2007.

Distinguished Paper: Christopher A. Hennessy and Toni M. Whited
“How Costly Is External Financing? Evidence from a Structural Estimation,” The Journal of Finance, August 2007.

Distinguished Paper: Amir Sufi
“Information Asymmetry and Financing Arrangements: Evidence from Syndicated Loans,” The Journal of Finance, April 2007.

The Brattle Prizes for best papers in Corporate Finance for 2006, judged to be exceptional by the associate editors of The Journal of Finance, were awarded on January 6, 2007 at the American Finance Association’s Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL. Papers published in the December 2005, February, April, June, and October 2006 issues of The Journal of Finance were eligible for the prizes. The Brattle Group congratulates the winners for their achievement.

First Prize Paper: Joshua D. Rauh
“Investment and Financing Constraints: Evidence from the Funding of Corporate Pension Plans,” The Journal of Finance, February 2006.

Distinguished Paper: Aydogan Alti
“How Persistent is the Impact of Market Timing on Capital Structure?” The Journal of Finance, August 2006.

Distinguished Paper: Mark T. Leary and Michael R. Roberts
“Do Firms Rebalance Their Capital Structures?” The Journal of Finance, December 2006.

The Brattle Prizes for best papers in Corporate Finance for 2005, judged to be exceptional by the associate editors of The Journal of Finance, were awarded on January 7, 2006 at the American Finance Association’s Annual Meeting in Boston, MA. Papers published in the December 2004, February, April, June, and October 2005 issues of The Journal of Finance were eligible for the prizes. The Brattle Group congratulates the winners for their achievement.

First Prize Paper: Christopher A. Hennessy and Toni M. Whited
“Debt Dynamics,” The Journal of Finance, June 2005.

Distinguished Paper: Marianne P. Bitler, Tobias J. Moskowitz, and Annette Vissing-Jorgensen
“Testing Agency Theory with Entrepreneur Effort and Wealth,” The Journal of Finance, April 2005.

The Brattle Prizes for best papers in Corporate Finance for 2004, judged to be exceptional by the associate editors of The Journal of Finance, were awarded on January 8, 2005 at the American Finance Association’s Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, PA. Papers published in the December 2003, February, April, June, and October 2004 issues of The Journal of Finance were eligible for the prizes. The Brattle Group congratulates the winners for their achievement.

First Prize Paper: Belen Villalonga
“Diversification Discount or Premium? New Evidence from the Business Information Tracking Series,” The Journal of Finance, April 2004.

Distinguished Paper: Christopher A. Hennessy
“Tobin’s Q, Debt Overhang, and Investment ,” The Journal of Finance, August 2004.

The Brattle Prizes for best papers in Corporate Finance for 2003, judged to be exceptional by the associate editors of The Journal of Finance, were awarded on January 4, 2004 at the American Finance Association’s Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA. Papers published in the December 2002, February, April, June, and October 2003 issues of The Journal of Finance were eligible for the prizes. The Brattle Group congratulates the winners for their achievement.

First Prize Paper: Antoinette Schoar
“Effects of Corporate Diversification on Productivity,” The Journal of Finance, December 2002.

Distinguished Paper: Aydogan Alti
“How Sensitive is Investment to Cash Flow When Financing is Frictionless?,” The Journal of Finance, April 2003.

The Brattle Prizes for best papers in Corporate Finance for 2002, judged to be exceptional by the associate editors of The Journal of Finance, were awarded on January 5, 2003, at the American Finance Association’s Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. Papers published in the December 2001, February, April, June, and October 2002 issues of The Journal of Finance were eligible for the prizes. The Brattle Group congratulates the winners for their achievement.

First Prize Paper: Malcolm Baker & Jeffrey Wurgler
“Market Timing and Capital Structure,” The Journal of Finance, February 2002.

Distinguished Paper: Anil K. Kashyap, Raghuram Rajan, & Jeremy C. Stein
“Banks as Liquidity Providers: An Explanation for the Coexistence of Lending and Deposit-Taking,” The Journal of Finance, February 2002.

The Brattle Prizes for best papers in Corporate Finance for 2001, judged to be exceptional by the associate editors of The Journal of Finance, were awarded on January 5, 2002 at the American Finance Association’s Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA. Papers published in the December 2000, February, April, June, and October 2001 issues of The Journal of Finance were eligible for the prizes. The Brattle Group congratulates the winners for their achievement.

First Prize Paper: Per Stromberg
“Conflicts of Interest and Market Liquidity in Bankruptcy Auctions: Theory and Tests,” The Journal of Finance, December 2001.

Distinguished Paper: Douglas W. Diamond & Raghuram G. Rajan
“A Theory of Bank Capital,” The Journal of Finance, December 2001.

The Brattle Prizes for best papers in Corporate Finance for 2000, judged to be exceptional by the associate editors of The Journal of Finance, were awarded on Sunday, January 7, 2001 at the American Finance Association’s Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA. Papers published in the December 1999, February, April, June, and October 2000 issues of The Journal of Finance were eligible for the prizes. The Brattle Group congratulates the winners for their achievement.

First Prize Paper: John R. Graham
“How Big are the Tax Benefits of Debt?” The Journal of Finance, October 2000.

Distinguished Paper: Raghuram Rajan, Henri Servaes, & Luigi Zingales
“The Cost of Diversity: The Diversification Discount and Inefficient Investment,” The Journal of Finance, February 2000.

The Brattle Prizes for best papers in Corporate Finance for 1999, judged to be exceptional by the associate editors of The Journal of Finance, were awarded on Saturday, January 8, 2000 at the American Finance Association’s Annual Meeting in Boston, MA. Papers published in the December 1998, February, April, June, and October 1999 issues of The Journal of Finance were eligible for the prizes. The Brattle Group congratulates the winners for their achievement.

First Prize Paper: Clifford G. Holderness, Randall S. Kroszner, & Dennis P. Sheehan
“Were the Good Old Days That Good? Changes in Managerial Stock Ownership Since the Great Depression,” The Journal of Finance, April 1999.

Distinguished Paper: Paper Rafael La Porta, Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes, & Andrei Shleifer
“Corporate Ownership Around the World,” The Journal of Finance, April 1999.