This four-volume collection contains a comprehensive selection of over 70 modern papers in empirical corporate finance. Empirical Corporate Finance also features a new introduction by the editor which explains the basis for the selection of the articles and relates the empirical findings they report to recent developments in corporate financial theory.The volumes are arranged by subject matter, reflecting the broad stages in the life-cycle of the firm, starting with venture capital and initial public offerings, and then moving on to events that characterize corporate maturity: dividend policy, investment policy, corporate governance issues, and financing strategy. The volumes conclude with sections on takeovers and bankruptcy.

A major feature of the collection is its attention to the relation between corporate financial policy and the legal and economic framework within which the corporation operates; thus evidence is provided for the importance of asset resale markets as well as product markets for the capital structure decision; the legal framework is shown to be related to financing policies in different countries; and the existence of financial institutions such as banks and leasing companies is shown to have important consequences for financial policy. A pervasive theme of the volumes is the importance of informational asymmetries and agency relationships for understanding phenomena in corporate finance.

Empirical Corporate Finance will serve as a reference for professionals and MBA students who are concerned with the evidence on important issues such as initial public offerings, dividend policy, capital structure. The volumes will also serve, both as an introduction to the techniques of investigation in empirical corporate finance, and to the major substantive findings in the field for doctoral students; finally, they will be an invaluable source of reference to the most important work that has been done in each of the major areas of research.