Jensen Prize

Awarded for the best papers published in the Journal of Financial Economics in the areas of corporate finance and organizations

2021

First Place:

Does common ownership really increase firm coordination? - Katharina Lewellen and Michelle Lowry

(Volume 141, Issue 1, July 2021, Pages 322-344 135)

Second Place:

Family comes first: Reproductive health and the gender gap in entrepreneurship - Jonathan Zandberg

(Volume 140, June 2021, Pages 838-864)

2020

First Place Winner

How do venture capitalists make decisions?

Paul Gompers, Will Gornall, Steven Kaplan, and Ilya A. Strebulaev

(Volume 135, Issue 1, January 2020, Pages 169-190)

Second Place Winner

Invest ideology

Patrick Bolton, Tao Li, Enrichetta Ravina, and Howard Rosenthal

(Volume 137, Issue 2, August 2020, Pages 320-352)

2019

First Place Winner

What's in a (school) name? Racial discrimination in higher education bond markets

Casey Dougal, Pengjie Gao, William J. Mayew, and Christopher A. Parsons

(Volume 134, Issue 3, December 2019, Pages 570-590)

Second Place Winner

Are lemons sold first? Dynamic signaling in the mortgage market

Manuel Adelino, Kristopher Gerardi, and Barney Hartman-Glaser

(Volume 132, Issue 1, April 2019, Pages 1-25)

2018

First Place Winner

How does hedge fund activism reshape corporate innovation?

Alon Brav, Wei Jiang, Song Ma, and Xuan Tian

(Volume 130, Issue 2, November 2018, Pages 237-264)

Second Place Winner

Fintech, regulatory arbitrage, and the rise of shadow banks

Greg Buchak, Gregor Matvos, Tomasz Piskorski, and Amit Seru

(Volume 130, Issue 3, December 2018, Pages 453-483)

2017

First Place Winner

The U.S. listing gap

Craig Doidge, G. Andrew Karolyi, and René M. Stulz

(Volume 123, Issue 3, March 2017, Pages 464-487)

Second Place Winners (tie)

Growth through rigidity: An explanation for the rise in CEO pay

Kelly Shue and Richard R. Townsend

(Volume 123, Issue 1, January 2017, Pages 1-21)

Are corporate inversions good for shareholders?

Anton Babkin, Brent Glover, and Oliver Levine

(Volume 126, Issue 2, November 2017, Pages 227-251)

2016

First Place Winner

Target revaluation after failed takeover attempts - Cash versus stock

Ulrike M. Malmendier, Marcus Opp, and Farzad Saidi

(Volume 119, Issue 1, January 2016, Pages 92-106)

Second Place Winner

The ownership and trading of debt claims in Chapter 11 restructurings

Victoria Ivashina, Benjamin Iverson, and David C. Smith

(Volume 119, Issue 2, February 2016, Pages 316-335)

2015

First Place Winner

A century of capital structure: The leveraging of corporate America

John R. Graham, Mark T. Leary, and Michael R. Roberts

(Volume 118, Issue 3, December 2015, Pages 658-683)

Second Place Winner

Lost in translation? The effect of cultural values on mergers around the world

Kenneth R. Ahern, Daniele Daminelli, and Cesare Fracassi

(Volume 117, Issue 1, July 2015, Pages 165-189)

2014

First Place Winner

Firm boundaries matter: Evidence from conglomerates and R&D activity

Amit Seru

(Volume 111, Issue 2, February 2014, Pages 381-405)

Second Place Winner

Refinancing, profitability and capital structure

Andras Danis, Daniel A. Rettl, and Toni M. Whited

(Volume 114, Issue 3, December 2014, Pages 424-443)

2013

First Place Winner

Managerial attitudes and corporate actions

John Graham, Campbell R. Harvey, and Manju Puri

(Volume 109, Issue 1, July 2013, Pages 103-121)

Do personal taxes affect capital structure: Evidence from the 2003 tax cut

Leming Lin and Mark Flannery

(Volume 109, Issue 2, August 2013, Pages 549-565)

2012

First Place Winner

Securitized banking and the run on repo

Gary Gorton and Andrew Metrick

(Volume 104, Issue 3, June 2012, Pages 425-451)

Second Place Winners (tie)

Cash flows and leverage adjustments

Michael Faulkender, Mark J. Flannery, Kristine Watson Hankins, and Jason M. Smith

(Volume 103, Issue 3, March 2012, Pages 632-646)

The effect of reference point prices on mergers and acquisitions

Malcolm Baker, Xin Pan, and Jeffrey Wurgler

(Volume 106, Issue 1, October 2012, Pages 49-71)

2011

First Place Winner

Ownership structure and the cost of corporate borrowing

Chen Lin, Yue Ma, Paul Malatesta, and Yuhai Xuan

(Volume 100, Issue 1, April 2011, Pages 1-23)

Second Place Winner

The causes and consequences of venture capital stage financing

Xuan Tian

(Volume 101, Issue 1, July 2011, Pages 132-159)

2010

First Place Winner

The marketing of seasoned equity offerings.

Xiaohui Gao and Jay Ritter

(Volume 97, Issue 1, July 2010, Pages 33-52)

Second Place Winner

Seasoned equity offerings, market timing, and the corporate lifecycle

Harry DeAngelo, Linda DeAngelo, and René M. Stulz

(Volume 95, Issue 3, March 2010, Pages 275-295)

2009

First Place Winner

Share issuance and cross-sectional returns: International evidence

R. David McLean, Jeffrey Pontiff, and Akiko Watanabe

(Volume 94, Issue 1, October 2009, Pages 1-17)

Second Place Winner

Are elite universities losing their competitive edge?

E. Han Kim, Adair Morse, and Luigi Zingales

(Volume 93, Issue 3, September 2009, Pages 353-381)

2008

First Place Winner

Why do private acquirers pay so little compared to public acquirers?

Leonce L. Bargeron, Frederik P. Schlingemann, René M. Stulz, and Chad J. Zutter

(Volume 89, Issue 3, September 2008, pages 375-390)

Second Place Winner

Managerial incentives, capital reallocation, and the business cycle

Andrea L. Eisfeldt, and Adriano A. Rampini

(Volume 87, Issue 1, January 2008, pages 177-199)

2007

First Place Winner

Does backdating explain the stock price pattern around executive stock option grants?

Randall A. Heron and Erik Lie

(Volume 83, Issue 2, February 2007, pages 271-295)

Second Place Winners (tie)

Theft and taxes

Mihir A. Desai, Alexander Dyck, and Luigi Zingales

(Volume 84, Issue 3, June 2007, pages 591-623)

Financial fraud, director reputation, and shareholder wealth

Eliezer M. Fich and Anil Shivdasani

(Volume 86, Issue 2, November 2007, pages 306-336)

2006

First Place Winner

Tax shelters and corporate debt policy

John R. Graham and Alan L. Tucker

(Volume 81, Issue 3, September 2006, pages 563-594)

Second Place Winners (tie)

Are perks purely managerial excess?

Raghuram G. Rajan and Julie Wulf

(Volume 79, Issue 1, January 2006, pages 1-33)

Profitability, investment and average returns

Eugene F. Fama and Kenneth R. French

(Volume 82, Issue 3, December 2006, pages 491-518)

2005

First Place Winner

Payout policy in the 21st century

Alon Brav, John Graham, Roni Michaely, and Campbell R. Harvey

(Volume 77, Issue 3, September 2005, pages 483-527)

Second Place Winner

The effect of external finance on the equilibrium allocation of capital

Heitor Almeida, and Daniel Wolfenzon

(Volume 75, Issue 1, January 2005, pages 133-164)

2004

First Place Winner

Are dividends disappearing? Dividend concentration and the consolidation of earnings

Harry DeAngelo, Linda DeAngelo, and Douglas J. Skinner

(Volume 72, Issue 3, June 2004, pages 425-456)

Second Place Winner

Is the IPO pricing process efficient?

Michelle Lowry and G. William Schwert

(Volume 71, Issue 1, January 2004, pages 3-26)

2003

First Place Winner

Stock market driven acquisitions

Andrei Shleifer and Robert W. Vishny

(Volume 70, Issue 3, December 2003, pages 295-311)

Second Place Winner

Testing the pecking order theory of capital structure

Murray Z. Frank and Vidhan K. Goyal

(Volume 67, Issue 2, February 2003, pages 217-248)

2002

First Place Winner

Does diversification destroy value? Evidence from industry shocks

Owen A. Lamont and Christopher Polk

(Volume 63, Issue 1, January 2002, pages 51-77)

Second Place Winner

Investor protection and equity markets

Andrei Shleifer and Daniel Wolfenzon

(Volume 66, Issue 1, October 2002, pages 3-27)

2001

First Place Winner

The theory and practice of corporate finance: Evidence from the field

John R.Graham and Campbell R. Harvey

(Volume 60, Issue 2-3, May/June 2001, pages 187-243)

Second Place Winner

Disappearing dividends: changing firm characteristics or lower propensity to pay?

Eugene F. Fama and Kenneth R. French

(Volume 60, Issue 1, April 2001, pages 3-43)

2000

First Place Winner

On the optimality of resetting executive stock options

Viral V. Acharya, Kose John and Rangarajan K. Sundaram

(Volume 57, Issue 1, July 2000, pages 65-101)

Second Place Winner

Investor protection and corporate governance

Rafael La Porta, Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes Andrei Shleifer and Robert Vishny

(Volume 58, Issue 1-2, October 2000, pages 3-27)

1999

First Place Winner

The determinants and implications of corporate cash holdings

Tim Opler, Lee Pinkowitz, René M. Stulz and Rohan Williamson

(Volume 52, Issue 1, April 1999, pages 3-46)

Second Place Winners (tie)

Deregulation and the adaptation of governance structure: The case of the U.S. Airline industry

Stacey R. Kole and Kenneth Lehn

(Volume 52, Issue 1, April 1999, pages 79-117)

Measuring investment distortions arising from stockholder-bondholder conflicts

Robert Parrino and Michael S. Weisbach

(Volume 53, Issue 1, July 1999, pages 3-42)

1998

First Place Winner

Risk management, capital budgeting, and capital structure policy for financial institutions: an integrated approach

Kenneth A. Froot and Jeremy C. Stein

(Volume 47, Issue 1, January 1998, pages 55-82)

Second Place Winner

Why firms issue convertible bonds: the matching of financial and real investment options

David Mayers

(Volume 47, Issue 1, January 1998, pages 83-102)

1997

First Place Winners (tie)

The complexity of compensation contracts

Stacey R. Kole

(Volume 43, Issue 1, January 1997, pages 79-104)

The decline of takeovers and disciplinary managerial turnover

Wayne H. Mikkelson and M. Megan Partch

(Volume 44, Issue 2, May 1997, pages 205-228)