When Innovation Outpaces Policy: Hyperscale Data Centers and the Fiscal Costs of Investment Incentives

Job Market Paper

Governments increasingly use tax incentives to attract capital-intensive projects, yet their local returns remain uncertain. Exploiting the staggered adoption of state data-center tax incentives and county-level variation in proximity to major water bodies, I study how subsidized data-center investment affects public finances, employment, resource markets, and political outcomes.

Draft available upon request.

EPS-Motivated Mergers

with Thomas Bates, Gerald T. Garvey, James Linck, and Todd T. Milbourn

We show that valuation differences between bidders and targets help predict merger activity. Firms are more likely to be acquired when more potential buyers could increase earnings per share through the transaction, even after accounting for other predictors of merger activity.

Board Diversity and the Career Progression of Women: Evidence from SB 826

with Rana Mohie El Din

Using California’s 2018 board gender quota as a natural experiment, we study whether greater board diversity affects women’s careers throughout the firm.

SSRN

Acquisition Prospects and Startup Strategy

with Lampros Pnevmatikos and João Dimas

We examine how startups alter product-development and hiring strategies when acquisition becomes less likely.

Open Data Portals and Housing-Market Liquidity

with Danye Wang and Vincent Lin

We examine whether municipal open data portals reduce information asymmetries and improve housing-market liquidity.