Information Asymmetry, Corporate Disclosure and the Capital Markets: A Review of the Empirical Disclosure Literature

Posted: 6 Sep 2001

See all articles by Paul M. Healy

Paul M. Healy

Harvard Business School; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Krishna Palepu

Harvard University - Harvard Business School; Harvard University - David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Research; Harvard Business Review; NBER; International Academy of Management

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Abstract

Financial reporting and disclosure are potentially important means for management to communicate firm performance and governance to outside investors. We provide a framework for analyzing managers' reporting and disclosure decisions in a capital markets setting, and identify key research questions. We then review current empirical research on disclosure regulation, information intermediaries, and the determinants and economic consequences of corporate disclosure. Our survey concludes that current research has generated a number of useful insights. We identify many fundamental questions that remain unanswered, and changes in the economic environment that raise new questions for research.

Keywords: Reporting decisions; Voluntary disclosure

JEL Classification: D82, G30, G33, G41, M41, M45

Suggested Citation

Healy, Paul M. and Palepu, Krishna, Information Asymmetry, Corporate Disclosure and the Capital Markets: A Review of the Empirical Disclosure Literature. Journal of Accounting & Economics, Vol. 31, Nos. 1-3, September 2001, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=272594

Paul M. Healy (Contact Author)

Harvard Business School ( email )

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Krishna Palepu

Harvard University - Harvard Business School ( email )

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