Daniel Urban - Erasmus

Daniel Urban
Welcome to my homepage! I am an Associate Professor of Finance in the Department of Business Economics at Erasmus University Rotterdam. My research interests are in corporate finance, corporate governance, private equity, sustainability, boards, and household finance.
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Department of Business EconomicsErasmus School of Economics - Finance GroupErasmus University Rotterdam
Room E2-31, P.O. Box 17383000 DR Rotterdam (NL)+31 10 408 2923urban [at] ese.eur.nl
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Publications

Size, returns and value: Do private equity firms allocate capital according to manager skill?, with Reiner Braun, Nils Dorau and Tim JenkinsonJournal of Finance 81, 1661-1700, 2026 Index creation, information changes, and financing, with Vidhan K. Goyal and Wenting ZhaoJournal of Accounting Research 63, 2181-2228, 2025 Ranking finance conferences: An update, with Wei Hou and Esad SmajlbegovicJournal of Empirical Finance, 101652, 2025 Female directors and firm value: New evidence from directors' deaths, with Thomas SchmidManagement Science 69, 2449-2473, 2023 Corporate restructuring and creditor power: Evidence from European insolvency law reforms, with Frédéric Closset, Christoph Großman and Christoph Kaserer Journal of Banking & Finance 149, 106756, 2023 The balance of power between creditors and the firm: Evidence from German Insolvency Law, with Frédéric ClossetJournal of Corporate Finance, 58, 454-477, 2019 The effects of culture on CEO power: International evidence from executive turnoverJournal of Banking & Finance, 104, 50-69, 2019 Did UEFA's Financial Fair Play harm competition in European football leagues?, with Stephan Birkhäuser and Christoph KasererReview of Managerial Science, 13, 133-145, 2019 Finance conference quality and publication success: A conference ranking, with Sebastian J. ReinartzJournal of Empirical Finance, 42, 155-174, 2017 The value of financial flexibility and corporate financial policy, with Marc Steffen Rapp and Thomas SchmidJournal of Corporate Finance, 29, 288-302, 2014

Working Papers

Board gender quotas and female borrowing: Evidence from loan-level data, with Angelo d'Andrea, Fabrizio Core and Tim Eisert    AFA 2026, CSEF-CEPR Conference on Labor and Finance, CCA-ESCP Workshop on Financial Institutions and Corporate Finance, IBEO Workshop on Corporate Finance, Financial Intermediation and Macro-Finance, Mend the Gap Workshop, Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance, 7th Erasmus Corporate Governance Conference, ADEIMF ConferenceSupported by an NWO XS grant2nd Best Paper Award at ADEIMF ConferenceCEPR Working Paper DP21602
Abstract: We examine credit allocation following Italy's 2012 board-gender-quota reform. Combining Credit Registry data with information on firm ownership and financials, as well as administrative bank worker records, we document that female board representation in listed banks increases sharply after the reform. This change leads to higher credit growth and more first-time loan approvals for female-owned firms borrowing from these banks. The effects are supply-driven, concentrated among smaller firms, and mediated by an increase in the promotion of female employees to middle-management positions. We find no deterioration in credit quality but positive real effects for female-owned firms, suggesting a reduction in financial constraints.
Cash me if you can: ATM explosions, payment choice, and consumption, with Esad Smajlbegovic, Theresa Spickers and Michael Weber   R&R, Review of FinanceUniversity of Kentucky Finance Conference 2025, EFA 2025, Lapland Household Finance Summit 2025, Alpine Finance Summit 2025, Christmas Meeting of the German Economists Abroad, SGF 2025Supported by an NWO XS grant
Abstract: We study the consumption effects of a shift from cash to card payments exploiting 275 explosive attacks on ATMs, which provide plausibly exogenous variation in the local availability of cash. Using home scan data, we find households increase their consumption by 2.3% after an ATM in their vicinity is attacked. Purchases of more expensive, branded products, and temptation goods drive the increase in spending, and the effect largely dissipates after 3 months. Payment diaries from survey data suggest a permanent increase in card payments following explosive attacks. The results are consistent with short-term overspending as consumers transition to digital payments.
Doing good by doing nothing? Passive ownership and environmental performance, with Vidhan K. Goyal, Daniel Schmidt and Theresa Spickers  Alpine Finance Summit 2026, GRASFI Conference, 5th Conference in Sustainable Finance at the University of Luxembourg, HEC-HKUST Workshop on Impact and Sustainable Finance, CEPR Advanced Forum in Financial Economics, SGF Conference 2024
Abstract: The paper examines how passive ownership shapes firms' environmental performance. Exploiting the staggered creation of 55 equity indexes across 30 countries, index inclusion provides an exogenous shock to benchmark-tracking ownership. Following inclusion, environmental scores increase and carbon emissions decline, especially among carbon-intensive firms. The evidence supports a demand-elasticity channel: greater benchmark-tracking ownership dampens stock-price reactions to earnings announcements and weakens earnings-based performance pressure. Consistent with this mechanism, capital expenditures and green patenting increase while profitability declines. Our results show that passive investors can promote decarbonization precisely by trading less on earnings news.
Does board size matter?, with Dirk Jenter and Thomas Schmid R&R, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis FIRS 2020, AFA 2019, European Summer Symposium in Financial Markets (ESSFM) 2018, 2018 SFS Cavalcade North America, 2018 CEPR SymposiumMedia coverage: Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance (link), VoxEU (link)
Abstract: This paper uses legal board size requirements to test whether board size affects firm performance and value. Since 1976, the minimum size of German firms’ supervisory boards increases from 12 to 16 directors at 10,000 domestic employees, resulting in a sharp increase in board sizes. Regression discontinuity analyses show that ROA and Tobin’s Q decline by 2-3 percentage points and 0.20, respectively, at the threshold. A difference-in-differences analysis around the law’s introduction shows similar effects. Large boards’ underperformance is persistent, not just a transitory effect of adding directors, and large boards are associated with lower profit margins and M&A announcement returns.
On the program: A gender equality initiative and professional visibility at academic conferences, with Marina Gertsberg, Wei Hou, Esad Smajlbegovic and Patrick Verwijmeren R&R, Research Policy Deakin University, Erasmus School of Economics, TU Munich, 2025 FBA Conference Abstract: Persistent gender disparities characterize scientific careers. We study a gender equality initiative implemented at a leading academic conference, a key stage in researchers’ careers where visibility, reputation, and professional networks are shaped. Using a difference-in-differences design that compares two major conferences within the same discipline, we show that a time-limited initiative encouraging the appointment of women as paper discussants led to a sharp but temporary increase in female representation in this prestigious role. The increase did not come at the expense of quality: female discussants on the conference program during the initiative had stronger publication records and comparable expertise-paper matches. However, the initiative primarily affected already well-established women, who took on a disproportionate number of conference roles, with more limited gains for junior scholars. Over time, the pool of selected women broadened modestly to include scholars from lower-ranked institutions, yet we find only limited evidence that these roles translated into distinct long-run career gains. Our findings reveal that soft gender equality initiatives can meaningfully alter representation in high-profile academic roles, but their effects are not self-sustaining and may disproportionately affect senior female researchers.

Work in Progress (selection)

Democratizing private markets? Exploring Europe's push to open private investingSupported by an NWO XS grant

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