Daniel Urban
Welcome to my homepage! I am an Assistant 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.
Department of Business EconomicsErasmus School of Economics - Finance GroupErasmus University Rotterdam
Room E2-30, 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, forthcoming Index creation, information changes, and financing, with Vidhan K. Goyal and Wenting ZhaoJournal of Accounting Research, forthcoming Ranking finance conferences: An update, with Wei Hou and Esad SmajlbegovicJournal of Empirical Finance, forthcoming 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, 2014Publications
Working Papers
Working Papers
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.
Cash me if you can: ATM explosions, payment choice, and consumption, with Esad Smajlbegovic, Theresa Spickers and Michael Weber University of Kentucky Finance Conference 2025, EFA 2025, Lapland Household Finance Summit 2025, Alpine Finance Summit 2025, SGF 2025Supported by an NWO XS grant
Abstract: We study the consumption effects of a shift from cash to card payments. We exploit 275 explosive attacks on automated teller machines (ATMs) in Germany, which provide plausibly exogenous variation in the availability of cash. Using home scan data, we find that 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 significant long-term rise in card payments following explosive attacks. Overall, the results are consistent with short-term overspending as consumers transition to digital payments.
Board gender quotas and female borrowing: Evidence from loan-level data, with Angelo d'Andrea, Fabrizio Core and Tim Eisert AFA 2026, CCA-ESCP Workshop on Financial Institutions and Corporate Finance, Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance, 7th Erasmus Corporate Governance ConferenceSupported by an NWO XS grant
Abstract: We examine how female board representation affects banks' lending to female-led firms, using Italy's mandatory gender quota and loan-level data. As banks increase female board presence, they lend more to female-led firms on both extensive and intensive margins, including smaller firms, without increasing non-performing exposures. Female borrowers see an increase in credit availability beyond reallocation effects and show higher post-quota growth, indicating real economic effects. We also uncover organizational changes: banks promote more women among rank-and-file employees, which can explain female credit growth. Our findings highlight how board-level gender diversity can shape credit allocation and influence broader organizational outcomes.
Passive ownership and the environment, with Vidhan K. Goyal, Daniel Schmidt and Theresa Spickers HEC-HKUST Workshop on Impact and Sustainable Finance, CEPR Advanced Forum in Financial Economics, SGF Conference 2024
Abstract: We find that firms improve their environmental performance once they are added to newly created indexes; their environmental scores improve, and emissions decline. We attribute this improvement to passive investors whose inelastic demand for a firm's shares is less responsive to firm performance. Consistently, we find that the sensitivity of stock prices to earnings news is lower when firms become part of an index, facilitating investments in expensive, cleaner technology. Consequently, firms invest more in R&D and become less profitable following index additions. Finally, environmental improvements are larger in countries with fewer environmental subsidies, higher cost of capital for green investments, and greater exposure to climate change-related risks.
Who scores the gig? Gender equality initiatives and female selection, with Marina Gertsberg, Wei Hou, Esad Smajlbegovic and Patrick Verwijmeren
Abstract: Initiatives to promote women's careers and reduce gender inequality in high-status positions have gained popularity. However, an important question arises: which women are being chosen for these opportunities? Are they predominantly those already at the top of their fields? By studying responses to a gender equality initiative within the context of academic conferences, we find that, initially, reputable and well-established women are selected for prestigious roles. Over time, the pool of selected women broadens to also include those from less prestigious institutions.
Work in Progress
Work in Progress
Fund voting, female board representation, and firm outcomes, with Wei Hou, Thomas Schmid and Patrick Verwijmeren PE and job ads, with Clemens Müller, Stefan Obernberger and Stefan Weik Minority directors and firm performance: Evidence from directors' deaths, with Fabrizio Core, Thomas Schmid and Theresa Spickers
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