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 E2-47, P.O. Box 17383000 DR Rotterdam (NL)+31 10 408 2923urban [at] ese.eur.nl
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Working Papers


Size, returns and value added: Do private equity firms allocate capital according to manager skill?, with Reiner Braun, Nils Dorau and Tim Jenkinson R&R, Journal of Finance 2023 SFS Cavalcade North America, 2023 LBS Private Capital Symposium, 2023 Columbia Private Equity Conference, Lapland Investment Fund Summit 2023, 2022 Private Equity Research Symposium, 19th Cologne Colloquium on Financial Markets, 2019 FMA, Paris December 2019 Finance Meeting
Abstract: Private equity (PE) organizations have strong incentives to increase fund and deal sizes. Employing a unique manager-deal matched dataset we find that increased scale has resulted in lower relative returns and waning performance persistence. We propose a new measure of PE gross value added (GVA) that accounts for scale. The measure shows persistence at the fund and manager level. PE organizations have an important role to play in minimizing the impact of scale on relative returns, and so increase GVA, as funds grow by allocating more capital to skilled managers. Around one-third of GVA stems from such capital allocation decisions.  
Index creation, information changes, and financing, with Vidhan K. Goyal and Wenting Zhao  R&R, Journal of Accounting Research AFA 2021, FIRS 2017, China International Conference in Finance 2017, FMA 2017, SGF 2017, FMA Europe 2017, Asian Finance Association Annual Meeting 2017FMA 2017 and FMA Europe 2017, semi-finalist best paper award
Abstract: We analyze how financing responds to shifts in passive demand when firms are added to equity indexes. Using a worldwide sample of index launches and changes to index methodologies, we show that firms issue more debt and become more leveraged when they are added to indexes. Although there is more information production, as measured by an increase in analyst following and news coverage, index additions do not improve stock price informativeness. The findings are consistent with active investors producing additional information, which just about offsets the increased noise in stock prices due to greater inelastic demand. The additional information benefits debt investors, with bonds becoming more liquid, ratings improving, and yield spreads declining. As a result, indexed firms increase their reliance on public debt. We also find that the debt response is stronger in countries with weaker information environments, consistent with information changes driving debt responses. We find no support for corporate governance changes producing the financing responses around index additions. 
Does board size matter?, with Dirk Jenter and Thomas Schmid 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. 
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. 
Female representation and social movements: Evidence from the top finance conferences, with Marina Gertsberg, Wei Hou, Esad Smajlbegovic, and Patrick Verwijmeren
Abstract: Increased visibility at academic conferences has the potential of improving women's standing in science. We study female representation at two top conference meetings in finance - a scientific discipline with a significant underrepresentation of women. The two conferences provide a unique laboratory because they vary the discretionary power of the session chairs. We also analyze how #MeToo, one of the most prominent social movements in recent years, affected the gender composition at these meetings. Overall, we find that the fraction of female researchers at finance conferences increases during #MeToo. When the chair has more discretion over selected papers, we observe an increase in the presented papers' authors that are female. When the chair has less discretion, the increase in female's visibility after #MeToo comes from a higher likelihood of being appointed session chair or discussant. We find that most of these effects are permanent. Our results are in line with decision-makers taking advantage of opportunities arising due to social movements to improve women's positions.  
Ranking finance conferences: An update, with Esad Smajlbegovic  R&R, Journal of Empirical Finance
Abstract: Given budgetary and time constraints as well as climate concerns, researchers need to decide on which academic conferences to attend. As a basis for decision-making, we track the publication status of 6,805 research articles presented at 87 finance conferences between 2011 and 2015. We then rank these conferences based on publication rates in top finance and economics journals. The ranking shows considerable heterogeneity in conference quality and uncovers three major conference clusters. We further highlight important time trends and the relation between conference size and publication success. 

Work in Progress


Bank board diversity and women's access to credit: Evidence from Italy, with Angelo d'Andrea, Fabrizio Core, and Tim EisertSupported by an NWO XS grant
Payment choice and consumption: Evidence from ATM bombings, with Esad Smajlbegovic, Theresa Spickers, and Michael Weber Supported by an NWO XS grant
Fund voting, female board representation, and environmental outcomes, with Wei Hou, Thomas Schmid, and Patrick Verwijmeren
Does new ownership need new leadership? CEO turnover in private equity investments, with Reiner Braun, Tim Jenkinson, and Stefan Weik