Research

Job Market Paper:

How Does Private Equity Shape Childcare? Implications for Competition, Pricing, and Quality

with Dyaran Bansraj

Abstract: This paper offers a new perspective on how for-profit motives manifest in socially important sectors with welfare objectives. We study private equity (PE) ownership in childcare, a highly regulated and subsidized service where impacts may differ from less regulated markets. PE-owned centres charge higher prices, partly by capturing more public subsidies, but also deliver higher quality by adapting more effectively to stricter regulation. Beyond these direct effects, PE entry generates negative spillovers, as the quality of competing providers declines. Prices are set especially high in markets with less competition, underscoring how regulation, subsidies, and market structure shape outcomes. 

Other Working Papers:

Does ownership matter for patient outcomes? Chain and private-equity takeovers of English care homes

with Oliver Borrows, Ana Rincon Aznar and Jakob Schneebacher

Abstract: This paper investigates the outcomes of acquisitions by large corporate chains and private equity (PE)-backed providers in the English care home market. Employing a difference-in-differences design that exploits merger waves, we find that corporate acquisitions reduce capacity and quality at target homes. PE-backed takeovers lead to larger increases in utilisation but slower declines in quality ratings. We also find competitor care homes experience a decrease in inspection ratings and an increase in capacity utilisation. Furthermore, PE-owned care homes show a lower survival rate after the takeover.

Strategic Corporate Social Responsible Disclosure 

Abstract: This paper examines whether firms adjust corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure when peers are required to disclose. Exploiting the United Kingdom’s 2017 CSR-reporting mandate as a quasi-natural experiment, we document that non-mandated firms increase voluntary CSR reporting as the share of mandated peers in their industry rises. The response is stronger in more competitive markets and in business-to-consumer (B2C) industries. Overall, The findings suggest that targeted reporting regulation generate spillovers beyond the regulatory regime and is consistent with strategic disclosure behavior driven by competitive and reputational incentives.

Another Way Out for Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding as a Substitute for Venture Capital

Firm Scope, Noncompete Agreements and Inventor Mobility

Internal Labour Markets and Noncompete Agreements

with Giacinta Cestone