Working papers

SPACs Boom, Bust, and Structural Failures with Fangjian Fu and Dan Ma 

• Best Paper Award at the Singapore Rising Scholars Conference 

• Presented at China Tech-Fin Research Conference 2025, FMA Europe 2023, ENTFIN 2023, SMU Finance Summer Camp 2023, Singapore Rising Scholar Conference 2023 

• Abstract: Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) experienced a skyrocket rise in 2020-2021 but rapidly collapsed in 2022, raising concerns about their long-term viability. This paper explores the structural flaws that underlie the SPAC boom-and-bust cycle. Three key issues emerge: (1) the misalignment between risk and return, which turns SPACs into speculative instruments rather than investment vehicles; (2) agency problems, where sponsors have distorted incentives with limited governance; and (3) the failure of traditional market gatekeepers – such as underwriters and M&A advisors – in certifying deal quality. Empirical evidence from updated data on redemption rates, deal performance, and the role of financial intermediaries, supports the need for regulatory and structural reforms to make SPACs a viable alternative to traditional IPOs and venture capital.

Salient Cues of Economic Transitions in Analyst Forecasting: Evidence from the Electric Vehicle Era with Jarrad Harford, Weikai Li, and Yonghao Zhai

• CFA Institute's Best Paper on Sustainable Investment at AFBC

• Presented at MFA 2026, FARS Midyear Meeting 2026, ABFER Poster Session 2026, Dishui Lake Finance Conference International 2026, Greater China Area Finance Conference 2026, AsianFA 2026, JAAF Symposium 2026, FMA 2025, EAA Talent Workshop 2025, AFBC 2025, Singapore Scholar Symposium 2025, ABR-Fudan Joint Conference 2025, SMU Finance Summer Camp 2025

• Seminars: Fudan University, Renmin University of China, Nankai University, SMU

• Abstract: We examine how salient cues of broad economic trends shape financial analysts’ forecasting, using U.S. MSA-level electric vehicle (EV) adoption as a proxy for local green salience. After controlling for MSA, analyst, and firm characteristics, analysts in high-EV areas make more accurate forecasts for green firms. This improvement reflects not a net gain in forecasting ability, but a reallocation of limited attention and effort toward green firms. The effect is stronger among male, younger, and less busy analysts, and for harder-to-value firms, and is accompanied by more frequent forecast revisions, greater climate-related engagement during earnings calls, and increased use of opportunity-oriented climate language in analysts’ reports. Markets respond more strongly to forecast revisions by these analysts, and the information environment of green firms improves under their coverage.

Labor Market Information and Product Market Spillovers: Evidence from Employee Reviews with Rencheng Wang and Yonghao Zhai 

• Presented at CUFE Longma Accounting and Finance Symposium 2026 

• Abstract: We examine whether labor-market information available to job seekers spills over into the product market and affects consumer purchasing behavior. Job seekers frequently consult Glassdoor to evaluate potential employers, and because they are also consumers, employee-generated information encountered during labor-market information processing can subsequently affect their purchasing decisions. We exploit peer firms' earnings announcements as shocks to labor-market information processing activity, using variation in peer announcement timing and intensity to identify periods when employee-generated information is more likely to be salient to local consumers. We find that negative content in a firm's employee reviews is associated with lower product sales during periods of heightened exposure to its peer firms' earnings announcements, while positive content in employee reviews shows no comparable effect. The effect of negative content is stronger when peer firms have more employees processing labor-market information around their earnings announcements, when the local labor market has more job opportunities, and when local consumers hold stronger social or labor-related preferences. Our findings identify an informational channel connecting labor and product markets. 

Work in Progress

Ideology Alignment and the US Government Foreign Procurement