Call For Papers
First Edinburgh Corporate Finance Conference ­ “Corporate Finance and the Post Crisis Global Economy”

May 29-30, 2014, Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh Business School is delighted to host the Inaugural Edinburgh Corporate Finance Conference 2014. The conference will be at the highest quality level with 12 papers to be selected for presentation in plenary sessions over a day and one-half. Speakers will be treated to an exciting social programme including a tour of historic Edinburgh, whisky tasting and a gala dinner. The conference will be held at the Business School building in central Edinburgh on May 29-30, 2014, under the theme: “Corporate Finance and the Post Crisis Global Economy”.

OVERVIEW: As the global economy is slowly moving towards recovery, corporations face challenges due to the necessary scaling back of fiscal stimulus in developed countries, which is accompanied by capital flight and aggregate demand contraction in emerging markets. At the same time the long-term trend of greater integration of the global economy and openness of financial markets presents challenges and opportunities for companies to obtain external funding, diversify liquidity and volatility risks, and access broader investor bases. Companies are also exposed to varying levels of market development and regulation, different corporate governance standards, an increasingly international shareholder base, a more active market for corporate control, hedge fund activism, increasingly powerful sovereign wealth funds, and higher correlation among financial markets.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Sheridan Titman (Texas)

PROGRAM COMMITTEE: Tim Adam (Humboldt), Reena Aggarwal (Georgetown), Heitor Almeida (Illinois), Recep Bildik (Istanbul Stock Exchange), Alon Brav (Duke), Asli Demirguc-Kunt (World Bank), Alex Edmans (Wharton), Chitru Fernando (Oklahoma), Mark Flannery (Florida), Jie Gan (Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business), Mariassunta Giannetti (Stockholm School of Economics), Edith Ginglinger (Universite Paris-Dauphine), Denis Gromb (INSEAD), Sergei Guriev (Paris Institute of Political Science), Ulrich Hege (HEC Paris), Tim Jenkinson (Oxford), Inmoo Lee (Korean Advanced Institute Science & Technology), Kai Li (British Columbia), Chen Lin (Hong Kong University), Vojislav Maksimovic (Maryland), Manju Puri (Duke), Raghavendra Rau (Cambridge), Jay Ritter (Florida), Ilya Strebulaev (Stanford), Heather Tookes (Yale), Toni Whited (Rochester), Pradeep Yadav (Oklahoma).

TOPICS: For this conference, we are soliciting papers, both theoretical and empirical, that relate to how recent developments in global financial markets have altered our understanding of major issues in corporate finance. Topics of interest include the following:

Capital structure.
Payout policy (dividends and repurchases.
Security issuance.
Working capital management.
Role and effects of consolidation among stock exchanges and implications for securities issuance.
Corporate governance and the market for corporate control.
Private equity and venture capital.
IPOs, cross-listings, and target investor bases.
Privatization.
Shareholder activism by investors and hedge funds.
Sovereign wealth funds.
Multinationals’ international practice of financing and capital budgeting.
Foreign exchange markets.
Corporate finance in emerging markets.
Role of local financing and local investor relationships.

CO-CHAIRS: Bill Megginson (Oklahoma), Jens Hagendorff (Edinburgh), Maria Boutchkova (Edinburgh)

PAPER SUBMISSION PROCEDURE: Electronic submissions of unpublished papers via the conference website: http://www. ecfc-conference.com until November 15, 2013. Authors will be notified at the end of January 2014.

ABOUT THE VENUE: Edinburgh is the perfect venue for an international conference and participants may want to extend their stay to explore the atmospheric streets of the Old Town and the elegant Georgian architecture of the New Town; to visit famous historic sites such as Edinburgh Castle or the Palace of Holyroodhouse; to browse in wonderful museums, art galleries and shops; and to relax in some of the city’s excellent restaurants, bars and cafés.

The Scottish Highlands (http://www.visithighlands.com/)are a short drive away and offer beautiful and inspiring views of ancient landscapes with a fascinating history. Witness the amazing wildlife and take part in some thrilling outdoor pursuits. Explore the many mountains and glens, the stunning islands and stretches of coastline and follow the country's only Malt Whisky Trail.

FURTHER INFORMATION: additional information and contacts can be found at http://www.ecfc-conference.com or email: ecfconference@ed.ac.uk