Edward M. Watts

Assistant Professor of Accounting

Yale School of Management

I am currently an Assistant Professor of Accounting at the Yale School of Management. My research interests span various areas of capital markets research and ESG-related issues. My ongoing work focuses on the capital market and societal effects of firms' ESG-related activities, the role of information in debt capital markets, and the impact of information processing costs on investor behavior. I teach ESG Investing and an international course on Sustainable Finance.

Interests

Debt capital markets
Environmental, social and governance (ESG)
Investor behavior
Market microstructure

Education

Ph.D. in Business Administration, 2020
Stanford Graduate School of Business
M.A. in Economics, 2012
Duke University
B.A. in Mathematics and Economics, 2010
SUNY Geneseo

Publications

Andrew Baker, David F. Larcker, Charles McClure, Durgesh Saraph, Edward M. Watts (2024). Diversity Washing. Journal of Accounting Resarch, 62 (5): 1661–1709 (December 2024).

Journal Article SSRN

Qianqian Li, Edward M. Watts, Christina Zhu (2024). Retail Investors and ESG News. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 78 (2–3): 101719 (November–December 2024).

Journal Article SSRN

Stefan Huber, Chongho Kim, Edward M. Watts (2024). Earnings News and Over-the-Counter Markets. Journal of Accounting Research, 62 (2): 701–735 (May 2024).

Journal Article SSRN

Ian Gow, David F. Larcker, Edward M. Watts (2023). Board Diversity and Shareholder Voting. Journal of Corporate Finance, 83: 102487 (December 2023).

Journal Article SSRN

Ed deHaan, Jiacui Li, Edward M. Watts (2023). Retail Bond Investors and Credit Ratings. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 76 (1): 101587 (August 2023).

Journal Article SSRN

David F. Larcker, Brian Tayan, Edward M. Watts (2021). Seven Myths of ESG. European Financial Management, 28 (4): 869–882 (September 2022).

Journal Article SSRN

Charles M.C. Lee, Edward M. Watts (2021). Tick Size Tolls: Can a Trading Slowdown Improve Earnings News Discovery?. The Accounting Review, 96 (3): 373–401 (May 2021).

Journal Article SSRN

Christine Cuny, Omri Even-Tov, Edward M. Watts (2020). From Implicit to Explicit: The Impact of Disclosure Requirements on Hidden Transaction Costs. Journal of Accounting Resarch, 59 (1): 215–242 (March 2021).

Journal Article SSRN

David F. Larcker, Edward M. Watts (2020). Where's the Greenium?. Journal of Accounting and Economics 69 (2–3): 101312 (April–May 2020).

Journal Article SSRN

Working Papers

Stefan Huber, Edward M. Watts, Christina Zhu (2024). Information Flows in Trading Networks. Working Paper.

Christine Cuny, Ken Li, Anya Nakhmurina, Edward M. Watts (2024). Muni Disclosure. Working Paper.

Charles McClure, Shawn Shi, Edward M. Watts (2024). Information Acquisition Costs and Price Informativeness: Global Evidence. Working Paper.

Non-refereed Publications

David F. Larcker, Lukasz Pomorski, Brian Tayan, Edward M. Watts (2022). ESG Ratings: A Compass Without Direction. Stanford Closer Look Series.

David F. Larcker, Brian Tayan, Edward M. Watts (2022). Firing and Hiring the CEO: What Does CEO Turnover Data Tell Us About Succession Planning?. Stanford Closer Look Series.

David F. Larcker, Brian Tayan, Edward M. Watts (2021). Stock-Option Financing in Pre-IPO Companies. Stanford Closer Look Series.

Amit Batish, Andrew Gordon, David F. Larcker, Brian Tayan, Edward M. Watts, Courtney Yu (2020). Sharing the Pain: How Did Boards Adjust CEO Pay in Response to COVID-19?. Stanford Closer Look Series.

David F. Larcker, Brian Tayan, Edward M. Watts (2018). Cashing It In: Private-Company Exchanges and Employee Stock Sales Prior to IPO. Stanford Closer Look Series.

Experience

Assistant Professor

Yale School of Management

Jul 2020 – Present New Haven, CT

PhD Candidate

Stanford Graduate School of Business

Aug 2015 – Jun 2020 Stanford, CA

Quantitative Associate, Investment Banking

Morgan Stanley

Jun 2014 – Aug 2015 New York, NY

Analyst, Fixed Income Trading

Morgan Stanley

Jun 2012 – Jun 2014 Purchase, NY