Edward M. Watts

Edward M. Watts

Assistant Professor of Accounting

Yale School of Management

ECGI

I am an Assistant Professor of Accounting at the Yale School of Management and a Research Member of the European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI). My research examines how disclosure and information frictions influence trading and pricing, as well as topics in sustainable investing (i.e., ESG investing). My recent work investigates information acquisition and trading frictions in fixed income markets, the valuation of sustainability-related information by investors, and the credibility of corporate diversity claims. I teach Sustainable Investing, international courses on sustainable finance and stakeholder capitalism, and regularly deliver guest lectures on sustainability reporting within the MBA accounting curriculum.

Interests

  • Debt Capital Markets
  • Disclosure
  • Investor Behavior
  • Market Microstructure
  • Sustainable Finance

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

(2025). Muni Disclosure: All Talk and No Trade?. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 80 (1): 101797 (August 2025).

Journal Article SSRN

(2024). Diversity Washing. Journal of Accounting Research, 62 (5): 1661–1709 (December 2024).

Journal Article SSRN

(2024). Retail Investors and ESG News. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 78 (2–3): 101719 (November–December 2024).

Journal Article SSRN

(2024). Earnings News and Over-the-Counter Markets. Journal of Accounting Research, 62 (2): 701–735 (May 2024).

Journal Article SSRN

(2023). Board Diversity and Shareholder Voting. Journal of Corporate Finance, 83: 102487 (December 2023).

Journal Article SSRN

(2023). Retail Bond Investors and Credit Ratings. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 76 (1): 101587 (August 2023).

Journal Article SSRN

(2021). Seven Myths of ESG. European Financial Management, 28 (4): 869–882 (September 2022).

Journal Article SSRN

(2020). Where's the Greenium?. Journal of Accounting and Economics 69 (2–3): 101312 (April–May 2020).

Journal Article SSRN

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

Contact

  • 165 Whitney Ave, New Haven, CT 06511