Essays on Empirical Corporate Finance

Abstract

This dissertation consists of three essays and is submitted to the Department of Finance at Norwegian School of Economics in partial fulfillment of requirements for the completion of Doctor of Philosophy degree in Finance. The three essays explore important subject areas in Empirical Corporate Finance. The first essay questions the underpinnings of the instrumental variable approach with regards to one of its common applications. The next two essays use instrumental variable approaches to explore topics related to capital structure and CEO compensation.