IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jaecon/v79y2025i1s016541012400034x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Mitigating risk-shifting in corporate pension plans: Evidence from stakeholder constituency statutes

Author

Listed:
  • Garman, Amy D.
  • Kubick, Thomas R.

Abstract

We use staggered enactments of state stakeholder constituency laws as a natural experiment to examine the effect of such laws on corporate pension risk shifting. Our analysis encompasses three components of pension risk shifting: funding risk, investment risk, and benefit risk. We observe a reduction in all three elements of pension risk shifting following the enactment of stakeholder orientation laws that promote greater consideration of stakeholder interests. We also find that the post-enactment reduction in pension risk-shifting is greater for firms with fewer investment opportunities. Overall, our results provide insight into how stakeholder constituency can mitigate an important form of risk-shifting.

Suggested Citation

  • Garman, Amy D. & Kubick, Thomas R., 2025. "Mitigating risk-shifting in corporate pension plans: Evidence from stakeholder constituency statutes," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(1).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jaecon:v:79:y:2025:i:1:s016541012400034x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jacceco.2024.101704
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016541012400034X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jacceco.2024.101704?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yin Yu-Thompson & Seong Yeon Cho & Liang Fu, 2015. "The role of CEO inside debt holdings in corporate pension funding status," Review of Accounting and Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 14(3), pages 210-238, August.
    2. Timothy Erickson & Toni M. Whited, 2010. "Erratum: Measurement Error and the Relationship between Investment and q," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 118(6), pages 1252-1257.
    3. Timothy Erickson & Toni M. Whited, 2000. "Measurement Error and the Relationship between Investment and q," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 108(5), pages 1027-1057, October.
    4. Graham, John R. & Mills, Lillian F., 2008. "Using tax return data to simulate corporate marginal tax rates," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(2-3), pages 366-388, December.
    5. Julia Lynn Coronado & Steven A. Sharpe, 2003. "Did Pension Plan Accounting Contribute to a Stock Market Bubble?," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 34(1), pages 323-371.
    6. Guan, Yanling & Tang, Dragon Yongjun, 2018. "Employees' risk attitude and corporate risk taking: Evidence from pension asset allocations," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 261-274.
    7. Yin Yu-Thompson & Seong Yeon Cho & Liang Fu, 2015. "The role of CEO inside debt holdings in corporate pension funding status," Review of Accounting and Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 14(3), pages 210-238, August.
    8. Francis, Jere R. & Reiter, Sara Ann, 1987. "Determinants of corporate pension funding strategy," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 35-59, April.
    9. Roberts, Michael R. & Whited, Toni M., 2013. "Endogeneity in Empirical Corporate Finance1," Handbook of the Economics of Finance, in: G.M. Constantinides & M. Harris & R. M. Stulz (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Finance, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 493-572, Elsevier.
    10. Shijun Cheng & Raffi J. Indjejikian, 2009. "The Market for Corporate Control and CEO Compensation: Complements or Substitutes?," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(3), pages 701-728, September.
    11. Vafeas, Nikos & Vlittis, Adamos, 2018. "Independent directors and defined benefit pension plan freezes," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 505-518.
    12. Caroline Flammer, 2015. "Does Corporate Social Responsibility Lead to Superior Financial Performance? A Regression Discontinuity Approach," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 61(11), pages 2549-2568, November.
    13. Hieu V. Phan & Shantaram P. Hegde, 2013. "Pension Contributions and Firm Performance: Evidence from Frozen Defined Benefit Plans," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 42(2), pages 373-411, June.
    14. Comprix, Joseph & Muller, Karl A., 2011. "Pension plan accounting estimates and the freezing of defined benefit pension plans," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 115-133.
    15. Gerald T. Garvey & Gordon Hanka, 1999. "Capital Structure and Corporate Control: The Effect of Antitakeover Statutes on Firm Leverage," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 54(2), pages 519-546, April.
    16. Gao, Huasheng & Li, Kai & Ma, Yujing, 2021. "Stakeholder Orientation and the Cost of Debt: Evidence from State-Level Adoption of Constituency Statutes," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 56(6), pages 1908-1944, September.
    17. Comment, Robert & Schwert, G. William, 1995. "Poison or placebo? Evidence on the deterrence and wealth effects of modern antitakeover measures," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 3-43, September.
    18. Blouin, Jennifer & Core, John E. & Guay, Wayne, 2010. "Have the tax benefits of debt been overestimated?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(2), pages 195-213, November.
    19. Yen-Cheng Chang & Alexander Ljungqvist & Kevin Tseng, 2023. "Do Corporate Disclosures Constrain Strategic Analyst Behavior?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 36(8), pages 3163-3212.
    20. Sharad Asthana, 1999. "Determinants of Funding Strategies and Actuarial Choices for Defined†Benefit Pension Plans," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(1), pages 39-74, March.
    21. Stefanescu, Irina & Wang, Yupeng & Xie, Kangzhen & Yang, Jun, 2018. "Pay me now (and later): Pension benefit manipulation before plan freezes and executive retirement," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(1), pages 152-173.
    22. Marianne Bertrand & Sendhil Mullainathan, 1999. "Is There a Discretion in Wage Setting? A Test Using Takeover Legislation," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 30(3), pages 535-554, Autumn.
    23. Gormley, Todd A. & Matsa, David A., 2016. "Playing it safe? Managerial preferences, risk, and agency conflicts," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(3), pages 431-455.
    24. Yin Yu-Thompson & Seong Yeon Cho & Liang Fu, 2015. "The role of CEO inside debt holdings in corporate pension funding status," Review of Accounting and Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 14(3), pages 210-238, August.
    25. repec:fth:prinin:430 is not listed on IDEAS
    26. Leung, Woon Sau & Song, Wei & Chen, Jie, 2019. "Does bank stakeholder orientation enhance financial stability?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 38-63.
    27. Armstrong, Christopher S. & Balakrishnan, Karthik & Cohen, Daniel, 2012. "Corporate governance and the information environment: Evidence from state antitakeover laws," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 185-204.
    28. Itay Goldstein & Shijie Yang & Luo Zuo, 2023. "The Real Effects of Modern Information Technologies: Evidence from the EDGAR Implementation," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(5), pages 1699-1733, December.
    29. Sudipto Dasgupta & Thanh D & Ying Xia & Holger Mueller, 2023. "Joining Forces: The Spillover Effects of EPA Enforcement Actions and the Role of Socially Responsible Investors," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 36(9), pages 3781-3824.
    30. John L. Campbell & Dan S. Dhaliwal & William C. Schwartz, 2012. "Financing Constraints and the Cost of Capital: Evidence from the Funding of Corporate Pension Plans," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 25(3), pages 868-912.
    31. Mathias Dewatripont & Jean Tirole, 1994. "A Theory of Debt and Equity: Diversity of Securities and Manager-Shareholder Congruence," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(4), pages 1027-1054.
    32. Anantharaman, Divya & Lee, Yong Gyu, 2014. "Managerial risk taking incentives and corporate pension policy," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(2), pages 328-351.
    33. Callaway, Brantly & Sant’Anna, Pedro H.C., 2021. "Difference-in-Differences with multiple time periods," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 200-230.
    34. Caroline Flammer & Aleksandra Kacperczyk, 2016. "The Impact of Stakeholder Orientation on Innovation: Evidence from a Natural Experiment," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 62(7), pages 1982-2001, July.
    35. Ni, Xiaoran, 2020. "Does stakeholder orientation matter for earnings management: Evidence from non-shareholder constituency statutes," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    36. Froot, Kenneth A & Scharfstein, David S & Stein, Jeremy C, 1993. "Risk Management: Coordinating Corporate Investment and Financing Policies," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 48(5), pages 1629-1658, December.
    37. Thomas, Jacob K., 1988. "Corporate taxes and defined benefit pension plans," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(3), pages 199-237, July.
    38. Divya Anantharaman & Feng Gao & Hariom Manchiraju, 2022. "Does social responsibility begin at home? The relation between firms’ pension policies and corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 27(1), pages 76-121, March.
    39. Joshua D. Rauh, 2009. "Risk Shifting versus Risk Management: Investment Policy in Corporate Pension Plans," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(7), pages 2487-2533, July.
    40. Joshua D. Rauh, 2006. "Investment and Financing Constraints: Evidence from the Funding of Corporate Pension Plans," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(1), pages 33-71, February.
    41. Sendhil Mullainathan & Marianne Bertrand, 2000. "Agents with and without Principals," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(2), pages 203-208, May.
    42. Goto, Shingo & Yanase, Noriyoshi, 2021. "Pension return assumptions and shareholder-employee risk-shifting," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    43. Choy, Helen & Lin, Juichia & Officer, Micah S., 2014. "Does freezing a defined benefit pension plan affect firm risk?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(1), pages 1-21.
    44. Francesco Franzoni & José M. Marín, 2006. "Pension Plan Funding and Stock Market Efficiency," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(2), pages 921-956, April.
    45. Marianne Bertrand & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2003. "Enjoying the Quiet Life? Corporate Governance and Managerial Preferences," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 111(5), pages 1043-1075, October.
    46. Comprix, Joseph & Muller III, Karl A., 2011. "Pension plan accounting estimates and the freezing of defined benefit pension plans," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1-2), pages 115-133, February.
    47. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    48. James P. Naughton, 2019. "Regulatory oversight and trade-offs in earnings management: evidence from pension accounting," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 456-490, June.
    49. Goodman-Bacon, Andrew, 2021. "Difference-in-differences with variation in treatment timing," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 254-277.
    50. Doruk Cengiz & Arindrajit Dube & Attila Lindner & Ben Zipperer, 2019. "The Effect of Minimum Wages on Low-Wage Jobs," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 134(3), pages 1405-1454.
    51. Peters, Ryan H. & Taylor, Lucian A., 2017. "Intangible capital and the investment-q relation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(2), pages 251-272.
    52. Divya Anantharaman, 2011. "Corporate Pension Plan Investments in Alternative Assets: Determinants and Consequences," Working Papers, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College wp2011-13, Center for Retirement Research, revised Sep 2011.
    53. Marianne Bertrand & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2000. "Agents with and without Principals," Working Papers 809, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    54. Mary Margaret Frank, 2002. "The Impact of Taxes on Corporate Defined Benefit Plan Asset Allocation," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(4), pages 1163-1190, September.
    55. Michael Kisser & John Kiff & Mauricio Soto, 2017. "Do Managers of U.S. Defined Benefit Pension Plan Sponsors Use Regulatory Freedom Strategically?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(5), pages 1213-1255, December.
    56. Sun, Liyang & Abraham, Sarah, 2021. "Estimating dynamic treatment effects in event studies with heterogeneous treatment effects," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 175-199.
    57. Hayashi, Fumio, 1982. "Tobin's Marginal q and Average q: A Neoclassical Interpretation," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 50(1), pages 213-224, January.
    58. Anil Shivdasani & Irina Stefanescu, 2010. "How Do Pensions Affect Corporate Capital Structure Decisions?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(3), pages 1287-1323, March.
    59. Pan, Yue & Shroff, Nemit & Zhang, Pengdong, 2023. "The dark side of audit market competition," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(1).
    60. Treynor, Jack L, 1977. "The Principles of Corporate Pension Finance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 32(2), pages 627-638, May.
    61. Qiang Cheng & Laura Swenson, 2018. "Executive compensation and cash contributions to defined benefit pension plans," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(9-10), pages 1224-1259, October.
    62. Sharpe, William F., 1976. "Corporate pension funding policy," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(3), pages 183-193, June.
    63. Eliezer M FichLe & Jarrad Harford & Anh L Tran, 2023. "Disloyal Managers and Shareholders’ Wealth," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 36(5), pages 1837-1888.
    64. Comprix, Joseph & Muller III, Karl A., 2006. "Asymmetric treatment of reported pension expense and income amounts in CEO cash compensation calculations," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 385-416, December.
    65. Yanling Guan & Daphne Lui, 2016. "The Effect of Regulations on Pension Risk Shifting: Evidence from the US and Europe," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(5-6), pages 765-799, May.
    66. Baker, Andrew C. & Larcker, David F. & Wang, Charles C.Y., 2022. "How much should we trust staggered difference-in-differences estimates?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(2), pages 370-395.
    67. Taiyuan Wang & Pratima Bansal, 2012. "Social responsibility in new ventures: profiting from a long‐term orientation," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(10), pages 1135-1153, October.
    68. Daniel Bergstresser & Mihir Desai & Joshua Rauh, 2006. "Earnings Manipulation, Pension Assumptions, and Managerial Investment Decisions," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 121(1), pages 157-195.
    69. Ni, Xiaoran & Song, Wei & Yao, Jiaquan, 2020. "Stakeholder orientation and corporate payout policy: Insights from state legal shocks," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    70. An, Heng & Huang, Zhaodan & Zhang, Ting, 2013. "What determines corporate pension fund risk-taking strategy?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 597-613.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Goto, Shingo & Yanase, Noriyoshi, 2021. "Pension return assumptions and shareholder-employee risk-shifting," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    2. Cumming, Douglas & Lu, Fanyu & Xu, Limin & Yu, Chia-Feng (Jeffrey), 2025. "Does stakeholder orientation mitigate shareholder-employee conflicts? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    3. Brian Silverstein, 2021. "Defined benefit pension de‐risking and corporate risk‐taking," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 50(4), pages 1085-1111, December.
    4. Almaghrabi, Khadija S., 2023. "Non‐operating risk and cash holdings: Evidence from pension risk," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    5. Li, Yong & Henry, Darren, 2022. "Corporate risk management and pension investment policy," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 590-605.
    6. An, Heng & Huang, Zhaodan & Zhang, Ting, 2013. "What determines corporate pension fund risk-taking strategy?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 597-613.
    7. Zhao, Zucheng & Sutcliffe, Charles, 2024. "Why are pension schemes frozen, and how does a freeze affect the Employer's risk?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    8. Anantharaman, Divya & Lee, Yong Gyu, 2014. "Managerial risk taking incentives and corporate pension policy," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(2), pages 328-351.
    9. Denise A. Jones, 2013. "Changes in the Funded Status of Retirement Plans after the Adoption of SFAS No. 158: Economic Improvement or Balance Sheet Management," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(3), pages 1099-1132, September.
    10. Rauh, Joshua D. & Stefanescu, Irina & Zeldes, Stephen P., 2020. "Cost saving and the freezing of corporate pension plans," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    11. Douglas Cumming & Fanyu Lu & Limin Xu & Chia-Feng (Jeffrey) Yu, 2024. "Are Companies Offloading Risk onto Employees in Times of Uncertainty? Insights from Corporate Pension Plans," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 195(3), pages 579-598, December.
    12. Luca Larcher & Francis Breedon, 2020. "Discounting and the market valuation of defined benefit pensions," Working Papers 932, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    13. Michael Kisser & John Kiff & Mauricio Soto, 2017. "Do Managers of U.S. Defined Benefit Pension Plan Sponsors Use Regulatory Freedom Strategically?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(5), pages 1213-1255, December.
    14. Romec, Arthur, 2023. "Stakeholder orientation and managerial incentives: Evidence from a natural experiment," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    15. Berchtold, Demian & Dichter, Oliver & Loderer, Claudio & Waelchli, Urs, 2021. "Pension risk and corporate investment distortion," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    16. Romaniuk, Katarzyna, 2019. "Premiums of the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation and risk-taking by pension plans," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 301-307.
    17. Franzoni, Francesco, 2009. "Underinvestment vs. overinvestment: Evidence from price reactions to pension contributions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(3), pages 491-518, June.
    18. Wei Huang & Bin Qiu, 2022. "Passive insider trading before pension freezes," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 45(3), pages 607-631, September.
    19. Vafeas, Nikos & Vlittis, Adamos, 2018. "Independent directors and defined benefit pension plan freezes," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 505-518.
    20. Michaelides, Alexander & Papakyriakou, Panayiotis & Milidonis, Andreas, 2019. "Corporate Pension Plan Funding Levels and Pension Assumptions," CEPR Discussion Papers 13591, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Agency theory; Defined benefit pensions; Manager-employee conflicts; Pensions; Stakeholder constituency statutes; State law; Risk shifting;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility
    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jaecon:v:79:y:2025:i:1:s016541012400034x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jae .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.