KHAS Finance Webinar: Prof. Baolian Wang (University of Florida)

Dear colleagues and students,  

We are very excited to host Baolian Wang at the Khas Finance Webinar series organized by the International Trade and Finance Department. Please find the details below and the paper in the attachment. 

Speaker: Baolian Wang 

Institution: University of Florida

Day and Time: 25 March 2025 (Tuesday), 17.00 (GMT+3)    

Title: The Impact of Return-to-Office Mandates on Equity Analysts

Zoom Link: 

Abstract: Using a difference-in-differences design, we examine how brokerage firms’ return-to-office (RTO) mandates affect analysts’ forecast quality. We find that RTO mandates improve forecast accuracy, particularly for younger, less experienced, and female analysts, as well as those residing in Democratic states or facing greater time pressure. The effect is stronger for stocks that are less central to analysts’ careers, suggesting strategic effort allocation. RTO mandates also enhance forecast timeliness. These findings support the hypothesis that in-office work increases labor productivity. However, analyst turnover rises following RTO mandates, though this trend fades by 2022-2023 as most brokerages adopt RTO policies.

About the speaker: Professor Baolian Wang is currently the Bank of America Associate Professor of Finance at the University of Florida. His research areas are empirical asset pricing, behavioral finance, investor behavior, FinTech, and the Chinese economy. His research has been published in leading academic journals, including Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, Management Science, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Review of Finance, Review of Accounting Studies, Critical Finance Review, and Strategic Management Journal. Prior to joining UF, he was an assistant professor at Fordham University from 2014 to 2018. Professor Wang received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University before receiving his Ph.D. from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

For inquiries about the event: [email protected]

Previous events at the KHAS Finance Webinar Series: https://itf.khas.edu.tr/etkinlikler/