Topic: Disclosure Standards, Investment Externalities, and CSR
Speaker: Xu JIANG
Time: 9:00–10:30, Tuesday, September 15, 2026
Venue: Tencent Meeting: 529-236-793
Organizers: School of Accounting, Dongbei University of Finance and Economics; Liaoning Provincial Graduate Innovation and Academic Exchange Center for Finance and Accounting in Capital Markets
Abstract: Modern firm investments, such as corporate social responsibility (CSR) and research and development (R&D) activities, often generate positive externalities that firms do not fully internalize. Firms follow different disclosure standards, ranging from full disclosure to simplified categorical ratings, to demonstrate these investments to stakeholders. In this paper, we develop a disclosure model to study how these standards affect firms' investment incentives. Our analysis shows that simplified disclosure, while less informative, can induce some firms to overinvest, thereby partially internalizing externalities and increasing social welfare. Our paper informs policymakers' design of disclosure standards and materiality thresholds for externality-generating investments.
Introduction of the Speaker:
Xu JIANG is a professor at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. He previously served as an Assistant Professor of Accounting at Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business. Professor Jiang's main research areas include banking regulation, the design of optimal disclosure rules, the economic consequences of accounting standards and regulation, and strategic communication. His research has been published in journals including Journal of Accounting and Economics, Journal of Accounting Research, Journal of Economic Theory, Management Science, and The Accounting Review. He teaches financial accounting courses and received the 2016 Excellence in Teaching Award for the Master of Science in Management Program. He also serves as a reviewer for multiple academic journals and has received the Journal of Accounting Research Outstanding Reviewer Award in 2021, 2023, 2024, and 2025, as well as the 2024 Journal of Accounting Research Best Reviewer of the Year Award. He previously served as a member of the Editorial and Advisory Review Board of The Accounting Review and currently serves as an editor of the journal.
