一、主題：The power of Connections: Evidence from financial companies
二、主講人：David Dickinson
David Dickinson，英國伯明翰大學經濟學教授。曾任經濟系主任、商學院院長和社會科學學院國際化主任。本科畢業于英國曼徹斯特大學，博士畢業于英國謝菲爾德大學。目前，他是綠色經濟和可持續發展聯合研究所的社會科學帶頭人。他的研究領域為銀行和金融市場，在過去15年裡他一直緻力于研究中國問題。他出版了大量的專著，其學術論文也發表于Journal of Banking and Finance、Pacific-Basin Finance Journal、Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money等國際知名期刊。 

三、時間：11月27日（周五）20:00-21:30
四、地點：騰訊會議 ID （216 405 648）
五、主持人：陶坤玉，國際金融系
六、内容介紹：
Abstract：The role of political connections has been highlighted as an important influence on firm behaviour and value. We argue that political connections are just part of a wider pool of connections such as those with regulatory bodies and government officials. Using a quasi-experiment, we provide empirical evidence that broader directors' connections reduce company risk. More specifically, we find a negative and significant relationship between directors with both government and regulatory bodies' connections and company risk. Interestingly, we find that connected female directors are less risk-averse compared with their male counterparts. Our results also reveal that connected directors, though offered generous compensation packages, do not necessarily generate higher stock abnormal performance. Therefore, shareholders of financial companies should consider the trade-off between the incremental costs and benefits of appointing connected directors. The paper provides helpful insights for regulators and wider stakeholder groups.