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Quid Pro Quo? The Sec Oversight Enforcement And Corporate Lobbying, Daeun Lee

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Due to the private nature of its internal investigations, research on the SEC oversight enforcement is limited. By distinguishing between enforcement staff’ decision to open an investigation (investigation decision) and commissioners’ authorization of an enforcement action (enforcement decision), this study is the first to examine how these two decisions interplay to overcome the political capture while fulfilling the SEC’s mission to protect investors. First, I do not find evidence that investigation decision is influenced by firms’ political connections, whereas enforcement decision is affected by firms’ lobbying efforts. Collectively, my results imply that there exists a misalignment …