论文笔记 | Do state visits affect cross-border mergers and acquisitions

Aleksanyan M , Hao Z , Vagenas-Nanos E , et al. Do state visits affect cross-border mergers and acquisitions?[J]. Journal of Corporate Finance, 2021, 66:101800.

故事：
本文研究了国事访问与跨境并购（M&A）活动之间的关系，发现国事访问能够增强东道国对访问国的并购，并且这种并购是由于商业网络（信息不对称降低）、减轻文化距离的担忧、投资不确定性。

采用工具变量（the (log of the) overall number of tourists visiting to the host country each year as an instrumental variable）as the preference of tourists (i.e., tourists from around the world, not only from the country of the state visit) could influence the choice of visit destinations by heads of state解决内生性问题

机制检验：
We investigate the channels through which political visits could influence the decisions of companies to engage in mergers and acquisitions. We test predictions from three related and non-mutually exclusive channels.

First, direct contact between the heads and business delegations from both countries can foster networking and reduce information asymmetry between domestic and foreign firms.

Second, we examine whether reductions in concerns related to cultural distance play a role in M&A activity after political
state visits.

Third, we investigate whether political visits enhance M&A activity by eliminating concerns of doing business in foreign countries with high investment uncertainty.