Title: Capital Market-related Agglomeration Spillovers: Evidence from Million Dollar Plant Expansions

Speaker: Yaping Zheng, Assistant Professor, University of Alberta, Canada

Host: Shuo Li, Assistant Professor, Antai College of Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Time: 14:00–15:30, Friday, November 6, 2026

Venue: Room A511, Pao Sui Loong Library, Antai College of Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Brief introduction of the content: 

In this study, we examine capital market-related agglomeration spillovers associated with large plant openings (referred to as “million-dollar plants”, MDPs). We consider whether reductions in information processing costs benefit incumbent firms that are geographically proximate to the MDP, resulting in increased analyst coverage and institutional investment. Specifically, we find that a broker (mutual fund) that covers (invests in) the MDP firm is more likely to cover (invest in) an incumbent firm following the MDP event, relative to a broker (mutual fund) that does not cover (invest in) the MDP firm. The effect is stronger in counties with lower ex-ante capital market awareness and among firms that exhibit stronger economic co-movement with the local economy or have a larger local presence. The effect also exists even when the incumbent firm operates in a different industry from the MDP firm. We also find decreases in illiquidity, volatility, and bid-ask spread for incumbent firms in the winning county relative to incumbent firms in the runner-up counties. Overall, we provide evidence of capital market agglomeration spillovers.

Speaker's profile:

Dr. Yaping Zheng is an Assistant Professor of Accounting at the University of Alberta in Canada. She received her Ph.D. in Accounting from McGill University. Her research focuses on financial analysts, corporate disclosure, and emerging technologies and alternative data in accounting. She has served as the principal investigator on several nationally funded research projects in Canada. Her research has been published in leading journals in accounting and related fields, including Management Science.

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