This paper reviews the theoretical and empirical literature on the economic and social consequences of diversity across multiple levels, including individuals, groups, organizations, and regions. The literature highlights two opposing mechanisms: diversity can enhance creativity and innovation by combining heterogeneous knowledge and perspectives, but it can also generate coordination costs, communication barriers, and social frictions. The overall effects are highly context-dependent, varying with the type of diversity, task characteristics, and institutional environment. While evidence tends to support positive effects in knowledge-intensive settings, empirical findings remain mixed due to measurement challenges and issues of endogeneity. The paper concludes by emphasizing the importance of institutional and organizational conditions in shaping outcomes and identifies directions for future research.

We examine how a government-mandated newspaper consolidation in 1980s Korea affected firms’ information environment. Exploiting the quasi-exogenous “One Province One Newspaper” policy, we find that firms headquartered in affected regions experienced higher information asymmetry measured by idiosyncratic volatility, trading volume, and Amihud illiquidity following consolidation. The effect is amplified for firms in Jeolla, where political control of the press was strictest, and for firms with concentrated local investor bases. The results highlight the role of regional media as a conduit for firm-specific information and the capital- market consequences of state-led media regulation.

This study examines how managerial career concerns affect operating cash flow (OCF) management, focusing on chief financial officers (CFOs). Using U.S. data, we find a negative relation between CFO tenure and unexpected OCF, indicating greater OCF management early in tenure. Early-tenure CFOs appear to manage OCF through timing adjustments, evidenced by a shorter year-end cash conversion cycle. Unexpected OCF better predicts future performance when CFO tenure is short, suggesting more informative reporting. Results are stronger when CFOs hold greater influence and are not driven by lower ability, highlighting the role of CFO career concerns in financial reporting.