Challenges and opportunities in disclosure research-A discussion of 'the financial reporting environment: Review of the recent literature'

Beyer et al. (2010) review the financial reporting literature related to voluntary and mandatory firm disclosures, and sell-side analyst reports. The discussion summarizes their approach, highlights some of their main conclusions, and presents alternative ideas about promising avenues for future research.

Research highlights► Mixed Data Sampling (MIDAS) regression is a good alternative to return decomposition. ► Voluntary disclosure models incorporating real effects on production are promising. ► Empirical research on voluntary disclosure's costs and benefits has limitations. ► Transparency may reduce welfare in mandated disclosure models with production effects. ► Empirical tests of investment effects of disclosure confront endogeneity issues.