Published & Accepted Papers
Are Patents with Female Inventors Under-Cited? Evidence from Text Estimation
Yael Hochberg, Ali Kakhbod, Peiyao Li, Kunal Sachdeva
Journal of Financial Economics 183 (2026): 104307 · NBER Working Paper No. 31592
We document systematic undercitation of women inventors in the patent system. Using causal text estimation, we find that male equivalents of female-invented patents receive 12% more citations and are 16% more likely to become top-decile patents.
The Real Effects of Environmental Activist Investing
S. Lakshmi Naaraayanan, Kunal Sachdeva, Varun Sharma
Review of Financial Studies, forthcoming (published online August 2026)
We examine how environmental activist investors drive firms to reduce their toxic releases, greenhouse-gas emissions, and cancer-causing pollution.
Widespread Revisions of Self-Reported Emissions by Major US Corporations
Lauren Cohen, Ethan Rouen, Kunal Sachdeva
Nature Climate Change 16 (2026): 33–36
Examining 900 emissions disclosures from 276 of the largest U.S. corporations, we find that 60% of these disclosures are eventually restated.
Defunding Controversial Industries: Can Targeted Credit Rationing Choke Firms?
Kunal Sachdeva, André F. Silva, Pablo Slutzky, Billy Xu
Journal of Financial Economics 172 (2025): 104133
We examine Operation Choke Point, a regulatory initiative targeting bank relationships with certain industries. Affected firms fully compensate for lost credit access through non-targeted banks.
Skin or Skim? Inside Investment and Hedge Fund Performance
Arpit Gupta, Kunal Sachdeva
Management Science 71.4 (2024): 3357-3383
Funds with greater inside investment outperform on a factor-adjusted basis.
Working Papers
Opening the Brown Box: Production Responses to Environmental Regulation
Rebecca De Simone, S. Lakshmi Naaraayanan, Kunal Sachdeva
Working paper, 2026
Firms reduce pollution through strategic production choices: sourcing electricity externally and shifting toward higher-margin products.
Sustainability Meets Substance: Evaluating ESG Reports in the Context of 10-Ks and Firm Performance
Ethan Rouen, Kunal Sachdeva, Aaron Yoon
Working paper, 2026
ESG reports contain financially material information unique from 10-K filings.
Missing the Target? Retirement Expectations and Target-Date Funds
Byeong-Je An, Kunal Sachdeva
Working paper, 2024
Survey evidence reveals that respondents underestimate their labor force participation by 4.8 years on average.
Conflicting Objectives of ESG Funds: Evidence from Proxy Voting
Tao Li, S. Lakshmi Naaraayanan, Kunal Sachdeva
Working paper, 2023
ESG funds are more likely to vote against environmental and social proposals when the outcome is uncertain.
Agency Meets Stability: The Effect of Corporate Governance and Capital Requirements on Bank Lending
Joshua Bosshardt, Ali Kakhbod, Kunal Sachdeva
Working paper, 2023
Capital requirements have divergent effects on bank lending depending on the level of shareholder protection in bank management.
Can Health State-Contingent Assets Enable Greater Survival Rates?
Kunal Sachdeva
Working paper, 2020
Using the life settlement market as a natural experiment, I find that access to wealth in poor health states increases survival rates.