Essays on the Financial Implications of the Political Environment

This dissertation consists of three essays investigating the financial implications of various aspects of the political environment. The first essay studies the mediating role that political connections play in the relationship between the cost of equity and political risk (i.e., partisan political conflict and economic policy uncertainty). The second essay employs the unique setting of regulatory scrutiny conducted through the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) comment letter reviews to study the informational intermediary role of auditors. The third essay delves into another important aspect of the political environment by examining the exposure of public finance to natural disaster risk.