Three Essays on Social and Corporate Finance

This thesis consists of three chapters on finance. Chapter 1 studies how political ideology of the government shapes household's access to financial services. I find that access is higher under right-wing regimes than under left-wing. Chapter 2 investigates why do managers preannounce asset sales. I find that preannouncements prevail in specific situations: for assets outside the U.S., after poor stock performance, and when a new CEO has been appointed. Chapter 3 examines whether the U.S. states' property crime rate is a risk factor that induces lenders to increase covenants. I find that greater crime exposure leads to higher and tighter covenants.