Accounting and Finance Department Research Seminar

Friday, November 06, 2026 at 9:30am to 10:45am

Zoom
Hongkang Xu
5089999187
hxu5@umassd.edu

The Department of Accounting & Finance announces the following research seminar.

Speaker: Eliezer M. Fich (Drexel University)
Title: Who Gets the Contract? The Role of Social Capital in Government Spending
Date: Friday, November 6, 2026
Time: 9:30 -10:45 AM
Location: via Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 438 755 1509

Abstract:

We study whether economic connectedness, a measure of social ties across socioeconomic status, affects federal contracting outcomes for Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDBs). We combine federal contract data with county connectedness measures. A 5% increase in economic connectedness is related to an 11.35% higher likelihood that an SDB wins a federal contract. This translates to about $529 million in added contract value. Omitted variable diagnostics suggest that unobservable selection is an unlikely explanation for our findings. The gains come from increased SDB participation, not preferential treatment. Policies that build ties across income groups could widen disadvantaged businesses’ access to public procurement.

For additional information, please contact Prof. Hongkang Xu at hxu5@umassd.edu.