CEOs' early-life experiences and corporate policy: Evidence from China's great famine

We examine the style of famine CEOs (CEOs who experienced China's Great Famine) in their corporate policy. By exploiting the variation in famine intensity across provinces, we find that CEOs who experienced more intense famines during their childhood are more risk averse. They use less debt, hold more cash, and perform fewer takeovers. However, their takeovers perform better, and their stock returns are less volatile. Our findings support the view that early-life experience affects CEOs' risk preference.