This paper investigates the role of reinsurance networks in an insurer’s reinsurance purchase decision. Drawing on network theory, we develop a framework that delineates how the pattern of linkages among reinsurers determines three reinsurance costs (loadings, contagion costs, and search and...

The usual advice given to the public by financial planners and the popular press is that less debt is better and in particular owning your own house outright is a desirable goal. We show that this advice is often wrong because mortgage debt acts as an inflation hedge. Mortgage debt also has a...

The "market discipline" of off-balance sheet banking activities (OBSA) has been reexamined by employing contingent claims valuation techniques to derive implied asset variances from bank equity and deposit insurance, and from risk-premia for bank subordinated debt. Specifically implied asset...

The empirical literature, to date, has ignored the impact of Off-balance sheet (OBS) banking activities on the default-risk premia borne by bank subordinated debtholders. This paper examines the "market discipline" of OBS activities by employing a contingent claims pricing model to the...

The "market discipline" of off-balance sheet banking activities (OBSA) has been reexamined by employing contingent claims valuation techniques to derive implied asset variances from bank equity and deposit insurance, and from risk-premia for bank subordinated debt. Specifically implied asset...

The empirical literature, to date, has ignored the impact of Off-balance sheet (OBS) banking activities on the default-risk premia borne by bank subordinated debtholders. This paper examines the "market discipline" of OBS activities by employing a contingent claims pricing model to the...