Numerous rules mandate the disclosure of information. This article analyzes why such rules are enacted. Specifically, 1) why wouldn't firms voluntarily disclose their private information; and 2) given that voluntary disclosure would not be forthcoming, who has the incentive to lobby for...

The federal government delegates various aspects of financial market regulation to self-regulatory organizations (SROs) such as the New York Stock Exchange and the National Association of Securities Dealers. We model one regulatory task of an SRO, the enforcement of rules designed to prevent the...

We study a market for funding real investment in which valuation creates information on which adverse selection can occur. Unlike in previous models, higher amounts of valuation are associated with lower market prices and so greater returns to valuation, and this strategic complementarity in the...

We develop an analytically-tractable model integrating the dynamic theory of investment with dynamic optimal incentive contracting, thereby endogenizing financing constraints. Incentive contracting generates a history-dependent wedge between marginal and average q, and both vary over time as...

We characterize the optimal long-term financial contract in a setting in which a risk-neutral agent with limited capital seeks financing for a project that pays stochastic cash flows over many periods. These cash flows are observable to the agent but not to investors. The agent can be induced to...

We present a theory of the dynamics of a firm's investment in the presence of imperfect capital markets and optimal long-term contracts. The class of imperfections that we consider involves the incentive problems that accompany external financing. The analysis is sufficiently general to...