Using a major hotel chain's 16-month booking data, we empirically investigate the existence and extent of strategic customers in the context of standby upgrades, a popular program offering availability-based, discounted premium-room upgrades. Customers, in particular loyalty members, may become...

Consumer return rates have been steadily rising in recent years, resulting in growing costs for retailers who must manage the returns process and the disposition of returned products. This cost pressure is driven in part by extremely generous return policies, such as giving consumers a full...

Although generous return policies have been shown to have marketing benefits, such as a higher willingness to pay and a higher purchase frequency, counterbalancing these benefits is an increased volume of consumer returns, which presents significant operational challenges for both retailers and...

We measure credit risk premia---prices for bearing corporate default risk in excess of expected default losses---using Markit CDS and Moody's Analytics EDF data. We find dramatic variation over time in credit risk premia, with peaks in 2002, during the global financial crisis of 2008-09, and in...

Many community organizations provide services similar to government programs, but there is limited evidence how increased government assistance affects the use of charitable services. We examine how greater access to federal nutritional aid through schoolwide free meal programs affects food bank...

Many community organizations provide services similar to government programs, but there is limited evidence how increased government assistance affects the use of charitable services. We examine how greater access to federal nutritional aid through schoolwide free meal programs affects food bank...