The paper first develops an economic analysis of the concept of shareholder value, describes its approach and discusses some open questions. It emphasizes the relationship between pledgeable income, monitoring and control rights using a unifying and simple framework. The paper then provides a...

The focus of policy reform in developing countries has moved from getting prices right to getting institutions right, and accordingly countries are increasingly being advised to move towards "best-practice" institutions. This paper argues that appropriate institutions for developing countries...

We develop an incomplete contract model to analyse the enlargement strategy of a club. An applicant is characterized by his wealth and the degree of conformity with the club standard. The club gains only from a fully reformed new member, but reform is costly. The club chooses between early...

We analyse bidding incentives and present evidence on takeover premiums in Sweden’s mandatory bankruptcy auctions. The typical auction attracts multiple bidders and results in the firm being sold as a going concern. We model the incentive of the bankrupt firm’s main creditor (a bank) to...

This Paper presents theory and evidence on the relationship between inequality and institutional quality. We exhibit a model in which the two dynamically reinforce each other and set to test this relationship with a broad array of institutional measures. We establish the double causality between...

Using detailed Peruvian data measuring bribery, I assess which types of public official are most corrupt and why. I distinguish between the bribery rate and the size of bribes received, and seek to explain the variation in each across public institutions. The characteristics of officials'...