Exchange seats are capital assets that confer access to the trading floor. On the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), seta are bought and sold in a public auction market. As such, their prices reflect expectations about future activity and returns for the stock market as a whole. For this reason,...

We use limit order data provided by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to investigate the impact of reducing the minimum tick size on the liquidity of the market. Specifically, we analyze both spreads and depths (quoted and on the limit order book) for periods before and after the NYSE'schange...

We study the asset pricing implications of an economy where solvency constraints are determined to efficiently deter agents from defaulting. We present a simple example for which efficient allocations and all equilibrium elements are characterized analytically. The main model produces large...

Chicago-based Morningstar rates the investment performance of mutual funds, assigning one to five stars with five being the best rating. This paper first documents the method that Morningstar uses in assigning these widely circulated ratings and then explores in detail the implications for the...

We examine whether bond ratings contain pricing relevant information, that is unavailable to investors form other sources, by focusing on investor reaction to rating changes that were not accompanied by any economic fundamental event - Moody's refinement of its rating system. This refinement was...

In recent years, the number of downgrades in corporate bond ratings has exceeded the number of upgrades, This fact has led some to conclude that the creidt quality of US corporate debt has declined. However, declining credit quality is not the only possible explanation. An alternative...

We consider the problem of moral hazard in the team of managers employed in a firm when the principal/firm owner can play an active role in determining team output. Unless the principal's compensation is non-decreasing in firm value there is an additional moral hazard problem since the principal...