This paper is about freedom of choice and rigidity of choice rules as incentive devices. We study the optimal design of an agent's freedom of choice when his information is endogenous and costly to acquire. We show that curtailing the agent's authority over decision-making may be optimal even if...

This paper studies the impact of cash constraints on equilibrium winning probabilities in a patent race between an incumbent and an entrant. We develop a model where cash-constrained firms finance their R&D expenditures with an investor who cannot verify their effort. In equilibrium, the...

This paper combines theories of communication with theories of expertise and teams. Facing a team of experts, who must be given incentives to acquire information and to communicate it truthfully, how can and how should the leader communicate with the team members ? We characterize all the...

The purpose of this paper is to derive a Rao's efficient score statistic for testing for heteroscedasticity in an error components model with only individual effects. We assume that the individual effect exists and therefore do not test for it. In addition, we assume that the individual effects,...

The Swiss authorities plan to reduce the currently excessively high taxes on bioethanol. We argue that a fair tax treatment of ecological fuels could lead to a rapid development in their use in the next few years. For this to be the case, Switzerland would however have to open up its market to...

This paper analyzes the important time variation in U.S. aggregate portfolio allocations. To do so, we first use flexible descriptions of preferences and investment opportunities to derive optimal decision rules that nest tactical, myopic, and strategic portfolio allocations. We then compare...

We study the impact of an anticipated "baby boom" in an overlapping generations economy. The rise of the working population lowers the wage, and the high demand for assets causes a rise in the price of capital which will be reversed when the baby boomers leave the work-force. However, the swings...

Behavioral economists have come to recognize that reciprocity, the interaction of trust and trustworthiness, is a distinct and economically relevant component of individual preferences alongside selfishness and altruism. This recognition is principally due to observed decisions in experimental...

This paper presents a simple model to analyse the impact of localised externalities on the internationalisation decision of firms. We argue that, once localised spillovers are taken into account, the standard predictions on the nature and direction of foreign direct investment (FDI) flows may...