We demonstrate that a multi-period model, and the valuations it implies, is essential for understanding inefficiency in cooperative organizational forms. Investment is efficient given the supply of input, but economic inefficiency arises because of over-supply of input induced by suppliers...

We develop a two-period model where a risk-averse entrepreneur decides on the size of an investment project and how to finance it. He can use debt and/or equity finance; an incentive compatibility constraint limits the extent to which the project can be financed with equity. With debt, he may, in...

The paper develops a theory of ownership structure based on the notion that corporate control and secondary market liquidity are not perfectly compatible with eath other. We analyze the tradeoff between these two objectives for two different ownership structures: the privately held firm, which...

We analyze the incentives for a controlling shareholder to acquire silent or controlling shares in a competitor. When it occurs, the acquisition is detrimental to minority shareholders of his firm, or to the target, or even to both. The ownership structure of firms turns out to be a key...

This paper presents a two-period model of talent investments in which two clubs compete for a contest prize. We show that multiple equilibria are possible, using a closed-loop approach with strictly convex costs: The large-market club invests in both periods more than the small-market club or...

Based on a Hotelling-type model, this paper analyzes a differential game where two firms engage in quality-enhancing research and development (R&D). The analysis is formulated in terms of open-loop and feedback solutions. We find that the open-loop stationary levels of R&D and quality are...

This paper analyzes a dynamic moral hazard problem in which the agent's unobservable effort in each period affects both current and future cash flows. For incentive contracting purposes, the principal can rely on realized and projected future cash flows. We find that a properly structured...

We explore the implications of altruism in family firms for the allocation of decision-making rights. Our results suggest that centralization occurs in a broader range of circumstances in family than in nonfamily firms, consistent with empirical evidence. We show that an agent might remain in a...

Corporate actors differ from individuals in that it may be possible to observe the formation of the corporate will from outside, and to influence its formation. This feature can be exploited by regulators. One technique is inducing corporate actors to hire an interface actor, representing the...

In a model of Coasean bargaining over externalities it is described how agents can manipulate their opponent's reservation utility by strategic actions at a pre-bargaining stage, such as the choice of a pollution technology. This may imply  misallocation of resources, and opening up trade...