Future wage payments drive a wedge between total firm output and the output share received by the firm s owners, thus potentially distorting strategic decisions by the firm s owners such as, e.g., whether to continue the firm, sell it, or shut it down. Using an optimal contracting approach, we...

We offer a novel explanation for the use of collateral based on the dual function of banks to provide credit and assess the borrower s credit risk. There is no moral hazard or adverse selection on the part of borrowers the only inefficiency is that banks cannot contractually commit to providing...

This paper compares optimal financial contracts with centralized and decentralizedfirms. Under centralized contracting headquarters raises funds on behalf of multiple projects and then allocates the funds on the firm s internal capital market. Under decentralized contracting each project raises...

Future wage payments drive a wedge between total firm output and the output share received by the firm's owners, thus potentially distorting strategic decisions by the firm's owners such as, e.g., whether to continue the firm, sell it, or shut it down. Using an optimal contracting approach, we...

We offer a novel explanation for collateral based on the notion that lenders make discretionary credit decisions that are too conservative. There is no borrower asymmetricinformation or moral hazard. Rather, the problem is that if lenders cannot extract the full surplus from the projects they...

We study a model in which a CEO can entrench himself by hiding information from theboard that would allow the board to conclude that he should be replaced. Assuming thateven diligent monitoring by the board cannot fully overcome the information asymmetry visagrave;-vis the CEO, we ask if there is...

We examine the role of leverage in tender offers for widely held firms. Leverage allows raiders to appropriate part of the value gains arising from takeovers, hence reducing the takeover premium and mitigating the free-rider problem. Leveraged takeovers may thus be profitable even if target...

We examine the role of leverage in tender offers for widely held firms. Leverage allows raiders to appropriate part of the value gains arising from takeovers, hence reducing the takeover premium and mitigating the free-rider problem. Leveraged takeovers may thus be profitable even if target...

We examine the role of leverage in tender offers for widely held firms. Leverage allowsraiders to appropriate part of the value gains arising from takeovers, hence reducing the takeover premium and mitigating the free-rider problem. Leveraged takeovers may thus be profitable even if target...

If contracting within the firm is incomplete, managers will expend resources on trying to appropriate a share of the surplus that is generated. We show that outside ownership may alleviate the deadweight losses associated with such costly distributional conflict, even if all it does is add...