The literature analyzing games where some players have private information about their "types" is usually based on the duality of "good" and "bad" types (GB approach), where "good" type denotes the type with better quality. In contrast, this paper analyzes a signalling game without types...

This paper analyzes the links between cash flow rights, control rights and property rights in situations where a firm's security holders can manipulate earnings (intertemporal substitution). It is shown that the allocation of these rights a¤ects the incentives of claimholders when intertemporal...

We analyze a model with two-dimensional asymmetric information where the employer has better information about the firm's earnings potential and the employee is subject to moral hazard. The employee's contract consists of an annual bonus and stock options. We focus on two issues: how different...

This note provides an explanation for why tax rates on capital gains are usually lower than ordinary income tax rates based on manager's agency problem related to "empire-building" or the underinvestment problem.

Existing literature usually considers earnings manipulation to be a negative social phenomenon. We argue that earnings manipulation can be a part of the equilibrium relationships between firm's…insiders and outsiders. We consider an optimal contract between an entrepreneur and an investor where...

In recent years financing through the creation of an independent project company or financing by non-recourse debt has become an important part of corporate decisions. Shah and Thakor (JET, 1987) argue that project financing can be optimal when asymmetric information exists between firm's...

Becker and Fuest (forthcoming) provides a new explanation for the important and puzzling link between limited liability and corporate taxation. The authors argue that a corporate tax on all entrepreneurs with limited liability is optimal when entrepreneurs can offset potential losses and when...

We analyze a model with two-dimensional asymmetric information in which the employer has better information about the firm's earnings potential and the employee is subject to moral hazard. The employee's contract consists of an annual bonus and stock options. We focus on two issues: how...

A recent wave of scandals in the corporate world has raised heated debates regarding the manipulation of earnings by firms' insiders. Existing literature usually considers earnings manipulation to be a negative social phenomenon and suggests measures for its elimination. In the present paper, we...

Existing literature studies the effect of asymmetric information on many aspects of debt financing including debt maturity and seniority, collateral, liquidation rights, convertible debt, income bonds and sinking funds. Less is known about the effect of asymmetric information on firms'...