This paper analyzes the relation between the quality of the legal enforcement of loan contracts and the allocation of credit to households, both theoretically and empirically. We use a model of household credit market with secured debt contracts, where the judicial system affects the cost...

This paper argues that corruption patterns are endogenous to political structures. Thus, corruption can be systemic and planned rather than decentralized and coincidental. In an economic system without law or property rights, a kleptocratic state may arise as a predatory hierarchy from a state...

Many real-life applications of house allocation problems are dynamic. For example, inthe case of on-campus housing for college students, each year freshmen apply to move inand graduating seniors leave. Each student stays on campus for a few years only. A studentis a \newcomer" in the beginning...

All rulers face political competition, both from rivals within their state, andfrom other states to which their subjects may exit. In a simple model, both kinds of competitionare substitutes. Internal competition (democracy) benefits citizens by allowingthem to replace rent-seeking rulers. But...

Die internationale Entwicklungszusammenarbeit verfolgt zwei Ziele: Armutsreduzierung und Demokratisierung. Auf der Grundlage eines Rational-Choice-Modells wird gezeigt, dass diese Ziele in einem Konflikt zueinander stehen, wenn Maßnahmen westlicher Entwicklungspolitik in und auf Diktaturen...

The aim of this paper is to compare various real estate valuation models and the manner in which they take into account environmental variables.

We construct a model for pricing sovereign debt that accounts for the risks of both default and restructuring, and allows for compensation for illiquidity. Using a new and relatively efficient method, we estimate the model using Russian dollar-denominated bonds.(...)

Theories of irreversible investment suggest a negative relation between investment and uncertainty,and non-linear adjustment costs open for asymmetries in the adjustment of fixed capital. We proposean econometric modelling approach to estimate and test the key predictions of modern...