We examine the role of collateral in a dynamic model of optimal credit contracts in which a borrower values both housing and non-housing consumption. The borrower's private information about his income is the only friction. An optimal contract is collateralized when in some state, some portion...

We propose a parsimonious model with adverse selection where delinquency, renegotiation, and bankruptcy all occur in equilibrium as a result of a simple screening mechanism. A borrower has private information about her cost of bankruptcy, and a lender may use random contracts to screen different...

We show that on-demand insurance contracts, an innovative form of coverage recently introduced through the InsurTech sector, can serve as a screening device. To this end, we develop a new adverse selection model consistent with Wilson (1977), Miyazaki (1977) and Spence (1978). Consumers have...

Can variations in immunization rates be accounted for by differences in information and commitment technologies? I document four salient facts regarding DPT vaccination rates: (i) lower immunization in countries with greater costs of contract enforcement, (ii) higher volatility in immunization...

We study the existence of a profitable unemployment insurance market in a dynamic economy with adverse selection rooting in information on future job losses. The new feature of the model is that the insurer and workers interact repeatedly. Repeated interactions make it possible to threaten...

We study the existence of a profitable unemployment insurance market in a dynamic economy with adverse selection rooting in information on future job losses. The new feature of the model is that the insurer and workers interact repeatedly. Repeated interactions make it possible to threaten...

This paper provides a complete characterization of equilibria in a game-theoretic version of Rothschild and Stiglitz's (1976) model of competitive insurance. I allow for stochastic contract offers by insurance firms and show that a unique symmetric equilibrium always exists. Exact conditions...

Since Chiappori and Salani e (2000), testing for asymmetric information has become tantamount to testing for a positive relation between risk and coverage which is predicted by (equilibrium) models for adverse selection and moral hazard. In this paper we analyze asymmetric information in...

We analyse asymmetric information in private long-term disability insurance. Using the elimination period as a measure of coverage, we examine the correlation between risk and coverage. Our unique data set includes both group and individual insurance. We are thus able to disentangle moral hazard...

Economists, regulators, and consumer protection agencies have highlighted the welfare losses for consumers who purchase high-load insurance against modest stakes risks. Mandatory information disclosure is a potentially attractive public policy tool that might improve consumers' choices, but has...