Using a two-moment decision model this paper analyzes corporate hedging behavior in the presence of unified and differential income taxation. We start with the well-known result that risk-taking may increase when income tax rates increase and, therefore, the incentive for hedging reduces. We...

Basel II changes risk management in banks strongly. Internal rating procedures would lead one to expect that banks are changing over to active risk control. But, if risk management is no longer a simple "game against natureʺ, if all agents involved are active players then a shift from a...

The paper analyzes the interactions between the precision of information, trade and welfare within a decision framework of an exporting firm. Information in a financial market is described in terms of a publicly observable signal. With higher transparency, the signal conveys more precise...

The paper examines the economic role of market transparency on the decision problems of an international firm. Transparency is described in terms of the informativeness of a publicly observable signal. With higher transparency, the signal conveys more precise information about the random foreign...

The paper focuses on the interaction between the solvency probability of a banking firm and the diversification potential of its asset portfolio when determining optimal equity capital. The purpose of this paper is to incorporate value at risk (VaR) into the firm-theoretical model of a banking...

This note studies the risk-management decisions of a risk-averse farmer. The farmer faces multiple sources of price uncertainty. He sells commodities to two markets at two prices, but only one of these markets has a futures market. We show that the farmer’s optimal commodity futures market...