This study examines the use of analytic techniques to develop a model that predicts the potential default of Small Business Administration (SBA) backed loans issued to American franchisees. Data collected by World Franchising (WF) in their 2008 survey and by SBA from 2000-2008, covering 271...

Documented results indicate prediction markets effectively aggregate information and form accurate predictions. This has led to a proliferation of markets predicting everything from the results of elections to a company's sales to movie box office receipts. Recent research suggests prediction...

This Article examines how contract drafters can use data on contract outcomes to inform contract design. Building on recent developments in contract data collection and analysis, the Article proposes “predictive contracting,” a new method of contracting in which contract drafters can design...

“Big data” gives markets access to previously unmeasured characteristics of individual agents. Policymakers must decide whether and how to regulate the use of this data. We study how new data affects incentives for agents to exert effort in settings such as the labor market, where an agent's...