This study addresses conservatism in financial reporting. Firms seek financing for an investment. Investors have access to an imperfect accounting signal that may also have a conservative tendency. If the firms have no private information, conservatism is desirable only for negative ex ante...

We define long shots as investment projects with four features: (1) low probabilities of success; (2) long gestation lags before any cash flows are realized; (3) large required up-front investments; and (4) very large payoffs (relative to initial investment) in the unlikely event of success....

A common method of valuing the equity in highly leveraged transactions is the flows-to-equity method. When applying this method various formulas can be used to calculate the time-varying cost of equity. In this paper we show that some commonly used formulas are inconsistent with the assumptions...

Hosting the 2006 FIFA World Championship induced a boom in stadium investments in Germany. A second wave of smaller arena constructions can currently be observed across the country. These projects are promoted by smaller clubs of the first and the second Bundesliga, aiming not to fall behind the...

We theoretically analyze the optimal contracts and the capital structure of public-private partnerships (PPPs) formed to implement infrastructure projects under a limited-recourse project financing arrangement. In our model, a sponsoring company and a host government set up a project company in...

The flows-to-equity method is often used to value highly leveraged projects, or transactions, where debt typically amortises over time according to a fixed schedule. This requires a formula that links the changing leverage over time with a time-varying equity discount rate. We show that the...

This paper examines whether certification by government and development partners enhances private sector ownership in public-private partnership (PPP) projects. Based on a sample of 4,246 PPP projects for 37 developing countries from 1990 to 2012, we find government certification is not related...