According to a familiar script, the EU has, in recent years, been subscribing to a progressive ideal of regulation based on evidence. Given the historical affection of the EU integration process to technocratic modes of governance, this choice is not surprising. Yet, as it emerges from the...

We study insurers’ behavior under monopoly and Cournot duopoly when they canaffect the probability or magnitude of harm from accidents. The way consumers’risk aversion changes with wealth and the way risk affects the slope of the demandfunction determine whether Cournot duopolists increase...

We develop a model of optimal capital structure in imperfectly competitive markets by focusing on a duopoly. The model endogenizes both financing and investment decisions of the firms. We show that in equilibrium the industry leader uses debt conservatively, while the follower uses debt more...

A kind of folk theorem in tax policy states that too much uncertainty about the impact of taxing (or subsidizing) a particular taxable attribute is cause for excluding that attribute from the tax base. I extend the optimal tax model to test this hypothesis. In my model, the government is not...

In a partial equilibrium setting without price uncertainty, the balanced-budget substitution of an ad valorem tax on output for a specific (unit) tax can enhance welfare in imperfectly competitive markets and is without impact in a competitive world. This paper demonstrates that a substitution...

Unternehmen müssen nicht immer Kollusionsabsichten verfolgen, wenn sie untereinander Informationen austauschen. Dieser Beitrag zeigt, daß bei Nachfrageunsicherheit auch strikt kompetitive Konkurrenten private Informationen bezüglich ihrer Nachfragebedingungen preisgeben. Dies läßt sich in...

We study the effect of environmental risk on the extraction of a common resource. Using a dynamic and non-cooperative game in which an environmental event impacts the renewability and the quality of the resource, we show that the anticipation of such an event has an ambiguous effect on...

A different approach is introduced to determine the value of an information sharing agreement: the measure of risk aversion. (An information sharing agreement is a commitment to reveal information that you are going to receive. These agreements are common within industries.) This approach is...

This paper proposes a theoretical framework for studying the invention of new products when demand is uncertain. In this framework, under general conditions, the threat of ex post entry by a competitor can deter invention ex ante. Asymmetric market power in the ex post market exacerbates the...