This paper studies the role of capacity utilisation in explaining investment behaviour in Italian SMEs and large firms. We propose a framework in which firms with high capacity utilisation are more likely to invest in maintaining a buffer against future shocks. Using firm-level data from the...

This paper calls into question the fuel neutrality of capacity mechanisms implemented in liberalized electricity markets. The argument relies on two assumptions likely satisfied in practice, first that investors are risk averse and second that markets in risk are incomplete. For the analysis, we...

We explore how risk aversion affects optimal capacity and pricing decisions within the economic setting of Banker and Hughes (1994). A risk averse firm invests in fixed capacity and sets a product price, but can also purchase spot capacity at higher unit cost. Initial capacity and price are set...

This paper studies the interplay between the operational and financial facets of capacity investment. We consider the capacity choice problem of a firm with limited liquidity and whose access to external capital markets is hampered by moral hazard. The firm must therefore not only calibrate its...