Universal approximation functions are well known and studied in canonical mathematics. Here we theorize the existence of an independent class of universal approximation agents and agent-based models. We draw upon historical references from mathematical analysis, the development of machine...

This review paper articulates the relationship between prediction market data and event studies, with a special focus on applications in political economy. Event studies have been used to address a variety of political economy questions - from the economic effects of party control of government...

This review paper articulates the relationship between prediction market data and event studies, with a special focus on applications in political economy. Event studies have been used to address a variety of political economy questions - from the economic effects of party control of government...

In this short expository note I provide an overview of leveraged buy-out transactions (“LBOs”). I show in detail how an LBO transaction is structured and financed, as well as the typical return profile. I also provide a sample transaction accompanied by financial projections, debt repayment...

'Market failure' is a term widely used by politicians, journalists and university and A-level economics teacher and students. However, those who use the term often lack any sense of proportion about the ability of government to correct market failures. This arises partly from the lack of general...

Hedging of illiquid financial instruments is carried out with liquid instruments that, as a rule, have simpler payoff functions. For example, hedging of Asian or long-dated put options is carried out with vanilla puts, hedging of Bermuda swaptions is done with vanilla swaptions, etc. This kind...

All too often, the concept of risk-neutral probabilities in mathematical finance is poorly explained, and misleading statements are made. The aim of this paper is to provide an intuitive understanding of risk-neutral probabilities, and to explain in an easily accessible manner how they can be...

Breaking Bad is currently ranked fifth by the Internet Movie Database's (IMDB) Top 250 television shows based on user rankings and second among 100 shows reviewed by The Hollywood Reporter. Despise the series ending in 2013, Al-Bahrani et al. (2016) find that current students still rank the show...

The concept of public goods is confusing because it confounds three analytically distinct concepts: excludability, rivalry, and public finance. Pure public goods are of limited relevance as an explanation of government spending. To make matters worse, the broader policy community uses the term...