This paper introduces a simple model of endogenous network formation and systemic risk. In the model, firms form joint ventures called ‘links' which are subsequently subjected to shocks that are either good or bad. Bad shocks incentivize default. Links yield full benefits only if the...

It is customary to focus on the network of interdependencies between firms to understand how and whether a shock to one firm will propagate to others. This paper argues that agency conflicts at the firm-level and not just the network structure, play a crucial role in amplifying or muting the...

This paper introduces a model of endogenous network formation and systemic risk. In it, agents form networks that efficiently trade-off the possibility of systemic risk with the benefits of trade. Second, fundamentally ‘safer' economies generate higher interconnectedness, which in turn leads...

Under full substitutability of preferences, it is known that a competitive equilibrium exists in trading networks, and is equivalent to (chain) stable outcomes. In this paper, we formulate the problem of finding an efficient outcome as a generalized submodular flow problem on a suitable network....

Diversified cross-shareholding networks are thought to be more resilient to shocks, but diversification also increases the channels by which a shock can spread. To resolve these competing intuitions we introduce a stochastic model of a diversified cross-shareholding network in which a firm’s...