Most real world situations that are susceptible to herding are also characterized by direct payoff externalities. Yet, the bulk of the theoretical and experimental literature on herding has focused on pure informational externalities. In this paper we experi- mentally investigate the effects of...

This paper provides the first empirical attempt of linking firms' profits and investment in R&D revisiting Knight's (1921) distinction between uncertainty and risk. Along with the risky profit-maximizing scenario, identifying a second, off-setting, unpredictable bias that leads to heterogeneous...

The downturn in fixed investment among advanced economies from the onset of the global crisis was unusually severe, widespread and long-lasting relative to comparable episodes in the past. As a result, investment gaps are large in many countries, not only in relation to past norms but also...