The need to manage risk is widely acknowledged throughout the corporate world, and a well-developed body of knowledge is available to guide efforts to do so. Implementation of principles into practice, however, is mixed, often due not just to a lack of the right skills, but also because of a...

Some firms comprehend the enormous potential that exists for providing services to the growing low income segment. Operating in the low-income market has numerous complications, such as designing an efficient distribution and servicing system, offering simple and “easy to consume” products,...

This chapter studies the bidding for a copper mine that was offered for sale by the Peruvian government as part of the country's privatization program. The mine itself had a valuable real option component, in the form of the right to develop the mine after completing exploration, which we...

This paper studies the adoption and impact of prize-linked savings (PLS) accounts, which offer random, lottery-like payouts to individual account holders in lieu of interest. Using micro-level data from a bank offering these products in South Africa, we show that a PLS product was attractive to...

We report on the potential American demand for prize-linked savings, a savings account that also awards prizes. Our survey data suggests significant interest among individuals with little actual savings, without regular saving habits, who play lotteries extensively, and are optimistic.

We analyze a national sample of Americans with respect to their debt literacy, financial experiences, and their judgments about the extent of their indebtedness. Debt literacy is measured by questions testing knowledge of fundamental concepts related to debt and by self-assessed financial...

Objective We examine how the economic crisis has affected individuals’ use of routine medical care and assess the extent to which the impact varies depending on national context. Methods Data from a new cross‐national survey fielded in the United States, Great Britain, Canada, France, and...

Although financial innovation has been an important part of the financial landscape throughout modern economic history, it has received relatively little attention in academia. This essay surveys the existing literature on financial innovation from the disciplines of financial economics,...