We show theoretically that optimism can lead a risk-averse CEO to choose the first-best investment level that maximizes shareholder value. Optimism below (above) the interior optimum leads the CEO to underinvest (overinvest). Hence, if boards of directors act in the interests of shareholders,...

This paper studies the dynamics of equilibrium security prices when agents face differential dividend taxation. We construct a continuous-time equilibrium via a representative agent with stochastic weights. Agents differ in their pricing of risk inducing agent-specific consumption-based CAPMs,...

In this paper, we study the consumption-portfolio problem of an investor who faces realized capital gain taxes in a two stock setting with short sales. The investor finances consumption and a time of death bequest by trading in a money market and two stocks that he can short sell subject to...

In a setting where the lender and the borrower have heterogeneous beliefs about the likelihood of a disastrous shock to the borrower's economy, we revisit the debt contract proposed by Barro (2006). We find that a higher belief by the lender compared to the borrower can lead to countercyclical...

We provide a detailed characterization of arbitrage-free asset prices in the presence of capital gains and income taxes. The distinguishing feature of our analysis is that we impose on the model two important features of the tax code: the limited use of capital losses and the inability to wash...