We treat information acquisition by potential investors in initial public offerings as endogenous. With endogenous information, the critical question is why underwriters would allow investors to spend resources acquiring superior information intended solely to effect a wealth transfer. We show...

We analyze the role of knowhow acquisition in the formation and duration of joint ventures. Two parties become partners in a joint venture in order to benefit from each other's knowhow. Joint operations in the joint venture provide each party with the opportunity to acquire part of its partner's...

In spite of the fact that they can draw on a larger, more liquid and more diversified pool of capital than the equity of reinsurance companies, financial markets have failed to displace reinsurance as the primary risk-sharing vehicle for natural catastrophe risk. We show that this failure can be...