We discuss the current structure of card networks that facilitate transactions between merchants and consumers. We find that presently fees for this intermediation are considerably higher than costs. This is facilitated by rules imposed by the card networks on the merchants that do not allow...

This paper summarizes the responses to a questionnaire sent to equity traders through TraderForum of the Institutional Investor. The respondents manage in total a very significant percentage of equity assets under management in the United States. The focus of the questions was the extent of the...

Despite its power as a transactions network, scant attention has been given to incorporating an electronic call into a major market center such as the NYSE or Nasdaq. An electronic call clears the markets for all assets at predetermined points in time. By bunching many transactions together, a...

This report summarizes the responses to a questionnaire sent to equity traders through TraderForum of the Institutional Investor. The respondents manage in total a very significant percentage of equity assets under management in the United States. The focus of the questions was the extent of the...

Networks are common in financial services. Perfect competition does not decentralize optimality on a network, and coordination of participants expectations and investments is crucial for success. Financial exchange networks exhibit two kinds of externalities: liquidity enhancement by size...

We analyze two- and three-dimensional variants of Hotelling's model of differentiated products. In our setup, consumers can place different importance on each product attribute; this is measured by a weight in the disutility of distance in each dimension. Two firms play a two-stage game; they...

The consequences of the CFI's decision are significant both for Microsoft and the computing industry and demonstrate a significant divergence in EU and U.S. antitrust law.

This article suggests that the introduction of bank branching restrictions and federal deposit insurance in the United States likely was motivated by political considerations. Specifically, we argue that these restrictions are instituted for the benefit of the small unit banks that were unable...

While some broadband providers have called Internet content and application providers free riders on their infrastructure, this is incorrect and misguided. End-users pay for their residential broadband providers for access to the Internet, and content providers pay their own ISPs for...