We claim that the stock market encourages business creation, innovation, and growth by allowing the recycling of "informed capital". Due to incentive and information problems, new start-ups face high flotation costs. Sustaining a tight relationship with a monitor allows them to postpone their...

This paper models the process of policy making at the top level of the firm: its board of directors. Directors are expected to both advise and monitor the CEO to ensure that shareholders' wealth is maximized. The more independent directors are the better they will fullfil this fiduciary duty....

This paper presents a model of cumulative innovation where firms are heterogeneous in their research ability. We study the optimal reward policy when the quality of the ideas and their subsequent development effort are private information. The optimal assignment of property rights must...

We investigate several important inference issues for factor models with dynamic heteroskedasticity in the common factors. First, we show that such models are identified if we take into account the time-variation in the variances of the factors. Our results also apply to dynamic versions of the...

This paper considers the estimation of binary choice panel data models with discrete endogenous regressors. We present a switching probit model which accounts for selectivity bias as well as for other forms of time invariant unobserved heterogeneity. Individual effects are allowed to be...

We develop generalised indirect inference procedures that handle equality and inequality constraints on the auxiliary model parameters. We obtain expressions for the optimal weighting matrices, and discuss as examples an MA(1) estimated as AR(1), an AR(1) estimated as MA(1), and a log-normal...

This paper proposes a model of altruism with endogenous labor supply. A full characterization of the family's choices of consumption and leisure is provided. Initially, work effort is assumed to be publicly observed; this assumption is later relaxed, allowing for privately observed actions. It is...