We reexamine the consistency axiom in bankruptcy problems and propose arguments in favor of an alternative definition of a reduced problem. The classical definition updates the size of the estate while keeping agents' claims unaffected. Instead, we suggest updating agents' claims along with the...

It is now well recognized that all types of regulation are imposing costs on our society. The studies which have tried to evaluate these costs are numerous and their methologies are diversified. This paper is proposing a critical analysis of these methodologies and of the results obtained by...

We propose a dynamic portfolio selection model that maximizes expected returns subject to a Value-at-Risk constraint. The model allows for time varying skewness and kurtosis of portfolio distributions estimating the model parameters by weighted maximum likelihood in a increasing window setup. We...

This paper presents and assesses a procedure to estimate conventional parameters characterizing fluctuations at the business cycle frequency, when the economic agents’ information set is superior to the econometrician’s one. Specifically, we first generalize the conditions under which the...

Which investment model best fits firm-level data? To answer this question we estimate alternative models using Compustat data. Surprisingly, the two best-performing specifications are based on Hayashi’s (1982) model. This model’s foremost implication, that Q is a sufficient statistic for...

We analyse the effects of a price floor on price wars (or deep price cuts) in the retail market for gasoline. Bertrand supergame oligopoly models predict that price wars should last longer in the presence of price floors. In 1996, the introduction of a price floor in the Quebec retail market for...

Corporate finance theory predicts that firms’ characteristics affect agency costs and hence their efficiency. Cummins et al (2006) have proposed a cost function specification that measures separately insurer efficiency in handling risk pooling, risk management, and financial intermediation...

This note establishes that two propositions in the theory of private common agency by Laussel and Le Breton (2001, J. Econ. Theory 100, 93-128) extend to a larger class of games, in which each principal’s gross monetary payoff does not depend exclusively on the quantities she receives. A new...