Arrow (1962) showed that a secure monopolist (unconcerned with preemption) has a weaker incentive than would a competitive firm to invest in a patentable process innovation. This paper shows that the ranking can be reversed for product innovations. Only the innovator sells the new product, a...

This paper describes and implements a method for estimating the average marginal value of a time-varying local public good: air quality. It uses the General Social Survey (GSS), which asks thousands of people in various U.S. locations how happy they are, along with other demographic and attitude...

Two central topics in recent rounds of international trade negotiations have been environmental concerns, and services trade. While each is undoubtedly important, they are unrelated. In this paper I show that the services-environment link is small, for two reasons. First, services account for...

This paper addresses the striking ability of transaction flows to explain exchange rate movements. Specifically, we examine whether this arises because transaction flows convey incremental information about fundamentals. If so, then these flows should affect price upon their realization and...

Energy costs are included in the monthly rent of one fourth of U.S. apartment residents. Because these tenants do not face the marginal cost of their own energy use, they have little incentive to use energy efficiently. Explanations for this apparent market failure fall into two categories: the...

We find an economic rationale for the common sense answer to the question in our title -- courts should not always enforce what the contracting parties write. We describe and analyze a contractual environment that allows a role for an active court. An active court can improve on the outcome that...

We address the puzzle of what determines exchange rates by examining information aggregation in a dynamic general equilibrium (DGE) setting. Unlike other DGE macro models, which enrich either preference structures or production structures, our model enriches the information structure. The model...

"The three Baltic states left the ruble system shortly after independence, with both Estonia and Lithuania opting for a currency board system -- the former pegging its kroon to the DM, but the latter linked the litas to USD. After a brief period with a temporary currency, the Latvian ruble,...

This paper addresses whether currency trades have greater price impact during periods of rapid public information flow. Central bankers often suggest that expectations are at times "ripe" for coordinated adjustment, and that periods of rapid information flow are such a time. We develop an...

We give an expression for the expected number of matches between unemployed workers and vacancies when each worker makes a = 2 applications, correcting Albrecht, Gautier, and Vroman (2003). We also show that the limiting matching probability given in our earlier note is correct for any finite a.