The success of joint liability programs depends on nature and composition of borrowing groups. Group formation is a costly process and in our model these costs vary with the social identity of group partners. We show that risk heterogeneity in a borrowing group may arise due to the social...

The joint liability literature claims that positive assortative matching, or risk homogeneity, is always the first best solution. We examine this claim in presence of group formation costs and find that the assertion is not always true

Schwardmann et al. (2022) provide evidence from real-world debating competitions, that being randomly assigned to, and arguing for a given motion, increases one's own beliefs in the merit of the motion, and increases beliefs that factual statements in support of the motion, are correct. We...

I consider a situation wherein a research lab has developed a process innovation and wants to sell licenses to members of an industry. The literature has mostly considered the sale of exclusive licenses. I demonstrate, using both theoretical and experimental methods, that when firms sell...

This project is concerned with the process by which individuals consume and process reputational information, and how reputations inform decisions to engage in trusting behavior, especially in online market contexts. In this dissertation I develop a social cognitive model, grounded in schema...

Why do some sellers auction their goods, while other sellers post a fixed price? My dissertation investigates this question using theoretical, empirical, and experimental methodologies. The first chapter takes the competitive structure of the market as given and examines how the probability that...

The dissertation studies the effect of trade liberalization in one sector on factor prices, employment, and average productivity of firms in the other sector (spillover effect) in a two-country, specific-factors model of international trade where the industry structure of the sector affected by...

This dissertation contains three essays. In the first essay, we consider nontraded goods as an important impact on bilateral trade flows. A testable gravity equation is derived and a simple example is demonstrated. A sample of 1995 including 118 countries is examined. The results show that...

This Dissertation is primarily focused on the study of U.S. workforce trends. Research over the past fifty years, with respect to the choices that individuals make in terms of maximizing their own well-being, has covered several areas. Additionally, the legal climate has changed dramatically...

Risk is an important concern in the management of a farm business. The rising input prices along with the variability in the farm commodity prices may result in a risk environment. Government programs have generally provided income support to farmers. However, there has been considerable...