Habit utility has been the focus of a large and growing body of literature in financial economics. This study investigates ways of accurately and efficiently solving the Campbell and Cochrane (1999) external habit model. Solutions for this model based on a grid of values for the state variable...

This study presents a model in which firms invest in research and development (R&D) to generate innovations that increase their underlying profitability and invest in physical capital to produce output. Estimating the model using a method of moments approach reveals that R&D expenditures...

My dissertation focuses on two areas of financial economics. First, I look at the purchase and sale of operating units by companies. The first chapter characterizes the behavior of value-maximizing firms, which may invest in new capital, purchase existing assets or sell assets. This approach...

In 2010, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision published an assessment of the long-term economic impact (LEI) of stronger capital and liquidity requirements. This paper considers this assessment in light of estimates from later studies of the macroeconomic benefits and costs of higher...

This study examines the effect of shocks observed in financial markets on output and employment during the Great Depression. We present three main findings. First, an adverse financial shock leads to a decline in the manufacturing sector's output and employment that peaks about 11 months...

This paper examines the impact of bank capital ratios on bank lending by comparing differences in loan growth to differences in capital ratios at sets of banks that are matched based on geographic area as well as size and various business characteristics. We argue that such comparisons are most...

We estimate a dynamic investment model in which firms finance with equity, cash, or debt. Misvaluation affects equity values, and firms optimally issue and repurchase overvalued and undervalued shares. The funds flowing to and from these activities come from investment, dividends, or net cash....

Purchases and sales of operating assets by firms generated $162 billion for shareholders over the past 20 years. This contrasts sharply with the evidence on mergers. This paper characterizes the behavior of value-maximizing firms, which may grow organically, purchase existing assets or sell...

The purchase and sale of operating assets by firms created $162 billion for shareholders over the past 20 years. This paper characterizes the behavior of value-maximizing firms, which may invest in new capital, purchase existing assets or sell assets. This approach yields an endogenous selection...