The choice of infrastructure delivery through public versus private provision is driven by investment and operational efficiency, and cost of capital differentials. While the first two factors are measurable --- albeit with mixed results --- the appropriate discount rate instigates...

We compare procurement contracts where the procurer is either a public agent or a private corporation. Using algorithmic data reading and textual analysis on a rich dataset of con- tracts for a standardized product and service from a single provider, we find that public contracts feature more...

I test whether public-sector ownership reduces conventional measures of market risk by using an exogenous event to the air transportation industry. I find that government-sponsored enterprises show lower price volatility than non-government-sponsored enterprises, arguably due to the government's...

Does political affiliation matter for stock-market investing? Rare events can produce polarized narratives that potentiate cognitive dissonance on a spectrum of agents. Using a comprehensive dataset of equity hedge funds' performance and managers' political affiliation matched by their partisan...

We study the link between the choice of rule-based public contracts and political hazards using the municipal bond market. While general obligation bonds are serviced from all municipal revenue streams and offer elected officials financial flexibility, revenue bonds limit the discretion that...

We apply algorithmic data reading and textual analysis to compare the features of contracts in regulated industries subject to public scrutiny (which we call "public contracts") with relational private contracts. We show that public contracts are lengthier and have more rule-based rigid clauses;...

Under rational agent hypothesis, financial industry practitioners should not be affected by political discourse, and investors cannot realize abnormal returns on publicly available information. Rare events, however, may silence rationality and potentiate cognitive dissonance on a spectrum of...

We assembled a large panel of project-level technical and financial data, as well as country-level economic, institutional, and political variables to assess how political competition and policy insulation feasibility determine private participation in financing infrastructure in emerging...

I study the link between the choice of rule-based contracts and political competition through the municipal bond market. I provide evidence that when the probability of losing office is high, mayors are more likely to issue revenue bonds over general obligation bonds and to choose competitive...

The paper presents comparative statics of organizational modes of natural monopoly in public utilities with a focus on co-ownership and co-governance. Private monopoly lowers output and increases price to maximize profit; public monopoly incurs higher costs due to the lack of know-how; and a...