This paper develops and compares two theories of strategic behaviour of professional forecasters. The first theory posits that forecasters compete in a forecasting contest with pre-specified rules. In equilibrium of a winner-take-all contest, forecasts are excessively differentiated. According...

This paper considers a region in which some would-be entrepreneurs are in the network of a hub firm and the rest stand alone. Project ideas come in two types: good and not-so-good. Entrepreneurs need to borrow from banks or local financiers to start their projects. Local financiers receive a...

We investigate how information flows within bank networks facilitate syndicate formation and lending in the leveraged buyout (LBO) market, where relationships between banks and borrowers are scarce and borrower opacity is high. Using novel measures that characterize a bank’s ability to source...

By generalizing the Leland and Pyle (1977) model to the case of multiple correlated assets, this paper studies the signaling and hedging behavior of an intermediary who sells multiple assets in financial markets. Based on information asymmetry, this paper demonstrates the intrinsic...

This paper investigates how U.S. private firms communicate with equity investors around private capital raising. Using multiple research methods, including survey, interview, and archival analysis, I provide systematic evidence on private firms’ public and private disclosure practices. I find...

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...

Private equity is a substantial and growing component of institutional investors’ portfolios. Investors rely on manager-reported fund performance when making capital allocation decisions, yet reported performance is subject to significant manager discretion. I examine whether private equity...

Banking relationships are key factors influencing financing decisions of real estate investment trusts (REITs) that are mandated to hold highly specific assets. Using a comprehensive data set of loan facilities by REITs across different markets, this paper empirically tests the effect of...

This paper measures how both geographical and cultural proximity of bank branches affect household credit choice and pricing. We examine both types of proximity jointly to separately identify the importance of soft information versus alternative mechanisms. Using a detailed household-level...

Professional experts offer advice with the objective of appearing well informed. Their ability is evaluated on the basis of the advice given and the realized state of the world. We model this situation as a reputational cheap-talk game with continuous signal, state, and ability type spaces....