We study how language affects private debt renegotiation. We predict that stronger future time reference (FTR) languages alter the importance of renegotiation risk by lowering the perceived value of loan renegotiation. We test this hypothesis on a sample of 6.500 loans issued to European firms...

Many US states mandate only non-recourse mortgages for dwellings, thus limiting choice and raising prices. Given the perceived benefit of such mortgages, it is a puzzling fact that no lenders currently offer them in "choice" states. We simulate a housing market with a spectrum of borrowers with...

We consider a monopolistic certifier selling certification services to a partially privately informed seller. The certifier can enable the seller to disclose her private information publicly, as well as gather additional market information about the good's quality publicly. We show that the...