学术论文

We consider a classical auction setting in which an asset/project is sold to buyers who privately receive signals about expected payoffs, and payoffs are more sensitive to a bidder's signal if he runs the project than if another bidder does. We show that a seller can increase revenues by sometimes allocating cash-flow rights and control to different bidders, for example, with the highest bidder receiving cash flows and the second-highest receiving control. Separation reduces a bidder's information rent, which depends on the importance of his private information for the value of his awarded cash flows. As project payoffs are most sensitive to a bidder's information if he controls the project, allocating cash flow to another bidder lowers bidders' informational advantage. As a result, when signals are close, the seller can increase revenues by splitting rights between the top two bidders.

We study contingencies written in firms’ material product market contracts, focusing on the theoretical prediction of uncertainty as an important determinant. We identify contract contingencies from firms’ public regulatory filings and examine the effects of general business uncertainty and specific innovation-related uncertainty. To enhance causal inference, we utilize two major business shocks (i.e., the 2008 Financial Crisis and the COVID pandemic) and the diffusion of 29 disruptive innovation shocks (Bloom et al. 2021). We also explore the effects of re-negotiation costs and writing costs. Overall, our empirical results are consistent with predictions from dynamic models of incomplete contracting.

Ensuring equal access to entrepreneurship and startup funding for both female and male entrepreneurs is crucial for societal perceptions of justice and long-term prosperity. Previous research presents contrasting findings, with some studies indicating a male advantage and others suggesting a female advantage. This research reconciles these inconsistencies by identifying the decision frame as a moderator. Specifically, in crowdfunding contexts, a consumer decision frame leads to stronger reliance on communal evaluation norms, resulting in favoring female entrepreneurs who are perceived as more disadvantaged. Conversely, an investor decision frame leads to stronger reliance on exchange evaluation norms, resulting in favoring male entrepreneurs who are perceived as more determined/passionate. Based on this, the authors propose that the strategic use of an entrepreneur's profile, activating a specific evaluation norm, and showing crowdfunding dependence attenuate the differential support for female versus male entrepreneurs, resulting in equal support for both. Results from six studies using a multimethod design provide converging support for this framework. This research is the first to differentiate between and directly compare consumer and investor decision frames, advancing the related literature and offering valuable guidelines for entrepreneurs, funding platforms, and public policy makers.

We investigate the role of cultural norms in shaping women's labor supply decisions after childbirth. Specifically, we are interested in the interplay between childhood socialization and adulthood environment. To that end, we leverage the setting of the German reunification when East Germany's gender-egalitarian culture induced by socialism and West Germany's more traditional culture were brought together. We find that East German gender norms are persistent, whereas West German ones are not. West German mothers adjust their behavior to that of their East German peers not only when immersed in East German environment but even after returning to the West.

This paper proposes a conditional asset pricing model that integrates environmental, social, and governance (ESG) demand and supply dynamics. Shocks in the demand for sustainable investing represent a novel risk source, characterized by diminishing marginal utility and positive premium. Green assets exhibit positive exposure to ESG demand shocks, hence commanding higher premia. Conversely, time-varying convenience yield leads to lower expected returns for green assets. Moreover, ESG demand shocks have positive contemporaneous effects on unexpected returns, contributing to large positive payoffs in the green-minus-brown portfolio over extended horizons. The model predictions align closely with evidence on return spreads between green and brown assets, further reinforcing the apparent gap between realized and expected spreads.

How does the politician's reputation concern affect information provision when the information is endogenously provided by a biased lobbyist? I develop a model to study this problem and show that the answer depends on the transparency design. When the lobbyist's preference is publicly known, the politician's reputation concern induces the lobbyist to provide more information. When the lobbyist's preference is unknown, the politician's reputation concern may induce the lobbyist to provide less information. One implication of the result is that given transparent preferences, the transparency of decision consequences can impede information provision by moderating the politician's reputational incentive.

Problem definition: This paper examines frictions in the shopping funnel using empirical clickstream data from an online travel platform. We analyze (a) customers’ heterogeneous search and purchase behaviors and (b) their reactions to changes in assortment size. We then develop a consider-then-choose model to generalize our findings. Methodology/results: We characterize the online customer journey as a two-stage consider-then-choose framework. In the consider stage, we analyze the consideration set formation and show that heterogeneity—familiarity with the assortment—amplifies the number of options; in the purchase stage, it drives preferences for niche versus popular choices. A real-world high-stakes field experiment reveals that shrinking the menu produces mixed results: highlighting the market for the long-tail for some customers and reflecting choice overload for others. Finally, we build a psychologically rich consider-then-choose model with (a) heterogeneous preferences for product features and (b) heterogeneous search costs moderated by search fatigue, theoretically characterizing the impact on consideration sets and conversion rates. Managerial implications: Identifying frictions in the shopping funnel is critical for online platforms, especially when pain points hurt click-through or conversion rates. Which options matter to which users? What is the right assortment size? Although online platforms can offer virtually unlimited assortments, managers may assume frictionless environments—which is not always the case. Our findings offer insights into improving the customer journey by considering heterogeneous preferences and boundedly rational heuristics.

Firms must often decide whether to disclose private information regarding their costs to other market participants. Although extant literature has explored firms’ incentives to disclose exogenous and uncertain costs, little is known about when their endogenous costs should be disclosed. This paper studies the cost-disclosure strategies of competing firms whose inputs are sourced from and endogenously priced by upstream suppliers. We find, first, that cost disclosure affects not only market competition but also the motivations of suppliers in setting their input prices. As such, firms can strategize their disclosure decisions to optimize their procurement costs. Second, we find that firms’ disclosure decisions vary depending on both the nature of the competition and the market structure at hand. That is, when competing firms source from the same supplier or compete on price, they never disclose their costs; in such a case, nondisclosure is strictly better for consumers and welfare compared with disclosure. When competing firms source from different suppliers and compete on quantity, they always disclose; in such a case, disclosure is strictly better for consumers and welfare compared with nondisclosure. We also find that whereas manufacturers’ disclosure incentives are misaligned with those of suppliers, they are largely aligned with the goal of maximizing channel profits. Together, our results underscore the distinct role that endogenous costs play in firms’ disclosure decisions.

Research offers conflicting predictions about the impact of credit conditions on mental health. We first assess how bank regulatory reforms that improved credit conditions, for example, by enhancing the efficiency of credit allocation and lowering lending rates, impacted mental health. We discover that among low-income individuals, these regulatory reforms reduced mental depression, boosted labor market outcomes, eased access to mortgage debt, and reduced the ranks of the “unbanked.” We also find that mergers of large regional banks that led to branch closures and tighter credit constraints in affected counties harmed the mental health of lower-income individuals in treated counties.