We re-examine the state sector and its role in the Chinese economy by using the information on the ownership networks of 40 million firms for 1990-2017. We propose a new measure of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and partial SOEs based on the firm-to-firm equity investment relationships. Our...

Although blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies have grown in popularity over the past years, there does not seem to be a consensus if they bring any value to economic interactions. In this paper, I argue that a fundamental value the blockchain provides is commitment. I develop a model of an...

We study blockchain-based decentralized governance of a platform where users contribute to the platform's output and incur differential costs that depend on the type of platform's technology. The objective of the platform's founder is to maximize the platform's total output by devising...

Although blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies have grown in popularity over the past years, there does not seem to be a consensus if they bring any value to economic interactions. In this paper, I argue that a fundamental value the blockchain provides is commitment. I develop a model of an...

We explain the mechanics of smart contracts. We then highlight benefits of smart contracts such as overcoming commitment problems. We also discuss limitations such as the difficulty for smart contracts to access information external to the blockchain and the difficulty of integrating smart...

Blockchain applications are increasingly experimenting with novel governance mechanisms that address issues that are important for their community: resistance to voter fraud in the form a Sybil attack; resistance to the formation of a plutocracy within the community; and, the ability to express...

Priority structures are uncertain in real-life college admissions markets. This study investigates how information structures on priority affect resulting allocations. To do this, we focus on a class of real-life information structures that are represented as cutoff signals, which privately tell...

This study examines the effect of fiscal decentralization, in the form of shifting responsibilities of tax revenues, expenditure and planning from the central government to lower local governments, as well as rapidly rising income, on energy consumption for 47 Kenyan counties over the period...

This paper addresses the implications of the consolidation of the German banking industry in regard to the operation of savings banks. Savings banks are one of the pillars of the Germany’s banking system and the main providers of loans to small and medium firms that are the predominant drivers...