Decentralized Finance (DeFi) aims to use advancements in both computation and cryptography to tackle standard economic problems. It must, therefore, operate within the intersection of constraints required by both the computer science and economic domains. We explore a foundational question at...

A system such as bitcoin operates using a Proof of Work based consensus mechanism that many individuals have falsely claimed limits the ability for the system to scale. As a result, alternative proposals based on Proof of Stake are misleadingly being promoted as scaling solutions. However, it...

We define a class of pure exchange Edgeworth trading processes that under minimal assumptions converge to a stable set in the space of allocations, and characterise the Pareto set of these processes. Choosing a specific process belonging to this class, that we define fair trading, we analyse the...

In this paper, we revisit the classical trade-off between centralized and decentralized provision of local public goods, in a setting where interregional spillovers depend on the level of a national public good. We compare the standard benevolent planner approach with a political economy in...

For the past twenty years, the use of the Internet has facilitated international commercial relations between people who do not know each other and who are geographically distant. Disputes resulting from e-commerce have undermined the supremacy of state courts, which have proved unable to...

The implementation of fiscal decentralization in the last two decades has produced various findings: positive and negative. Several studies have evaluated fiscal decentralization as an ideal system so that development goals can be accustomed to satisfy the local’s preferences, so that the...

Algorithms are inherently centralised processes, from coding, to training, to deployment and maintenance. Meanwhile, blockchain communities are experimenting with “Decentralised Autonomous Organisations” (DAOs) as a participatory institutional framework for individual autonomy to organise...

Current financial order books and subsequent Electronic Communications Network trades require investors to submit orders to centralized exchanges which allow buyers and sellers to meet at market asset prices. This creates an unnecessary trusted third party between investors which then reports...

The financial crisis of 2007-08 revealed that centralized finance (CeFi) relying on large, interconnected financial institutions is easily destabilized. Since the crisis, significant regulatory tightening, monetary easing, and new competitors (e.g., fintechs) have created significant pressure on...

How efficient is Decentralized Finance (DeFi)? To answer this question, we study the efficiency and the role of intermediation in a large DeFi segment, namely, the market for Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). In particular, we advance a search-related theory of DeFi, in which search frictions...