The literature on new goods and social welfare generally assumes that manufacturers develop innovations. But innovation … impact of users as a source of innovation on product diversity, innovation, and welfare. We examine the impact of user … innovation on inefficiencies that bias the provision of new goods, and find that most are either alleviated or non-existent for …

extant research on consumption insurance find that people face substantial risks that they do not fairly pool. In theory, the …

We model the emergence of formal insurance institutions as equilibria under limited contract enforceability where … formal and informal groups without requiring heterogeneity in insurance demand, because coalition-proof equilibria can fail … to exist. It also predicts where formal insurance is likely to flourish: insurance groups that hold savings become more …