Regulations are often introduced and reformed in response to unanticipated changes in market forces. In late 1973, for example, OPEC quadrupled the world price of oil and U.S. policy makers responded by imposing oil price regulation. Such events pose a fundamental problem of interpretation for...

Decontrol of the wellhead price of natural gas under the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 ended the general shortage of natural gas, which had begun in the 1960s. It also led to dislocations in gas markets because of regulatory uncertainties that created difficulties in renegotiating contracts...

Despite statutory reforms and potentially large economic gains from water trades, water markets have been slow to develop throughout the West. This article examines an institutional impediment that has not received adequate attention: How can irrigation districts structure water trades to...

The revelation that scores of firms engaged in the illegal manipulation of stock options' grant dates (i.e. "backdating") captured much public attention. The evidence indicates that the consequences stemming from management misconduct and misrepresentation are of first-order importance in this...

This paper reviews the arguments concerning the role of hostile tender offers in today's corporate world. Some observers suggest that "corporate raiders" do not pay shareholders a fair price for their holdings and that they disrupt firms' day-to-day operations. Others point to the significant...