Before firms decide whether to enter a new market or not, they have the opportunity to buy information about several variables that might affect the profitability of this market. Our model differs from the existing literature on endogenous information acquisition in two respects: (1) there is...

We analyse credit market equilibrium when banks screen loan applicants. When banks have a convex cost function of screening, a pure strategy equilibrium exists where banks optimally set interest rates at the same level as their competitors. This result complements Broecker’s (1990) analysis,...

It is received financial wisdom that when there is free entry by speculators, it is impossible to generate net profits on publicly available information. In this paper we study a version of the standard Kyle (85) model with endogenous information acquisition and we find that equilibria exist...

We consider a dynamic model where traders in each period are matched randomly into pairs who then bargain about the division of a fixed surplus. When agreement is reached the traders leave the market. Traders who do not come to an agreement return next period in which they will be matched again,...

We consider the consequences of competition between two types of experimental exchange mechanisms, a “decentralized bargaining” market, and a “centralized” market. The experiment demonstrates that decentralized bargaining is subject to a process of unraveling in which relatively weak...

Despite the recent misfortunes of many dotcoms, e-commerce will have major and lasting effects on economic activity. But the rise and fall in the valuations of the first wave of e-commerce companies show that vague promises of distant profits are insufficient. Only business models based on sound...

With existing technology, it is already possible for personal agents to schedule meetings for thier users, to write the small print of an agrement and for agents to search the Internet for the cheapest price. But srious negotiation cranks the difficulty of the problem up several notches. In this...

In the light of the exponential growth of the Internet and World Wide Web, this paper describes, in some detail, existing agents and multiagents applications in the context of e-commerce, and suggests a research agenda for economists in response to these changes in technology and lifestyle....