We document that the percentage of all U.S. assets that are "safe" has remained stable at about 33 percent since 1952. This stable ratio is a rare example of calm in a rapidly changing financial world. Over the same time period, the ratio of U.S. assets to GDP has increased by a factor of 2.5,...

We document that the percentage of all U.S. assets that are “safe” has remained stable at about 33 percent since 1952. This stable ratio is a rare example of calm in a rapidly changing financial world. Over the same time period, the ratio of U.S. assets to GDP has increased by a factor of...

Price elasticities characterize the effect of price changes on demands in a multi-product context. We demonstrate and explain two perverse properties concerning price elasticities in the presence of network effects when three or more substitutable products are involved: Cross-price elasticities...

We show that in the presence of network effects, the effect of new firm entry on the equilibrium prices and demands of incumbent firms is not clear. In contrast to conventional thinking, we find that incumbent firms could use a higher price, have a larger demand, and earn a higher profit in the...