This paper studies how comparing can be used to provide information in financial markets in the presence of a hidden characteristics problem.Although an investor cannot precisely estimate the future returns of an entrepreneur's projects, the investor can mitigate the asymmetric information...

We study the ability of competitive coordination service platforms (such as auction sites and real estate agents) to facilitate trade in a directed search model where buyers have unit demands and each seller only has one good to sell. The sellers' capacity constraint leads to a coordination...

This paper studies how comparing can be used to provide information in financial markets in the presence of a hidden characteristics problem. Although an investor cannot precisely estimate the future returns of an entrepreneur’s projects, the investor can mitigate the asymmetric information...

The paper studies two market structures and two modes of trade. The agents, buyers and sellers, can choose whether to stay or search. The meetings take place randomly, and trades are consummated by auction or by bargaining. There are altogether four possible markets but in equilibrium at most...

In 1980 three Finnish companies established a research joint venture in order to develop semiconductors. The project was initiated when a de facto standard was on the verge of tumbling down, and it was terminated when a new standard emerged. We study the RJV in the light of the contract theory,...