The literature on strategic growth options examines the impact of investment to gain comparative advantages. The commitment of irreversible investment may confer strategic advantages as a result of a reduction in future expansion costs (Dixit, 1980) or operating costs (Kulatilaka and Perotti,...

Established firms often fail to maintain leadership following disruptive market shifts. We argue that such firms are more prone to internal resistance. A radical adjustment of assets affects the distribution of employee rents, creating winners and losers. Losers resist large changes when strong...

Novel early stage ideas face uncertainty on the expertise needed to elaborate them, which creates a need to circulate them widely to find a match. Yet as information is not excludable, shared ideas may be stolen, reducing incentives to innovate. Still, in idea-rich environments inventors may...

Innovative ideas are novel combinations of productive resources potentially addressing an economic need (Schumpeter, 1926). Even promising ideas can be unprofitable if the proposed combination fails on at least one dimension, e.g., it is technically unfeasible or does not respond to a genuine...

We analyze causes and consequences of a monetary unification among countries with different institutional quality. Countries with stronger institutions choose a more productive policy, resulting in a stronger currency and lower taxes. Governments under weaker institutions prefer more spending...

The author reviews the state of thinking on the governance role of state ownership. He argues that a gradual transfer of operational control and financial claims over state assets remains the most desirable goal, but it needs to be paced to avoid regulatory capture, and the capture of the...

Can the risk of losses upon premature liquidation produce bank runs? We show how a unique run equilibrium driven by asset liquidity risk arises even under minimal fundamental risk. To study the role of illiquidity we introduce realistic norms on bank default, such that mandatory stay is...