Information revelation through option exercise

In many real-world situations, agents must formulate optionexercise strategies with imperfect information. In such a setting,agents may infer the private signals of other agents throughtheir observed exercise strategies. The building of an officebuilding, the drilling of an exploratory oil well, and the commitmentof a pharmaceutical company toward the research of a new drugall convey private information to other market participants.This article develops an equilibrium framework for option exercisegames with asymmetric private information. Many interestingaspects of the patterns of equilibrium exercise are analyzed.In particular, informational cascades, where agents ignore theirprivate information and jump on the exercise bandwagon, mayarise endogenously.     

The Impact of Socialism on Work Stoppages

The impact of socialism on work stoppages in 15 industrialized countries for the years 1956–1965 was tested using three measures of socialism: (1) the proportion of tangible wealth owned by the state, (2) the ratio of public welfare expenditures to gross national product, and (3) whether or not the socislist party was in power. Results of the analyses performed show that socialism a p peared to have little impact on work stoppage rates among the countries.