Are there permanent valuation gains to overseas listing?

This paper tests whether foreign equity listings are associatedwith permanent valuation gains and examines how market and firmcharacteristics influence any valuation effects. Using a globalsample of 1,676 listings placed in 25 countries, we find thatmuch of the valuation gains to overseas listings are not permanent.The transitory nature of valuation gains holds for both averageUS listings and average first-time firm listings. We find littleevidence of a permanent effect on returns for firms that listabroad, even for firms’ listings in markets that are moreliquid, provide better legal protection, or have a larger shareholderbase.     

The value of information and optimal organization

The article addresses the issue of optimal organization of production. I compare three organizational forms: centralization (one agent produces different inputs), decentralization (each of two agents produces a different input and contracts directly with the principal), and delegation (two agents produce different inputs, the principal contracts with one of them only). The optimal organizational form depends on the degree of complementarity/substitutability between the inputs in the final use. The degree of complementarity/substitutability also determines whether delegation is payoff equivalent to the two‐agent mechanism from the point of view of the principal. In the context of delegation, I consider which of the two agents should serve as the primary contractor. I also address the issue of collusion between the agents in a decentralized organization and characterize the conditions under which a stake of collusion exists.     

THE EIGENFUNCTION EXPANSION METHOD IN MULTI-FACTOR QUADRATIC TERM STRUCTURE MODELS

We propose the eigenfunction expansion method for pricing options in quadratic term structure models. The eigenvalues, eigenfunctions, and adjoint functions are calculated using elements of the representation theory of Lie algebras not only in the self-adjoint case, but in non-self-adjoint case as well; the eigenfunctions and adjoint functions are expressed in terms of Hermite polynomials. We demonstrate that the method is efficient for pricing caps, floors, and swaptions, if time to maturity is 1 year or more. We also consider subordination of the same class of models, and show that in the framework of the eigenfunction expansion approach, the subordinated models are (almost) as simple as pure Gaussian models. We study the dependence of Black implied volatilities and option prices on the type of non-Gaussian innovations.     

Incomplete Consumption Risk Sharing and Currency Risk Premiums

This article studies the impact of imperfect consumption risksharing across countries on the formation of time-varying riskpremiums in the foreign exchange market and on their cross-sectionaldifferences. These issues are addressed within the frameworkof the Constantinides and Duffie (1996) model applied to a multicountryworld. The article shows that the cross-country variance ofconsumption growth rates is counter-cyclical and that this featureof consumption data is mildly helpful for currency pricing.In particular, unlike the standard CCAPM, the new model is ableto generate currency risk premiums at lower values of risk aversionand provide certain explanatory power for cross-sectional differencesin currency returns.     

Modelling hydroclimatic uncertainty and short‐run irrigator decision making: the Goulburn system*

Australia has an incredibly variable and unpredictable hydroclimate, and while irrigation is designed to reduce risk, significant uncertainty remains in both seasonal water availability (‘allocations’) and irrigation crop water requirements. This paper explores the nature and impacts of seasonal hydroclimatic uncertainty on irrigator decision making and temporary water markets in the Goulburn system in northern Victoria. Irrigation and water trading plans are modelled for the three seasons of the irrigation year (spring, summer and autumn) via discrete stochastic programming, and contrasted against a perfect information base case. In water‐scarce environments, hydroclimatic uncertainty is found to be costly, in terms of both the efficiency of irrigation decisions and the allocation of water via the water market.     

Fast and accurate pricing of barrier options under Lévy processes

We suggest two new fast and accurate methods, the fast Wiener–Hopf (FWH) method and the iterative Wiener–Hopf (IWH) method, for pricing barrier options for a wide class of Lévy processes. Both methods use the Wiener–Hopf factorization and the fast Fourier transform algorithm. We demonstrate the accuracy and fast convergence of both methods using Monte Carlo simulations and an accurate finite difference scheme, compare our results with those obtained by the Cont–Voltchkova method, and explain the differences in prices near the barrier. The first author is supported, in part, by grant RFBR 09-01-00781.     

Attaching Workers through In-Kind Payments: Theory and Evidence from Russia

External shocks may cause a decline in the productivity of fixedcapital in certain regions of an economy. Exogenous obstaclesto migration make it hard for workers in those regions to reallocateto more prosperous regions. In addition, firms may devise "attachment"strategies to keep workers from moving out of a local labormarket. When workers are compensated in kind, they find it difficultto raise the cash needed for migration. This endogenous obstacleto migration has not yet been considered in the literature.The article shows that the feasibility of attachment dependson the inherited structure of local labor markets: attachmentcan exist in equilibrium only if the labor market is sufficientlyconcentrated. Attachment is beneficial for both employers andemployees but hurts the unemployed and the self-employed. Ananalysis of matched household-firm data from the Russian Federationcorroborates the theory.     

The Overseas Listing Decision: New Evidence of Proximity Preference

Using a cross section of effectively the entire universe ofoverseas listings across world markets, we examine the marketpreferences of firms listing their stock abroad. We find thatgeographic, economic, cultural, and industrial proximity playthe dominant role in the choice of overseas listing venue. Contraryto the notion that firms maximize international portfolio diversificationgains in listing abroad, cross-listing activity is more commonacross markets for which diversification gains are relativelylow. Our findings imply that the same proximity constraintsthat are believed to lead to "home bias" in investment portfoliodecisions also exert a profound influence on financing decisions.     

Search for differentiated products: identification and estimation

When consumers search for differentiated products, a given search decision can be explained either by low search cost or by low tastes for the set of products already found. We propose an identification strategy that allows to estimate the search cost distribution in the presence of unobserved tastes. The required data takes the form of conditional search decisions: observations of search actions combined with previously observed product displays. We develop an application using clickstream data from a hotel search platform. Estimates of price elasticity of demand in the search model differ from those in the static model, reflecting the bias due to endogeneity of search‐generated choice sets.     

Debt Overhang and Barter in Russia

This paper develops a model in which costly barter is used by firms to protect working capital against outside creditors. Although creditors could agree to postpone debt payments and to avoid destroying the firm's working capital, if the firm cannot commit not to divert cash ex post, the outcome of renegotiation still provides ex ante incentives to use barter. We show that the greater is the debt overhang, the more likely is the use of barter, with and without the possibility of debt restructuring. Empirical evidence from Russian firm-level data is shown to be consistent with the model's predictions. J. Comp. Econ., December 2002, 30(4), pp. 635–656. New Economic School, CEFIR, CEPR, and WDI, Nakhimovsky pr. 47, Moscow 117418, Russia; Sloan School of Management, M.I.T., 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142; and ROSES–CNRS and CEPR, Maison des Sciences économiques, 106–112 Bd de l'Hôpital, 75647 Paris Cedex 13, France. © 2002 Association for Comparative Economic Studies. Published by Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: E41, G34, P31.