Diversified firms: existence and behaviors

We propose a micro-founded theory of diversified firms. The theory suggests that diversified firms exist because they allow better deployment of factors that, because of sub-additive contracting costs, are hard to trade in fractions. Firms diversify into industries in which these factors are more productive than any alternatives available in the factor market. Like markets, diversified firms allow specialization by enabling factors to be used on a larger scale. The individual businesses making up a diversified firm exhibit specific similarities in behavior.

The Belt and Road Initiative Agreements: Characteristics, Rationale, and Challenges

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has brought with it an unprecedented number of agreements. BRI agreements consist of primary agreements (particularly MOUs) and secondary agreements (like performance agreements). They are a distinct, landmark feature of the BRI. Focusing on primary agreements and their close link with secondary agreements, this paper explores the following questions: What are the legal status and characteristics of primary agreements? Why are they adopted by China? What challenges do they face? BRI primary agreements can be regarded as a form of soft law, but that repurposes soft law characteristics for project development rather than rule development. BRI primary agreements have the following unique characteristics: (i) minimal legalization, (ii) a coordinated, project-based nature, and (iii) a hub-and-spoke network structure. While BRI primary agreements benefit from the advantages of soft law (e.g., reduced contracting costs, flexibility), they face challenges including those concerning underlying interests and their effectiveness.

Do the FASB's Standards Add Shareholder Value?

ABSTRACT We examine the cost-effectiveness, from the shareholders' perspective, of the accounting standards issued by the FASB during 1973–2009. We evaluate (1) the stock market reactions of firms affected by the standards surrounding events that changed the standard's probability of issuance; and (2) whether the market reactions are related, in the cross-section, to agency problems, information asymmetry, proprietary costs, contracting costs, and changes in estimation risk. The average standard is a non-event from the investors' perspective because 104 of the 138 standards examined are associated with no change in shareholder value. Nineteen (15) standards are associated with a decrease (increase) in shareholder value. Surprisingly, 25 standards are associated with an increase in estimation risk. In the cross-section, firms with higher levels of information asymmetry, lower contracting costs, and a decrease in estimation risk experience most positive returns.

The effect of corporate board characteristics on loan monitoring decisions

Motivated by a paucity of research into the impact of corporate governance from a debtholder perspective, we examine the impact of corporate governance on loan monitoring decisions. The active and close involvement of a major UK bank facilitated the development of extremely realistic experimental scenarios with a great deal of accurate institutional detail. The results show that the likelihood of loan officers increasing the level of monitoring in the context of a debt covenant breach is associated with board independence, director financial expertise and the presence of a blockholder. A two-way interaction between financial expertise and board independence is also documented. Since likelihood of debt covenant breaches continues to be an important variable in studies of accounting choice and corporate finance the paper provides insights into associated debt contracting costs and their determinants. Apart from extending the academic literature, this study provides additional evidence on the efficacy of good corporate governance in reducing debt contracting costs that should also be of interest to regulators and practitioners

A Theory of Credibility under Commitment

The ability to commit to a contract may increase a player's payoff. In a repeated relationship, the lack of a complete contingency contract is usually explained by the presence of contracting costs. We study optimal contracts in a specific class of credibility models: relationships in which the surplus comes solely from screening. We show that the optimal contract is to reproduce the Perfect Bayesian Equilibrium of the game without commitment. In this sense, sequential rationality constraints do not bind. Therefore, we provide an alternative explanation for why a specific class of long-term relationships may often not be contracted upon.