We study a problem that is the "inverse" of Merton (1971). For a given consumption-portfolio policy, we provide necessary and sufficient conditions for it to be optimal for "some" agent with an increasing, strictly concave, time-additive, and state independent utility function when the risky asset price follows a general diffusion process. These conditions involve a set of consistency and state...

In a diffusion model of an enterprise with variable scale, conditions are given for the maximization of ‘profit’ (expected total discounted withdrawals) to lead to bankruptcy almost surely. The optimal withdrawal policy is an ‘overflow policy’: the withdrawal rate is zero if the asset level is below a ‘barrier’, and equal to the maximum rate if the asset level is at least equal to the barrier. ...

In this study, we examine whether board connections through shared directors influence firm disclosure policies. To overcome endogeneity challenges, we focus on an event that represents a significant change in firm disclosure policy: the cessation of quarterly earnings guidance. Our research design allows us to exploit the timing of director interlocks and therefore differentiate the director i...

Using new data on citations to university patents and scientific publications, and measures of distance based on Google maps, we study how geography affects university knowledge diffusion. We show that knowledge flows from patents are localized in two respects: they decline sharply with distance up to about 100 miles, and they are strongly constrained by state borders, controlling for distance....

Th e scholarship on policy diff usion in political science and public administration is extensive. Th is article provides an introduction to that literature for scholars, students, and practitioners. It off ers seven lessons derived from that literature, built from numerous empirical studies and applied to contemporary policy debates. Based on these seven lessons, the authors off er guidance to...

To examine the extent to which health promotion research is providing an empirical basis for the diffusion and institutionalization of effective interventions, we conducted a systematic audit of all articles in 12 public health and health promotion journals for the 1994 calendar year. We identified empirical/non-empirical and health promotion/non-health promotion articles. For each study, the h...

To explore the space between the theories of the Diffusion of Innovations and Universal Darwinism, we first examine a case study of the history of the greenhouse horticulture sector of the Netherlands, comparing and contrasting the narrow focus of Diffusion of Innovations and the wider focus of Universal Darwinism. We then build an agent-based model using elements of both in order to test how w...

In this paper I explore the impact of regulatory policy on the diffusion and prices of mobile telecommunications services across the European Union. I estimate a reduced form model of mobile industry using panel data for the EU countries in years 1998-2002. I find an empirical evidence that the regulation policy significantly influences the level of industry prices and the demand for mobile ser...