We model a network economy with three sectors: downstream firms, upstream firms, and banks. Agents are linked by productive and credit relationships so that the behavior of one agent influences the behavior of the others through network connections. Credit interlinkages among agents are a source of bankruptcy diffusion: in fact, failure of fulfilling debt commitments would lead to bankruptcy ch...

Why do potentially inflated credit ratings affect rational, well-informed creditors’ bond investment decisions? What are credit ratings’ effects on firms’ behavior? We resolve these questions by modeling a credit rating agency (CRA) as a certified expert who transmits information to creditors with coordination incentives and dispersed beliefs. In the unique equilibrium, high credit ratings are ...

This paper analyzes the investment behavior of ...rms under a quantity constraint on the amount of external funds which can be raised at a given cost (credit constraints). In this world, investment-cash ‡ow sensitivities decrease in the degree of credit constraints, until a ...rm becomes e¤ectively unconstrained. This generates a “U-shaped” curve for the relationship between sensitivities and c...

In this paper we investigate the behavior of credit yield spreads in an equilibrium framework in which the risk-free interest rate and yields on risky debt are jointly and endogenously determined. The model is one of a partially observable pure exchange economy in which debt is a contingent claim on the cash flow. We find that an increase in risk aversion or an increase in uncertainty about gro...

Traditionally, the literature on financial intermediation and credit channels, especially credit crunches, emphasized the relation between banks and entrepreneurs requiring credit, neglecting the funding of banks. With this paper, we want to be much more precise in this respect and study the impact of funding on credit. Indeed, regulation that has become world wide with the Basle Accord puts li...

We test the Becker-Murphy model of rational addiction with New Zealand credit card debt data. Our results clearly favour the rational addiction model over the myopic, backward-looking model. The estimated short-run and long-run price elasticities are-0.58 and-2.32 respectively, and the estimated rate of time-preference is 6.7% per quarter.

This research responds to the call for more research on the conceptualization and measurement of socio-economic status that moves beyond merely considering education, occupation and income variables. Credit card usage and credit card debt is a growing phenomenon in developed countries. Using data from a 1997 representative sample of more than 900 adults in Ohio, we explored how credit card debt...

Standard methods of understanding customer behavior in marketing allow for differences in sensitivity across consumers, but often assume that the sensitivity of a particular individual is ®xed through time. In many situations, this assumption may not be valid. Both the importance of variables, and the manner that they are combined to form an overall measure of value for an offer, can change. In...

We propose a theory of unsecured consumer credit where: (i) borrowers have the legal option to default; (ii) defaulters are not exogenously excluded from future borrowing; (iii) there is free entry of lenders; and (iv) lenders cannot collude to punish defaulters. In our framework, limited credit or credit at higher interest rates following default arises from the lender’s optimal response to li...

We propose a theory of unsecured consumer credit where: (i) borrowers have the legal option to default; (ii) defaulters are not exogenously excluded from future borrowing; (iii) there is free entry of lenders; and (iv) lenders cannot collude to punish defaulters. In our framework, limited credit or credit at higher interest rates following default arises from the lender’s optimal response to li...