We study how to design an optimal government loan program for risky R&D projects with positive externalities. With adverse selection, the contract involves a high interest rate but nearly zero cofinancing by entrepreneur. This contrasts sharply observed schemes. selection and moral hazard, allowing two levels of effort entrepreneur, policy consists menu at most contracts, one self-financing...

The sharp distinction drawn between firms rated narrowly above (BBB–) and below (BB+) the investment-grade cutoff provides variation in debt financing availability unrelated to firm fundamentals. We exploit this market segmentation to identify an asymmetric effect of debt capital supply on voluntary disclosure: BB+ firms step up disclosure in response to high-yield bond mutual fund outflows. Th...

We provide evidence of “soft” information production in investment banking. Using 2191 municipal bond offerings from 1997-2001, we find that “local” investment banks have substantial comparative and absolute advantages over non-local counterparts – locals charge lower fees and sell bonds at lower yields. Local investment banks’ strongest comparative advantage is at underwriting bonds with highe...

Using a proprietary dataset of institutional investors’ equity transactions, we document that institutional trading desks can sustain relative performance over adjacent periods. We find that trading-desk skill is positively correlated with the performance of the institution’s traded portfolio, suggesting that institutions that invest resources in developing execution abilities also invest in ge...

A number of recent national and EU initiatives have sought explicitly to encourage innovative firms and venture capital finance. In keeping with the policy debate, this paper focuses explicitly on the role of law and lawyers in facilitating venture capital: that is, both supply by investors, and demand by entrepreneurs. It reviews existing literature in a way that seeks to clarify the links bet...

We propose an alternative market design to the current credit ratings industrial organization. An issuer delegates a pass-through non-monitoring trust to acquire ratings from credit ratings agencies (CRAs). The trust pays outcome contingent fees, such that truth-telling is incentive compatible for CRAs, eliminating ratings inflation. Moreover, because the trust acts as an intermediary, it elimi...

Field Editor: G. Cassar This paper develops a theory of the participating convertible preferred (PCP) stock commonly used in venture capital settings. I show that the participation and convertibility features of PCP stock can be used to reduce information asymmetry between the venture and potential investors at the time of exit. Further, the convertibility feature of PCP helps in alleviating th...

This paper explores optimal ways for a firm to sell its initial public offering (IPO) to a mix of informed and uninformed investors through an intermediary. I argue that uninformed investors provide a benchmark for informed investors, resulting in an endogenous constraint that affects the issuer’s revenue. I conclude that higher revenues are achieved with higher numbers of uninformed investors ...

Insider trading problems relating to Japanese seasoned equity offerings (SEO) have attracted the attention of many investors. The purpose of this paper is to examine SEO insider problem and to provide suggestions to solve the problem. We have several findings. First, all four of the SEO insider firms experienced negative abnormal stock returns and high trading volume just two weeks before SEO a...

Why don’t VCs eliminate excess demand for follow-on funds by raising fees? We propose a model of learning that leads to informational holdup. Current investors learn about skill whereas outside investors observe only returns. This gives current investors holdup power when the VC raises his next fund: Without their backing, no-one will fund him, as outside investors interpret the lack of backing...