Thesis (M.S.)--Rutgers University, 2008. / "Graduate Program in Food and Business Economics." Includes bibliographical references (p. 43-45).

This work consists of five separate essays that examine the banking industry from a number of viewpoints. In the first essay, I consider how the ratchet effect interacts with workers' ability to cooperate to determine effort provision in teams. I show how the dominant constraint varies with both the size of the team and the members' ability to monitor each other's effort. Small teams tend to have their effort provision constrained by the ratchet effect; large teams are instead constrained by the inability of the team members to demand effort from each other. In the second essay, I examine the phenomenon of large team transfers in professional service firms, especially investment banks. I argue that large team moves occur because employees benefit by working with the most talented coworkers. Above-average teams may move together to effectively exclude younger, less-talented workers. These team transfers are optimal when employees are remunerated with team-based bonuses, which may explain their significance in investment banking. In the third essay, I consider the securitization market. First, I provide an explanation for equilibrium credit ratings inflation that does not require investor irrationality. Second, I argue that moral hazard in securitization results in banks either selling the entirety of securitized products, or none at all. Finally, I consider a number of possible government interventions in the market and conclude that many proposed interventions are either ineffectual or counterproductive. In the fourth essay, we design an improved LIBOR reporting mechanism. This mechanism, which we name the "whistleblower mechanism," uses the revealed preference of other banks to determine the borrowing rate of a given bank. Truthful reporting is the sole equilibrium of the mechanism that we design; the mechanism is budget-balanced. In the fifth essay, we consider the analogy between systemic risk and pollution. We argue that an ex post tax cannot replicate capital regulation because of a 'polluter cannot pay' problem. Secondly, we show an equivalency result between ex ante taxation and capital regulation. We then show that unless the ex ante tax is levied in capital, however, it may perversely increase the amount of debt in the financial system. We argue for further capital regulation.

The livestock industry in the United States has experienced significant concentration and vertical integration in recent years. This change has resulted in greater observed levels of pollution attributed to concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO) and society has attempted to use regulation to remedy these problems. Despite regulation at the federal and local level no documented improvement in water quality has been observed to date. This thesis is concerned with the response of profit-maximizing economic agents to the form of environmental regulation adopted at the federal level. A theoretical model of firm profit is proposed and analyzed using comparative statics to derive a variety of firm and policy relevant results. A qualitative discussion of monitoring and enforcement aspects of regulation and transaction costs in public policy implementation is provided. Results suggest that the form that regulation has taken fails to address the economic decision making process of the firm and thus fails to create incentives for more environmentally benign behavior.

Esta tese é composta por três ensaios que analisam a estrutura ótima de capital em setores de infraestrutura regulados. O primeiro ensaio, uma revisão da literatura, sistematiza diversos artigos que tratam de possíveis efeitos decorrentes de um ambiente economicamente regulado sobre a definição da estrutura ótima de capital. Estes artigos indicam que a relação estratégica existente entre entes reguladores e firmas reguladas afeta a decisão destas com relação à sua estrutura ótima de capital. O segundo ensaio tem por objetivo analisar esta questão de forma empírica, pela ótica dos entes reguladores. Para isso, primeiramente se levanta os procedimentos usualmente praticados pelas agências reguladoras nacionais na definição regulatória da estrutura ótima de capital, buscando-se avaliar se as mesmas atentam aos efeitos esperados do ambiente regulado sobre as decisões das firmas com relação às suas estruturas ótimas. Este levantamento demonstra que, até o momento, esta não tem sido uma preocupação dos órgãos reguladores nacionais. Ainda neste segundo ensaio, realiza-se, a partir de informações econômico-financeiras de firmas reguladas e não reguladas, uma análise em painel para verificar se o ambiente regulado, conforme indica a literatura, realmente afeta a estrutura ótima das firmas reguladas. Finalmente, o terceiro ensaio, também empírico, analisa a composição do endividamento das firmas reguladas e realiza duas verificações: (a) se as variáveis explicativas que a literatura indica como determinantes para a definição da quantidade de dívida apresentam intensidades diferentes por tipo de fonte (financiamentos bancários tradicionais ou debêntures); e (b) se, para cada tipo de fonte, os determinantes apresentam intensidades diferentes entre empresas reguladas e não reguladas. / This thesis consists of three essays on the optimal capital structure in infrastructure sectors that are subjected to economic regulation. The first essay, a literature review, organizes different articles that analyze the effects of an economically regulated environment over the optimal capital structure. These articles demonstrate that the existent strategic relation between regulators and regulated firms affects the firms\' decision in regard to its optimal capital structure. The second essay aims to an empirical test, from the point of view of regulators. First, the usual procedures adopted by the Brazilian regulators for measuring the optimal capital structure are systematized, showing that the potential effects of the regulated environment over the optimal capital structure have not so far been addressed by them. After that, a quantitative analysis is carried out, seeking to measure if a regulated environment really affects the optimal capital structure - the database consists of Brazilian regulated and unregulated firms, using a panel approach. Finally, the third essay, also empirical, breaks down the debt (long term loans and bonds) of firms and performs two analyses: (i) do different kinds of debt have different determinants?; and (ii) for each kind of debt, are there different determinants between regulated and unregulated firms?

Esta tese é composta por três ensaios que analisam a estrutura ótima de capital em setores de infraestrutura regulados. O primeiro ensaio, uma revisão da literatura, sistematiza diversos artigos que tratam de possíveis efeitos decorrentes de um ambiente economicamente regulado sobre a definição da estrutura ótima de capital. Estes artigos indicam que a relação estratégica existente entre entes reguladores e firmas reguladas afeta a decisão destas com relação à sua estrutura ótima de capital. O segundo ensaio tem por objetivo analisar esta questão de forma empírica, pela ótica dos entes reguladores. Para isso, primeiramente se levanta os procedimentos usualmente praticados pelas agências reguladoras nacionais na definição regulatória da estrutura ótima de capital, buscando-se avaliar se as mesmas atentam aos efeitos esperados do ambiente regulado sobre as decisões das firmas com relação às suas estruturas ótimas. Este levantamento demonstra que, até o momento, esta não tem sido uma preocupação dos órgãos reguladores nacionais. Ainda neste segundo ensaio, realiza-se, a partir de informações econômico-financeiras de firmas reguladas e não reguladas, uma análise em painel para verificar se o ambiente regulado, conforme indica a literatura, realmente afeta a estrutura ótima das firmas reguladas. Finalmente, o terceiro ensaio, também empírico, analisa a composição do endividamento das firmas reguladas e realiza duas verificações: (a) se as variáveis explicativas que a literatura indica como determinantes para a definição da quantidade de dívida apresentam intensidades diferentes por tipo de fonte (financiamentos bancários tradicionais ou debêntures); e (b) se, para cada tipo de fonte, os determinantes apresentam intensidades diferentes entre empresas reguladas e não reguladas. / This thesis consists of three essays on the optimal capital structure in infrastructure sectors that are subjected to economic regulation. The first essay, a literature review, organizes different articles that analyze the effects of an economically regulated environment over the optimal capital structure. These articles demonstrate that the existent strategic relation between regulators and regulated firms affects the firms\' decision in regard to its optimal capital structure. The second essay aims to an empirical test, from the point of view of regulators. First, the usual procedures adopted by the Brazilian regulators for measuring the optimal capital structure are systematized, showing that the potential effects of the regulated environment over the optimal capital structure have not so far been addressed by them. After that, a quantitative analysis is carried out, seeking to measure if a regulated environment really affects the optimal capital structure - the database consists of Brazilian regulated and unregulated firms, using a panel approach. Finally, the third essay, also empirical, breaks down the debt (long term loans and bonds) of firms and performs two analyses: (i) do different kinds of debt have different determinants?; and (ii) for each kind of debt, are there different determinants between regulated and unregulated firms?

Cette thèse par articles se compose de trois chapitres. Le premier chapitre traite principalement de l’urbanisation. Il apporte un éclairage sur l’histoire des villes ainsi que sur les évolutions futures attendues. Ainsi, cet aperçu permet de comprendre les grands enjeux pour les décideurs publics concernés par les problèmes de congestion, de pollution, d’étalement urbain, etc. Les phénomènes d’urbanisation comme l’étalement urbain accentuent les enjeux de financement des nouvelles infrastructures de réseaux de télécommunications dans les zones rurales impactées par la hausse du taux d’urbanisation. Les problématiques spécifiques au secteur des transports trouvent aussi leur transposition dans le domaine des réseaux de télécommunications. Un certain nombre d’enseignements issus des politiques de transport peuvent donc être tirés pour la régulation des télécommunications. Le deuxième chapitre vise à répondre à la problématique du financement de nouvelles infrastructures de réseaux. Pour cela, trois essais sont proposés. Dans le premier essai, il est démontré que la menace crédible par l’État du déploiement d’une nouvelle infrastructure de réseaux peut inciter les acteurs privés à investir dans de nouvelles technologies de réseaux. Cette politique incitative n’est pas suffisante. Elle doit s’accompagner d’une politique de régulation de l’accès. Dans le deuxième essai, il est notamment démontré que le prix de l’accès aux infrastructures de réseaux doit intégrer une prime de risque afin que les acteurs privés soient totalement rémunérés pour le risque d’investissement et qu’ils continuent d’être incités à investir dans le futur. Le cadre conceptuel appliqué au marché du Qatar permet d’estimer la prime de risque selon divers scénarii. Enfin, le troisième essai propose une nouvelle approche de régulation pour traiter de la Neutralité du Net. En particulier, il est démontré que des pauses réglementaires (regulatory holidays en anglais) des règles de la Neutralité du Net pourraient s’avérer utiles. En effet, une pause réglementaire de certains principes stricts de la Neutralité du Net permettrait à un opérateur de vendre, pour une période limitée, des capacités supplémentaires aux fournisseurs de contenus et services. A l’issu de cette période, la capacité supplémentaire du réseau pourrait être réallouée à l’ensemble des services Internet soumis au régime du Best-Effort. Ainsi, il est démontré que cette régulation permettrait à la fois d’inciter les fournisseurs d’accès à Internet à investir mais aussi d’assurer une qualité de service relative constante sur Internet. Le troisième chapitre traite de l’effet des bloqueurs de publicités sur le marché de l’Internet. Le modèle théorique met en évidence les effets opposés de la publicité sur les réseaux de télécommunications : la publicité congestionne les réseaux mais permet également de promouvoir la diversité des contenus proposés aux consommateurs. Ainsi, il est démontré que le fournisseur d’accès à Internet peut être incité à intégrer un bloqueur de publicités, ce qui est sous certaines conditions socialement souhaitable du point de vue du bien-être collectif. / This PhD thesis consists of three chapters.The first chapter deals with urbanization. A brief history and forecast of cities are highlighted. This overview explains current and upcoming issues in cities, such as congestion, air pollution, urban sprawl, etc. Urban sprawl, among other things, accentuates the question of how to finance network infrastructures such as telecommunications networks at the local loop level in sparsely populated areas. Specific urban policies can be transposed to telecommunications. Some lessons are valuable to regulate this sector.The second chapter is focuses on funding new telecommunications networks. Three articles are put forth. In the first one, it is shown that the credible threat of a State-owned network can be an incentive for private players to invest in a next-generation access. This incentive regulation, however, does not suffice. It should be accompanied by dedicated access regulation. In the second article, it is shown that the regulated access price must include a risk premium to compensate the incumbent for the investment risk of asymmetric regulation. The proposed theoretical framework applies to the Qatari fixed market. Finally, in the third article, a new regulatory approach is put forth to address the issue of Net Neutrality, in particular, regulatory holidays of Net Neutrality rules can be relevant. This innovative approach would allow an Internet Service Provider, to sell, for a given time period, additional bandwidth to content and service providers. At the end of the period, additional bandwidth could be re-allocated to the Open Internet that functions under the Best-Effort regime. Hence, it is shown that this regulatory approach could be an incentive for Internet service providers to invest in more bandwidth but it would also guarantee, in the long run, a given level of quality of service for Internet services.The third chapter deals with the effect of ad blocking on the Internet. The proposed theoretical model highlights the opposite effects of ad blocking on telecommunications networks: on the one hand, ad blocking reduces network congestion, on the other hand, ad blocking increases available content diversity over the Internet. In consequence, Internet service providers have an incentive to integrate an ad blocker, which can be welfare enhancing under certain specific conditions.

O objetivo desta dissertação é testar a hipótese sobre a resposta dos consumidores devido a uma alteração no sinal econômico horário das tarifas de energia elétrica. Foram examinados e testados os efeitos sobre a forma de uso de energia elétrica de 218 consumidores da empresa AES Sul para o período de janeiro de 2012 a maio de 2016, com marco na alteração tarifária a partir de abril de 2013, proposta com base na teoria de peak load pricing (preço de pico). A experiência deste caso corrobora com as hipóteses desta teoria, no qual aponta que os preços devem guardar reação com o custo marginal de atendimento e, é maior nos horários de pico. A hipótese foi testada usando o método econométrico de diferenças em diferenças, cujos resultados foram robustos ao mostrar que a alteração do sinal econômico influenciou o comportamento dos consumidores, melhorando a forma de utilização dos ativos de energia elétrica, aumentando os lucros da firma. / The objective of this dissertation is testing the hypotheses of consumers response due to a change in the hourly economic rates given through electrical energy tariffs. The effects in the form of using electrical energy of 218 consumers of the company AES Sul, due to the amendment occurred in the economic signal from April 2013 based on peak load pricing theory, were examined and tested using their data from January 2012 to May 2016. The experience of this case corroborates with the hypotheses of this theory, which indicates that prices must be linked to supply marginal cost, which is bigger at peak hours. The presented hypotheses was tested using the differences in differences econometric method, which results turned to be robust about the change in economic signal strongly influences on consumers behaviors, improving the usage of electrical assets, arising profits.

O objetivo desta dissertação é testar a hipótese sobre a resposta dos consumidores devido a uma alteração no sinal econômico horário das tarifas de energia elétrica. Foram examinados e testados os efeitos sobre a forma de uso de energia elétrica de 218 consumidores da empresa AES Sul para o período de janeiro de 2012 a maio de 2016, com marco na alteração tarifária a partir de abril de 2013, proposta com base na teoria de peak load pricing (preço de pico). A experiência deste caso corrobora com as hipóteses desta teoria, no qual aponta que os preços devem guardar reação com o custo marginal de atendimento e, é maior nos horários de pico. A hipótese foi testada usando o método econométrico de diferenças em diferenças, cujos resultados foram robustos ao mostrar que a alteração do sinal econômico influenciou o comportamento dos consumidores, melhorando a forma de utilização dos ativos de energia elétrica, aumentando os lucros da firma. / The objective of this dissertation is testing the hypotheses of consumers response due to a change in the hourly economic rates given through electrical energy tariffs. The effects in the form of using electrical energy of 218 consumers of the company AES Sul, due to the amendment occurred in the economic signal from April 2013 based on peak load pricing theory, were examined and tested using their data from January 2012 to May 2016. The experience of this case corroborates with the hypotheses of this theory, which indicates that prices must be linked to supply marginal cost, which is bigger at peak hours. The presented hypotheses was tested using the differences in differences econometric method, which results turned to be robust about the change in economic signal strongly influences on consumers behaviors, improving the usage of electrical assets, arising profits.

O objetivo desta dissertação é testar a hipótese sobre a resposta dos consumidores devido a uma alteração no sinal econômico horário das tarifas de energia elétrica. Foram examinados e testados os efeitos sobre a forma de uso de energia elétrica de 218 consumidores da empresa AES Sul para o período de janeiro de 2012 a maio de 2016, com marco na alteração tarifária a partir de abril de 2013, proposta com base na teoria de peak load pricing (preço de pico). A experiência deste caso corrobora com as hipóteses desta teoria, no qual aponta que os preços devem guardar reação com o custo marginal de atendimento e, é maior nos horários de pico. A hipótese foi testada usando o método econométrico de diferenças em diferenças, cujos resultados foram robustos ao mostrar que a alteração do sinal econômico influenciou o comportamento dos consumidores, melhorando a forma de utilização dos ativos de energia elétrica, aumentando os lucros da firma. / The objective of this dissertation is testing the hypotheses of consumers response due to a change in the hourly economic rates given through electrical energy tariffs. The effects in the form of using electrical energy of 218 consumers of the company AES Sul, due to the amendment occurred in the economic signal from April 2013 based on peak load pricing theory, were examined and tested using their data from January 2012 to May 2016. The experience of this case corroborates with the hypotheses of this theory, which indicates that prices must be linked to supply marginal cost, which is bigger at peak hours. The presented hypotheses was tested using the differences in differences econometric method, which results turned to be robust about the change in economic signal strongly influences on consumers behaviors, improving the usage of electrical assets, arising profits.

The topic of this thesis is the institutional ecology surrounding mobile wireless telecommunication services in Canada. The primary focus is the disconnect between policy pronouncements promoting universal adoption of mobile services, on the one hand, and the fact that mobile adoption remains stubbornly low in both absolute terms and by international comparison. Key concepts in the theory of communication regulation and the historical development of telecommunication policy are laid out, which are used to inform an examination of the development of national mobile communication policy since the 1980s. The thesis then presents two case studies. The first is focused on recent developments in federal mobile policy, directed toward taking greater steps to ensure broad adoption of mobile services. The second examines the changing role of mobile services, from instruments of interpersonal communication to a broader form of information media, and the challenges that this shift has created for policymakers. / October 2015