This dissertation comprises three essays revisiting the classical topic of quality provision in a duopoly. Two essays consider a situation in which consumers cannot identify the origin of an individual product but observe or infer the average quality of the units brought to the market: Chapter 2 studies the case where the two producers bargain over a minimum quality standard before deciding about their own quality level, while Chapter 3 deals with the case where qualities are (exogenously) fixed and producers have to decide about the quantity they will offer for sale. The final essay (Chapter 4) switches to a perfect-information environment and asks whether the producer of an inferior variety is able to deter the entry of a superior product by having retailers sign onto exclusivity contracts. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2006

Bakgrund: Det finns idag ett stort utbud av banker på den svenska marknaden och den allmänna diskussionen påvisar att intresset för att välja en hållbar bank ökar från samhället. I dagsläget har merparten av bankerna i det svenska samhället implementerat sin egen hållbarhetspolicy, med egna riktlinjer och kravställningar de skall följa, samt en beskrivning om vilka principer de sägs stå bakom. I och med att begreppet hållbarhet inte är reglerat i lagstiftningen leder detta till att begreppet tolkas på olika sätt och kan innebära svårigheter för kunder, eftersom det kan finnas skillnader i hållbara bankers inriktning när det gäller investeringar och utlåningar. Därmed kan det ifrågasättas om kunden är medveten om vad den investerar i. Med utgångspunkt utifrån detta finns det ett intresse att analysera och belysa hur de olika aktörerna på banksektorn själva definierar begreppet för att sedan komma fram till en mer konkret förklaring av vad som menas med begreppet för att underlätta för kunderna. Syfte: Uppsatsen syftar till att analysera och belysa hur den svenska banksektorn tolkar och implementerar hållbarhetsaspekten i dess verksamhet och hur den rådande mångtydiga definitionen av begreppet hållbarhet påverkar sektorn och dess aktörer. Metod: För att besvara studiens syfte har ett kvalitativt tillvägagångssätt använts. Efter att ha studerat relevant litteratur samt analyserat hur den svenska banksektorns hållbarhetsarbete så har en egenkonstruerad analysmodell utvecklats. Denna analysmodell ligger till grund för referensramen, utformandet av intervjumallen samt analys av den insamlade datan. Sammanlagt har nio semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts med banker, externa oberoendegranskningsparter och kunder. Slutsats: En hållbar bank är en bank som aktivt arbetar för att minimera dess negativa påverkan på människa, samhälle och miljö, såväl som aktivt tar till vara på de möjligheter de har för att främja hållbar utveckling. Bristen på transparens och tydlighet i kombination med en banksekretess ger utrymme för opportunistiskt beteende hos bankerna. Lemonsproblematiken råder inte för banker generellt i dagsläget men det finns tendenser inom mindre verksamhetsgrenar såsom fondförvaltning. Slutligen är dagens regelverk och övervakning inte tillräckliga för att reducera informationsasymmetrier och opportunistiskt beteende. Externa oberoende granskningsaktörer synar opportunistiskt beteende men kanäven ge upphov till opportunistiskt beteende i form av vitmålning. / Background: Today, there is a wide range of banks on the Swedish market and the general discussion shows that interest in choosing a sustainable bank is increasing from the society. At the moment, most of the Swedish banks have implemented their own policies, guidelines and requirements regarding sustainability, which they are following, as well as a description of the international principles they are said to stand behind. As the concept of sustainability is not regulated in the legislation, this means that the term is interpreted in different ways and may cause difficulties for the customers, as there may be differences in the focus of sustainable banks in terms of financing and investing. Therefore, it can be questioned if the customer is aware of what they invest in. Based on this, it is found interesting to analyse and enlighten how the different actors, in the banking sector, define the term sustainability, in order to clarify and explain what the definition of sustainability means, within the banking sector, to facilitate for the customers. Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to analyse and illustrate how the Swedish banking sector interprets and implements the sustainability aspect in their organisation and how the current ambiguous definition of sustainability affects the sector and its agents. Method: In order to answer the purpose of the study, a qualitative approach has been used. A unique analysis model has been developed. This after studying relevant literature and analysing how the Swedish banking sector works regarding sustainability. This analysis model forms the basis for the theory, the design of the interview template and the analysis of the collected data. In total, nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with banks, external independent auditors and customers. Conclusion: A sustainable bank is a bank that actively works to minimize its negative impact on humans, society and environment, as well as actively embracing the opportunities they have for promoting sustainable development. The lack of transparency and clarity in combination with bank secrecy creates a space for opportunistic behaviour from the banks. The Markets for “Lemons” do not exist at the moment in the banking sector, as a whole, but there are tendencies in specific operation groups, such as fund management. Today's regulatory and monitoring is not enough to reduce information asymmetries and opportunistic behaviour. External independent auditors bring opportunistic behaviour to the surface but can also cause opportunistic behaviour in terms of whitewashing.

Bakgrund: Den automatiserade rådgivningen är ett nytt fenomen på den svenska marknaden som innebär att kunderna ställs inför nya utmaningar när det kommer till investeringsrådgivning. Det har i tidigare forskning inte undersökts hur förtroendet ser ut angående robotrådgivning ur ett kundperspektiv vilket bidrar till ett intresse hos författarna att täcka denna kunskapslucka. Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka förutsättningarna för automatiserad kundrådgivning att brett slå igenom, detta genom att analysera potentiella kunders förtroende för tjänst och leverantör samt hur kunder ser på potentiella transaktionskostnadshinder. Det senare genom att undersöka hur kunden uppfattar den tillgängliga informationen, behovet av finansiell kunskap, psykologiska fällor samt kundens syn på eventuellt svekfullt beteende. Genomförande: Studiens genomförande bygger på en kvalitativ metod med åtta intervjuer med privatpersoner och en med en produktägare. Respondenternas förtroende samt åsikter har undersökts genom att sätta upp ett hypotetiskt scenario med den automatiserade rådgivningen. Det har sedan jämförts hur väl robotrådgivningen hanterar de problem som kan uppstå vid investeringsrådgivning jämfört med den traditionella rådgivningen för att på så sätt förenkla respondenternas möjlighet att ge så utvecklade och nyanserade svar som möjligt. Slutsats: Studien visar att det generella förtroendet för den automatiserade rådgivningen kan anses likvärdigt med det som finns för den traditionella rådgivningen, dock har robotrådgivningen en stor brist i de informationsasymmetrier som råder mellan kunden och roboten. På grund av den asymmetriska informationen kan kunden ha svårt att avgöra kvaliteten på robotrådgivningen och kan leda till att denne avstår från att använda sig av en sparrobot. / Background: The automated advisory is a new phenomenon at the Swedish market which means that the customers is faced with new challenges when it comes to investment advisory. It has in previous research not been investigated how the confidence is regarding the robo advisory through a customer-perspective which contributes to an interest from the author’s side to cover this knowledge gap. Aim: The aim with this essay is to investigate the conditions for the automated customer advisory to penetrate the market widely, this by analyze potential customers confidence for the service and supplier together with how the customers looks at potential transaction cost barriers. The later by investigating how the customer perceives the available information, the need for financial literacy, psychological traps together with the customers view on deceitful behavior. Completion: The completion of the study is based on a qualitative approach with eight private individuals and one product owner. The respondent’s confidence and opinions have been investigated by setting up a hypothetical scenario regarding the automated advisory. It has later on been compared how well the robo advisory can handle the problems that may occur during investment advisory compared to the traditional advisory to simplify the respondents opportunity to give as developed and nuanced answers as possible. Conclusion: The study shows that the general confidence for the automated advisory can be considered equivalent with what exists for the traditional advisory, but the automated advisory have a great shortage in the asymmetrical information which prevails between the customer and the robot. Because of the asymmetric information the customer may have difficulties to determine the quality of the robo advisory, which can lead to the customer refraining to use a robo-advisor.

O sonho da casa própria é acalentado em todas as sociedades, sem importar as raízes culturais ou sociais. A questão é que a concretização desse sonho, normalmente a maior aquisição das pessoas ao longo de toda sua vida, envolve fatores ou recursos que nem sempre estão à disposição. Portanto, são necessários mecanismos que permitam esta aquisição, tais como o financiamento imobiliário. Esse trabalho espera trazer alguma luz sobre essa oportuna discussão. Nossa proposta é apresentar alguns exemplos de sociedade que conseguiram equacionar a problemática dos recursos financeiros, bem como tentar apresentar propostas de adequação ao modelo atual, as quais poderiam ser adotadas em nosso país. / The dream of home ownership is cherished in all societies, regardless of cultural or social roots. The point is that the realization of this dream, usually the biggest purchase of people throughout his life, involves factors or resources that are not always available. So, mechanisms are needed to possibility this acquisition, such as housing finance. This work hopes to bring some points on this timely discussion. Our proposal is to present some examples of societies that have managed to equate the issue of financial resources as well as trying to present proposals to adapt to the current model, which could be adopted in our country.

Submitted by Ricardo Barros de Aquino Fonseca (ricardobafonseca@gmail.com) on 2017-06-28T06:01:34Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Ricardo_Fonseca_Dissertacao.pdf: 1923906 bytes, checksum: 31859d5e2f131b25276d0fc435835757 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by GILSON ROCHA MIRANDA (gilson.miranda@fgv.br) on 2017-06-30T12:38:04Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Ricardo_Fonseca_Dissertacao.pdf: 1923906 bytes, checksum: 31859d5e2f131b25276d0fc435835757 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-04T18:13:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ricardo_Fonseca_Dissertacao.pdf: 1923906 bytes, checksum: 31859d5e2f131b25276d0fc435835757 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-28 / I test for the existence of moral hazard and adverse selection in the Brazilian health insurance market. I use the positive correlation test, proposed by Chiappori and Salanié (2000), to assess the existence of asymmetric information in this market. I estimate the effect of health plan on treatment usage, controlling for many variables (measured blood pressure, age, smoker, etc.), identifying the effect of the plan. I use this coefficients as plan characteristics and estimate their effects on plan purchase using a simple logit regression. The coefficients from this estimation show the relative importance of anticipated moral hazard of different treatments on health plan choice. I find evidence of asymmetric information in the market for every state, in either the Metropolitan Area or not, and for the country as a whole. When performing the positive correlation test using hospitalizations as the usage variable, where moral hazard is assumed to be controlled, I find this evidence only for young women and for the last age group (59 years or more). I find no evidence of asymmetric information for plans paid through work, as expected. Several treatments are used more by people with plans, even when controlling for adverse selection. The analysis suggests that some of those are relevant for plan purchase.

O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar o impacto da criação do Cadastro Positivo na concessão de crédito aos consumidores no Brasil, a partir do ponto de vista teórico-legal e da análise comparativa entre países que já possuem este mecanismo de consulta consolidado e os que não o utilizam. Para tanto, apresentaram-se aspectos teóricos, legais e conceituais sobre os arquivos de consumo utilizados para a concessão de crédito no Brasil. Há, também, o estudo dos aspectos conceituais da Teoria da Informação Assimétrica aplicada ao mercado financeiro, tanto nos aspectos de Risco Moral, como de Seleção Adversa. A experiência internacional é estudada primeiramente através da análise dos países selecionados a partir do artigo de Japelli e Pagano (1999) e, posteriormente, por meio de um levantamento de artigos que realizam análises empíricas sobre bancos de dados para concessão de crédito. Por fim, faz-se uma análise da implantação do Cadastro Positivo no Brasil, por meio do estudo da jurisprudência de todos os casos tramitados no STJ, com a palavra-chave “cadastro positivo” até dezembro de 2016. Assim, foi possível verificar que o Cadastro Positivo é um instrumento benéfico para o mercado de crédito brasileiro. / This Master Thesis aims to analyze the impact of the institution of the Positive Credit Information database had in Brazilian credit market, from theoretical and legal points of view and through a comparative analysis of countries that have already had this mechanism and those which do not use. Therefore, theoretical, legal and conceptual aspects of consumer files used for the granting of credit in Brazil are presented. It comprehends, also, the study the conceptual aspects of Asymmetric Information Theory applied to the financial markets, both in the aspects of Moral Hazard, as well as Adverse Selection. International experience is primarily studied through the analysis of countries selected based in Japelli and Pagano’s article (1999) in the following and, later, through a survey of articles that carry out empirical analysis of credit bureaus. The last section comprises an analysis of the implementation of the Positive Credit database in Brazil, through the study of jurisprudence in all cases within the Brazilian’s “Superior Tribunal de Justiça”, using the keyword “Positive Information” until May 31, 2016. Thus, it was possible to verify that the Positive Credit is a beneficial tool for the Brazilian credit market.

I takt med en ökad efterfrågan på information, där den finansiella informationen inte anses vara tillräcklig för att tillfredsställa företagens alla intressenter, har ett växande intresse för företagens arbete och ställningstagande gällande hållbarhetsarbete vuxit fram. Den ökande efterfrågan har medfört att fler företag väljer att rapportera sitt hållbarhetsarbete för att tillgodose intressenters krav och intressen. Resultatmanipulering handlar i kontrast till detta om att vilseleda företagets intressenter. Intressen mellan företagsledningen och intressenterna kan skilja sig åt vilket kan ge upphov till en informationsasymmetri mellan parterna samt innebära att Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) implementeras av flertalet olika anledningar. Tidigare forskning som har studerat sambandet mellan CSR och Earnings Management (EM) har inte enats om huruvida sambandet är positivt eller negativt, då resultaten har varierat. Detta har resulterat i följande problemformulering där vi utifrån tidigare forskning antar att ett samband kan observeras i nordiska länder: Finns det ett samband mellan EM och CSR i börsnoterade bolag i Sverige, Norge, Danmark och Finland? Är det någon skillnad mellan svenska bolag mot norska, danska och finska bolag med avseende på EM respektive CSR? Studiens utgångspunkt är tidigare forskning och teorier som behandlar begreppen CSR, EM samt agentteorin, intressentteorin och CSR-pyramiden. Tidigare forskning om EM ligger till grund för att mäta förekomsten av diskretionära periodiseringar (DA) genom The Modified Jones model och utöver detta utmanar vi modellen med en alternativ beräkningsmetod. Grunden till studiens hypoteser och forskningsfråga utgörs av en kvantitativ metod med ett deduktivt angreppssätt, en objektivistisk kunskapssyn samt en positivistisk verklighetssyn. Datamaterialet har inhämtats från databasen Thomson Reuters Eikon och bearbetningen av denna information har sedan genomförts i Excel samt statistikprogrammen Minitab och STATA. Vidare har regressionsanalyser utförts med diskretionära periodiseringar som den beroende variabeln samt ANOVA-test för att undersöka skillnader i medelvärden mellan länderna i fråga om CSR-initiativ. Resultatet visar att det inte förekommer något samband mellan EM och CSR i börsnoterade bolag i Sverige, Norge, Danmark och Finland, då inga signifikanta resultat kan utläsas. I studien observerades däremot att det förekommer signifikanta skillnader i förekomsten av EM mellan länderna där förekomsten är lägst i svenska noterade bolag. Vidare påvisar resultatet att när ESG delas upp i Environmental, Social och Governance samt jämförs mot EM, finns inget generellt samband men på liknande sätt kan signifikanta skillnader observeras mellan länderna. Slutsatsen av studien är därför att variationen i EM inte kan förklaras av CSR, mätt i ESG-score, samtidigt som det förekommer genomsnittliga skillnader i EM mellan börsnoterade bolag i nordiska länder.

Este estudo buscou investigar duas relações de interesse: a relação entre poder e cobertura de analistas financeiros no mercado acionário brasileiro, e a relação entre poder e assimetria informacional neste mercado, nos períodos de 2000 a 2010. O objetivo desta pesquisa envolveu verificar se o poder empresarial aumenta a assimetria informacional decorrentes dos custos de agência envolvidos e possibilidade de expropriação de valor (Jensen & Meckling, 1976), ou diminui a assimetria, uma vez que administração da empresa não se sente vulnerável a demissões ou possíveis embaraços a sua atuação, e opta por não omitir informações aos stakeholders (Bertrand & Mullainathan, 2003). Ainda relacionado ao ambiente informacional impactado pelo poder empresarial, buscou-se verificar se os analistas financeiros acompanham empresas que apresentam uma maior assimetria informacional, e assim cumprindo sua função de monitoramento da gestão empresarial (Healy & Palepu, 2001), ou menor assimetria, em decorrência dos custos envolvidos em se obter informações privadas (Frankel, Kothari & Weber, 2006). Com o uso de proxies criadas pela análise fatorial para capturar as especificidades relacionadas a poder empresarial e assimetria informacional no ambiente empresarial brasileiro, foram observadas uma relação negativa entre cobertura de analistas financeiros e poder empresarial e uma relação positiva entre assimetria e poder empresarial. Pelas hipóteses esquematizadas por Jiraporn, Liu e Kim (2012), que abarcam todas as relações possíveis entre assimetria, poder empresarial e cobertura de analistas financeiros, os resultados se enquadram na Hipótese da Opacidade. / This research aims to investigate two relationships: the relationship between corporate power and financial analysts coverage in Brazilian stock market, and the relationship between corporate power and asymmetric information during 2000 to 2010. This research\'s purpose involve to verify if corporate power increases the asymmetric information resulting from agency costs and potential expropriation value (Jensen & Meckling, 1976), or decreases this asymmetry since the firm\'s management does not feel vulnerable to layoffs or possible embarrassment to managerial performance, and chooses do not omit information to stakeholders (Bertrand & Mullainathan, 2003). Also related to the information environment impacted by corporate power, this research seek to investigate if financial analysts follow firms that have higher asymmetric information, and thus fulfill this monitoring role of business management (Healy & Palepu, 2001), or less asymmetry in due to the costs involved in obtaining private information (Frankel et al., 2006). With the use of proxies created by factor analysis to capture the specifics characteristics related to corporate power and information asymmetry in Brazilian business environment, it was observed a negative relationship between financial analysts coverage and corporate power and a positive relationship between asymmetry and corporate power. The assumptions outlined by Jiraporn et al. (2012) that cover all possible relationships between asymmetry, corporate power and financial analysts coverage, fit the Opacity Hypothesis.

O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar o impacto da criação do Cadastro Positivo na concessão de crédito aos consumidores no Brasil, a partir do ponto de vista teórico-legal e da análise comparativa entre países que já possuem este mecanismo de consulta consolidado e os que não o utilizam. Para tanto, apresentaram-se aspectos teóricos, legais e conceituais sobre os arquivos de consumo utilizados para a concessão de crédito no Brasil. Há, também, o estudo dos aspectos conceituais da Teoria da Informação Assimétrica aplicada ao mercado financeiro, tanto nos aspectos de Risco Moral, como de Seleção Adversa. A experiência internacional é estudada primeiramente através da análise dos países selecionados a partir do artigo de Japelli e Pagano (1999) e, posteriormente, por meio de um levantamento de artigos que realizam análises empíricas sobre bancos de dados para concessão de crédito. Por fim, faz-se uma análise da implantação do Cadastro Positivo no Brasil, por meio do estudo da jurisprudência de todos os casos tramitados no STJ, com a palavra-chave “cadastro positivo” até dezembro de 2016. Assim, foi possível verificar que o Cadastro Positivo é um instrumento benéfico para o mercado de crédito brasileiro. / This Master Thesis aims to analyze the impact of the institution of the Positive Credit Information database had in Brazilian credit market, from theoretical and legal points of view and through a comparative analysis of countries that have already had this mechanism and those which do not use. Therefore, theoretical, legal and conceptual aspects of consumer files used for the granting of credit in Brazil are presented. It comprehends, also, the study the conceptual aspects of Asymmetric Information Theory applied to the financial markets, both in the aspects of Moral Hazard, as well as Adverse Selection. International experience is primarily studied through the analysis of countries selected based in Japelli and Pagano’s article (1999) in the following and, later, through a survey of articles that carry out empirical analysis of credit bureaus. The last section comprises an analysis of the implementation of the Positive Credit database in Brazil, through the study of jurisprudence in all cases within the Brazilian’s “Superior Tribunal de Justiça”, using the keyword “Positive Information” until May 31, 2016. Thus, it was possible to verify that the Positive Credit is a beneficial tool for the Brazilian credit market.

O sonho da casa própria é acalentado em todas as sociedades, sem importar as raízes culturais ou sociais. A questão é que a concretização desse sonho, normalmente a maior aquisição das pessoas ao longo de toda sua vida, envolve fatores ou recursos que nem sempre estão à disposição. Portanto, são necessários mecanismos que permitam esta aquisição, tais como o financiamento imobiliário. Esse trabalho espera trazer alguma luz sobre essa oportuna discussão. Nossa proposta é apresentar alguns exemplos de sociedade que conseguiram equacionar a problemática dos recursos financeiros, bem como tentar apresentar propostas de adequação ao modelo atual, as quais poderiam ser adotadas em nosso país. / The dream of home ownership is cherished in all societies, regardless of cultural or social roots. The point is that the realization of this dream, usually the biggest purchase of people throughout his life, involves factors or resources that are not always available. So, mechanisms are needed to possibility this acquisition, such as housing finance. This work hopes to bring some points on this timely discussion. Our proposal is to present some examples of societies that have managed to equate the issue of financial resources as well as trying to present proposals to adapt to the current model, which could be adopted in our country.