Empirical and theoretical topics in applied microeconomics are discussed in this dissertation. The first essay identifies and measures managerial advantages from access to high-quality deals in venture capital investments. The underlying social network of Harvard Business School MBA venture capitalists and entrepreneurs is used to proxy availability of deal access. Random section assignment of HBS MBA graduates provides a key exogenous variation for identification. Being socially connected to peer venture capital firms and private equity seeking startups leads to more deal flow, larger asset under management and better performance in the inaugural funds of HBS-executive run venture capital firms. The second essay presents a two-stage model of competing ad auctions. Search engines attract users via Cournot-style competition. Meanwhile, each advertiser must pay a participation cost to use each ad platform. Advertiser entry strategies using symmetric Bayes-Nash equilibrium that lead to the Vickrey-Clarke-Groves outcome of the ad auctions are derived. Consistent with the model predictions, empirical evidence shows that multi-homing advertisers are larger than single-homing advertisers. Comparative statics on consumer choice parameters, quality, and user welfare are used to analyze the prospect of joining auctions to mitigate participation costs. The analysis provides conditions when such joins do and do not increase welfare. The third essay develops and computes a dynamic model of search in internet advertising. Micro-level browsing data from Microsoft's Bing.com (formerly known as Live.com) is used for structural estimations. The model predicts that users do not click on any ad with weak signals due to accumulating search cost and monotonicity of the value function. Rational search reveals a cascading pattern: the user clicks on a sufficiently high, highest-signal ad first, then moves on to the ad with the next highest conditionally expected probability of match once his assessment on the current ad degrades over time. The user exits when maximum assessment of likelihood of match over all ads is below a threshold value. The essay provides a novel approach to understanding rational herding behavior when product quality is only partially unraveled.

Baigiamajame magistro darbe nagrinėjamas investicinių fondų valdymo vaidmuo plėtojant šalies ekonomiką augančios globalizacijos kontekste ir ekonominio klestėjimo sferoje. Akcentuojama rizikos kapitalo fondų reikšmė didinant šalies konkurencingumą kitų šalių atžvilgiu, pritraukiant tiesiogines užsienio investicijas bei skatinant inovacijas. Išnagrinėti pagrindiniai teoriniai principai, kuriais remiantis nustatoma investicijų, investicinių fondų bei investicinių bendrovių samprata šiuolaikinėje literatūroje bei jų pokyčių tendencijos, analizuojamos įvairios investicijų formos, nustatomi tokio kapitalo panaudojimo tikslai bei lūkesčiai. Nagrinėjama investicijų skatinimo, būtent rizikos kapitalo pritraukimo į šalį būtinumas, rezultatyviai sekančios pasekmės. Atlikto tyrimo metodika susideda iš Lietuvos bei Europos sąjungos makroekonominių rodiklių analizės, koreliacinės regresinės analizės. Analizuojama Lietuvos investicinė situacija tarptautinėje rinkoje, jos investicinio klimato patrauklumas, stiprybės ir silpnybės. Iškeliama hipotezė, ar šalies investicijos į mokslinius tyrimus ir eksperimentinę plėtrą įtakoja užsienio investuotojų susidomėjimą. Ši analizė yra svarbi vertinant perspektyvias rizikos kapitalo potencialo kryptis ir galimybes, atsižvelgiant į globalizacijos ir inovacinės plėtros didėjančią svarbą, naujų ekonominių pranašumų bei konkurencingumo būtinybę žinių visuomenėje. Darbe pateikiami veiksniai, nulemiantys sėkmingą investicijų skatinimą šalyje, siūlomi... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The thesis examines the notion and functions of management of investment funds in growing globalization and prosperous country’s environment. Emphasizing the impact of venture capital, it develops their value in increasing the competitiveness in international market, attracting direct foreign investments, stimulating innovations. It analyses main theoretical aspects of investments, investment funds, investment company’s concept in contemporary literature as also gives the exact details about its fluctuation prospects, various forms of investing, their main intentions and expectations. The thesis also explains the reasons of resulting effects for attracting investments in venture capital funds. The methodology of investigation consists of macroeconomic research on Lithuanian and European Union situation, analysis of correlation and regression. It also points out our country’s situation in the international market of investing, its investment climate attraction, as well as strengths and weaknesses. This work raise a hypothesis that country is more attractive for investments if it budgets more into domestic research and development. The above mentioned analysis is rather important for evaluating perspective venture capital trends and possibilities of the globalization as well as with account of growing significance of the innovation within the knowledge society. Analytically developed results provides with factors of prosperous influence which guarantees big foreign investment... [to full text]

Equity crowdfunding (ECF) is the smallest of four main types of crowdfunding (CF) and has emerged as a new form of investment, where investors receive equity of a company in return for capital. Over the past years, the development of CF has given entrepreneurs the option to seek funding from a new source, instead of relying solely on venture capital (VC) and other sources of funding (Mollick, 2013). However, the implementation of regulations for ECF has not yet developed enough to make such investing equally consistent for everyone.   Equity crowdfunded ventures can potentially attract a large number of investors that can possibly create corporate governance issues between the entrepreneur and investors. Additionally, individual investors might both lack the competence or incentive to extensively research and assess a venture and make an investment. Due to the growth in ECF and the lack of knowledge of it, the purpose of this thesis was to discover the perceptions of Swedish fund managers (FMs) regarding the nature of ECF and their interest in it.   In order to fulfill the purpose of this study, previous studies were carefully examined to gain a thorough understanding of the area of study. Furthermore, the empirical findings were gathered through a course of seven semi-structured interviews of Swedish FMs.   Empirical findings suggested that ECF has remained as a means of providing only seed-stage funding for ventures and that it is a marginal phenomenon in Sweden. ECF was believed to potentially disturb the VC industry if it grew and moved to a later stage. Additionally, ECF was found to be a good option for companies that were unable to receive funding from traditional funding methods. Risks of fraud and other scandals should be prevented for ECF to maintain its popularity. The findings implied that the future of ECF remains uncertain. Based on the perceptions of Swedish FMs, ECF neither would replace nor be a threat to traditional methods.

Bakgrund: Under 2000-talet har många av klubbarna i både Svenska Hockeyligan och Allsvenskan i fotboll haft ekonomiska problem. Flertalet elitidrottsklubbar har gått från att tidigare vara ideella föreningar till att idag, genom bolagiseringar, drivas som elitidrottsföretag. Ett verktyg som idag används för att utveckla företags verksamheter i flera vitt skilda branscher är riskkapital där riskkapitalister eller riskkapitalbolag köper in sig i företaget. Elitidrottsföretagen påverkas dock av regelverk som potentiellt sett begränsar elitidrottsföretagens möjligheter att använda riskkapital. Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att analysera om elitidrottsklubbar inom svensk fotboll och ishockey kan utveckla sin verksamhet med riskkapital. Metod: Studien har en kvalitativ ansats där intervjuer har genomförts med representanter från tio elitidrottsklubbar inom svensk fotboll och ishockey. Resultat: Studien visar att elitidrottsklubbar inom svensk fotboll och ishockey bör kunna använda sig av riskkapital för att utveckla sin verksamhet. Gällande regelverk, 51-procentsregeln, hämmar dock klubbarna i användningen av riskkapital, då riskkapitalistens möjlighet till kontroll över sin investering begränsas. Om riskkapitalisten tillåts inta en aktiv ägarroll, ser vi användningen av riskkapital som en möjlig framtida väg för att utveckla verksamheten i dagens elitidrottsföretag. / Background: During the 2000s, many clubs in the Swedish Hockey League and the Swedish premier football division Allsvenskan have suffered from financial problems. Many elite sports clubs have changed from previously beeing non-profit organizations to, through corporatisation, operate as elite sports businesses. Private equity is a tool that is used to develop business operations in various industries, where venture capitalists or private equity firms buys into a company. Elite sports businesses, however, are affected by regulations that potentially limit the elite sports businesses possibilities to use private equity. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze if elite sports clubs in Swedish football and ice hockey can develop their business with private equity. Research method: The study has a qualitative approach in which interviews were conducted with representatives from ten elite sports clubs in Swedish football and ice hockey. Results: The study shows that elite sports clubs in Swedish football and ice hockey should be able to use venture capital to develop their business. Current regulations, the 51-percent rule, inhibits the clubs in their use of private equity, since venture capitalists are limited in their possibility to control their investment. If the venture capitalist is allowed to take on an active ownership role, we see the use of private equity as a opportunity to develop the business in today's elite sports businesses.

Many venture capitalists (VCs) use the “VC method” of valuation where they use judgment to estimate a probability of successful exit while determining the ownership share to demand in exchange for investing in a venture. However, prior models are not aligned with the “VC method” because they do not consider private information about entrepreneurial characteristics, the primary drivers of the above probability, and consequently do not model judgment. The three main chapters of this thesis—one theoretical, one simulation, and one empirical study—examine the venture capital deal process in sync with the “VC method.” Chapter 2 is theoretical and develops a principal-agent model of venture capital deal process incorporating double-sided moral hazard and one-sided private information. The VC is never fully informed about the entrepreneur’s disutility of effort in spite of due diligence checks, so takes on a belief about the latter’s performance in the funded venture to determine the offer. This study suggests that there exists a critical point in the VC’s belief—and correspondingly in the VC’s ownership share—that maximizes the total return to the two parties. It also uncovers optimal revision strategies for the VC to adopt if the offer is rejected where it is shown that the VC should develop a strong advisory capacity and minimize time constraints to facilitate investment. Chapter 3 simulates venture capital deals as per the theoretical model and confirms the existence of critical points in the VC’s belief and ownership share that maximize the returns to the two parties and their total return. Particularly, the VC’s return (in excess of his or her return from an alternate investment) peaks for a moderate ownership share for the VC. Since private information with the entrepreneur would preclude the VC from knowing these critical points a priori, the VC should demand a moderate ownership share to stay close to such a peak. Using data from simulations, we also generate predictions about the properties of the venture capital deal space—notably: (a) Teamwork is crucial to financing; and (b) If the VC is highly confident about the entrepreneur’s performance, it would work to the latter’s advantage. Chapter 4 reports the results from our survey of eight seasoned VCs affiliated with seven firms operating in Canada, USA, and UK, where our findings received a high degree of support.

To draw up an intellectual property management strategy is one of the most important tasks to do when starting up technology-based companies, which play a very important role in the knowledge-based economies. IP management due to protection must be regarded as a strategic asset aimed at improving the competitive advantages, increasing the revenue of a technology-based start up company and encouraging to continue to develop new technologies, by securing a technological platform for a future development, preventing competitors from gaining access to emerging markets, creating retaliatory power against competitors and preventing innovative products from being plagiarized. Through this study the aim is forming a guide including why and how an IP management strategy develop and implement to a new technology-based start up company. Beside these it is proved that from the properties that characterize the start-up configuration of a high-tech firm there can be derived three organizational archetypes of firms each of which requires different IP management strategies.

創業天使(business angel)是一種新興的融資管道。以往創新產業利用創投事業募集創業基金，進行投資的工作。近年來創投的生態漸漸改變，除了資金挹注集中在營運中後期，創投事業也不再扮演提供管理諮詢的關鍵者角色。這時，創業天使的出現，不僅解決創業公司種子期資金不足的窘境，且積極涉入公司經營、提供產業諮詢，以增加企業的附加價值。 以往創投事業及創業公司的文獻中，僅就資本利得稅對雙方的投入影響作討論。而Elitzur and Gavious(2003)則試著加入創業天使的角色，利用三方模型衡量創業天使的加入能否對創投與創業公司間因道德危機問題產生的無效率有所改善。 本文以Elitzur and Gavious(2003)文章為基礎，加入政府的租稅政策，藉以衡量政府的介入是否對三方的投入有所助益。本文研究結果發現，只要政府課徵資本利得稅，將會使三方的投入水準減低；即使採取預算平衡的租稅政策，仍無法改變投入無效率以及創新產業收入過低的情況。因此，在現實社會中，政府不應課過重的資本利得稅，以期能使整個產業營收增加。如果採取對創投事業及創業天使資本利得補貼並搭配對投資之課稅，政府的原意乃是提高各行為參與者之資本利得，以增進效率水準；然而因課稅的過程中產生誘因降低的情況，最終反而會使三方的資本利得減少。唯有對單一參與者個別給予資本利得補貼並搭配課徵對誘因沒有影響的總額進入稅，才會使整個計畫的利得增加，達到有效率的投資水準。是故，政府的租稅政策對創業天使、創投事業及創業公司三者並不一定會達到較有效率的結果。

Moral Hazard and the Agency Costs thereof have long been accepted arguments in venture finance theory and have therefore long been accepted shortcomings in the venture capitalist / entrepreneur relationship. In psychological experiments ??? including economic ??? it has been shown that human beings prefer to act in a reciprocal manner that reduces any inequity in a relationship. Humans who expect to receive an unfair and inequitable position in a relationship, will take steps to rectify that position. Specifically, if a venture capitalist expects the entrepreneur to unfairly extract private benefits from the investee company post investment by the venture capitalist, then he or she will impose costly controls and monitoring mechanisms in place to prevent that. All relationships that impose controls and monitoring mechanisms are inefficient, as opposed to Advising the investee which draws upon the skills of the venture capitalist and is generally efficient. The venture capital industry is comprised of intelligent and professional people who can recognise inefficiency easily. Indeed, this is how they make poorly managed companies into profitable trade sales or IPO???s. The online survey completed for this thesis poses questions that attempt to show that venture capitalists and entrepreneurs are not locked in an antagonistic relationship where each merely acts in a self interested way. This thesis concludes that venture capitalists and entrepreneurs do work in a reciprocal relationship recognising the substantial efficiency gains to be made by doing so.

LAMACZ, L. Private equity funds. Brno: Mendel University in Brno. 2014 The subject of this diploma thesis is investing through Private equity funds. Based on the research of factors that affect the profitability of private equity funds, the author has drawn up an investment recommendation. The research subject is relation between profitability and the denominated currency of the fund, Morningstar rating, the level of market capitalization, dividend yield and domicile of the fund. In diploma thesis, the author also compares the profitability of investments in the sector and regionally focused private equity funds with profitability of investments in stock indexes focused on the same sectors and regions. The thesis also offers an analysis of supply of private equity funds in the US market and analysis of the impact of financial crises that began in the fall of 2007 on the profitability of private equity funds. The final part is devoted to the presentation of the results attained and their discussion with other authors' similar themes.

Submitted by RICARDO MOLARI ESPINDOLA (ricardo.m.espindola@gmail.com) on 2015-02-27T19:20:22Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Ricardo Espindola - Monografia MPFE.pdf: 1167022 bytes, checksum: 783d5d59bf35f7b2f3ab718a9fa836f6 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Renata de Souza Nascimento (renata.souza@fgv.br) on 2015-02-27T19:21:26Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Ricardo Espindola - Monografia MPFE.pdf: 1167022 bytes, checksum: 783d5d59bf35f7b2f3ab718a9fa836f6 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-02-27T19:28:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ricardo Espindola - Monografia MPFE.pdf: 1167022 bytes, checksum: 783d5d59bf35f7b2f3ab718a9fa836f6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-04 / The financial crisis that began in 2007 generated a major recession in the United States and affected the global economy with disastrous consequences for the growth and the rate of unemployment in several countries. The major Central Banks of the world have to give greater importance to policies that ensure financial stability. There is a consensus regarding the need for advanced regulatory and prudential measures capable of reducing the financial risks. However, there are differences in the use of the basic interest rate, not only as a necessary tool to ensure price stability, but also to ensure financial stability and prevent the formation of financial bubbles. In the last twenty years, Brazil has experienced a period of great expansion of its credit market, fruit of the economical and financial establishments. The Central Bank of Brazil had a successful performance during the crisis and demonstrated its ability in using instruments of monetary politics and prudential measures in a complementary manner. Over the past four years, the macroeconomic conditions have deteriorated and Brazil has gone through a period of low growth, a level of inflation that reaches its target ceiling and a rise in national debt. While macro-prudential policies were able to prevent the formation of financial bubbles, the fiscal and monetary policies were far too expansionary. In this period there was a weakening in the reaction function of the Central Bank, which has failed to comply with the principle of Taylor. / A crise financeira iniciada em 2007 gerou uma grande recessão nos Estados Unidos e abalou a economia global com consequências nefastas para o crescimento e a taxa de desemprego em vários países. Os principais Bancos Centrais do mundo passaram a dar maior importância para políticas que garantam a estabilidade financeira. É consensual a necessidade de avanços regulatórios e de medidas prudenciais capazes de reduzir os riscos financeiros, mas existem divergências quanto ao uso da taxa básica de juros, não só como um instrumento necessário para garantir a estabilidade de preços, como também para garantir a estabilidade financeira e evitar a formação de bolhas. O Brasil viveu nos últimos vinte anos um período de grande expansão do mercado de crédito, fruto das estabilidades econômica e financeira. O Banco Central do Brasil teve atuação exitosa durante a crise e demonstrou habilidade em utilizar instrumentos de política monetária e medidas macroprudenciais de forma complementar. Nos últimos quatro anos, as condições macroeconômicas se deterioraram e o Brasil atravessou um período de crescimento baixo, inflação próxima ao teto da meta e aumento do endividamento. Enquanto as políticas macroprudenciais foram capazes de evitar a formação de bolhas, as políticas fiscal e monetária foram demasiadamente expansionistas. Neste período houve um enfraquecimento na função-reação do Banco Central, que deixou de respeitar o princípio de Taylor.