http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/7812 Sun, 19 May 2013 14:50:26 GMT 2013-05-19T14:50:26Z http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/77874 Optimal intertemporal decisions in imperfect capital markets Cardenas, Ruben Ojeda Optimal intertemporal investment solution paths are derived for both, firms operating in perfect financial markets and those facing credit constraints, due to imperfect capital markets. However, as in these markets, saving and investment decision may not be separable, we obtain the optimal dynamic path of these decisions for agents that own capital but do not have any access to credit and extend the analysis when these agents have some access to credit but yet face credit constraints from financial intermediaries. We next consider agents without physical capital and who derived their income from wages and/or financial assets. We study their optimal intertemporal decisions, among, consumption, financial assets and durable goods, first under perfect capital markets and then when credit constraints are present. The above results may be useful for both, the comparative dynamic analysis of agents with different type of endowments and immersed in imperfect financial markets and also to derive, from micro foundations, the aggregate demand and supply functions of intertemporal macro models for developing economies. The distinction between different types of agents according to their endowment may also help to assess the wealth and income distribution implications of economic policy. Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Economics, 2012.; Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.; Includes bibliographical references. Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/77874 2012-01-01T05:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/72844 On testing the Tradeoff Theory of capital structure with real options Shore, William T., S.M. (William Thomas). Massachusetts Institute of Technology We explain often anomalous results of capital structure tests by infusing tradeoff theory with real options. Of course one can explain almost everything using a soft qualitative theory. This paper's addition is to use a quantitative approach to generate tradeoff theory predictions for firms with valuable real options. We are able to explain many of the results of Rajan and Zingales (1995), Welch (2004), and Flannery and Rangan (2006). Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Economics, June 2012.; "June 2012." Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.; Includes bibliographical references (p. 120-122). Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/72844 2012-01-01T05:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/69479 Innovation incentives and competition in the hard disk drive industry Wu, Xiaohua Sherry Firms in the hard disk drive industry are continually engaging in R & D and improving the quality of their products. We explore various determinants of the product innovation incentives for firms concerned with both their static and expected future profitability. We estimate the observed innovation outcomes as a function of market condition variables which have significant impact on innovation decisions. In addition, we estimate logit utilities that describe the marginal willingness to pay for quality improvements. One aspect of utility is that the willingness to pay for faster access time to data may be initially low but increases over time. The firms' decisions to introduce faster access time are partly motivated by dynamic considerations. Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Economics, 2011.; Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.; Includes bibliographical references (p. 52-53). Sat, 01 Jan 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/69479 2011-01-01T05:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/54656 Empirical study of new Keynesian model using cointegrated VAR : what New Zealand data tell us Kim, Hae-min Econometric analysis of rational expectations models has been a widely studied topic in the macro-econometric literature. This thesis looks in particular at evaluating Neokeynesian model (NKM) with respect to its conformity with the data. Among the available econometric techniques, this thesis investigates what cointegrated VAR can illuminate about how close the NKM gets to the data. This project closely follow the approach taken by Mikael Juselius (2008) and extends the analysis to the New Zealand data. The findings from the thesis lend support to Juselius' conclusions but in a limited way. The results from this thesis question the robustness of his claims based on US data supporting inexact rational expectations models. Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Economics, 2009.; Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.; Includes bibliographical references (p. 27-28). Thu, 01 Jan 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/54656 2009-01-01T05:00:00Z