A bargaining-based model of security design

Author(s)
Matan Tsur
Abstract

This paper studies how security design affects project outcomes. Consider a firm that raises capital for multiple projects by offering investors a share of the revenues. The revenue of each project is determined ex post through bargaining with a buyer of the output. Thus, the choice of security affects the feasible payoffs of the bargaining game. We characterize the securities that achieve the firm's maximal equilibrium payoff in bilateral and multilateral negotiations. In a large class of securities, the optimal contract is remarkably simple. The firm finances each project separately with defaultable debt. Welfare and empirical implications are discussed.

Organisation(s)
Department of Economics
Journal
American Economic Journal: Microeconomics
Volume
13
Pages
443-473
ISSN
1945-7669
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1257/mic.20190019
Publication date
2020
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
502021 Microeconomics, 502047 Economic theory
Keywords
Portal url
https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/en/publications/a-bargainingbased-model-of-security-design(9f0476e7-2a47-494a-b014-16d3902d097c).html