We develop a dynamic household finance model showing that student loans --  non-dischargeable in the U.S. bankruptcy -- alleviate the well-documented debt overhang in labor supply decisions. Non-dischargeability mutes opportunities for households to strategically reduce labor supply at the expense...

This paper characterizes the optimal contract when the agent is endowed with aspirational utility. Our analysis reveals that effort and aspirations act as complements: the principal utilizes aspirational ``boosters'' to induce local risk-loving behavior, reducing the welfare costs of incentives...

This paper develops a general equilibrium model to examine the role of information technology when intermediaries facilitate the origination and distribution of assets given information asymmetry. Information technology measures the informativeness of asset-quality signals received by intermediaries, who purchase assets...

Many financial contracts -- futures, options, and swaps -- are written on endogenous prices rather than primitive states of the world. How well can such markets approximate Arrow (1964)'s state-contingent contracts? We develop a tractable equilibrium model in which spot...

Traditionally, fund managers cast votes on behalf of fund investors. Recently, there is a shift toward "pass-through voting," with funds offering investors a choice: delegate votes to the fund or vote themselves. We develop a framework to study the implications...

We examine the governance implications of passive fund growth. In our model, investors allocate capital between passive funds, active funds, and private savings, and funds' fees and ownership stakes determine their incentives to engage in governance. If passive funds grow...