In recent years, many of the restrictions on banking activities adopted following the banking collapse of the 1930s have been eroded by improvements in technology and high interest rates, which led to increasing direct competition from unregulated institutions. Beginning in the 1970s, the regulatory agencies, state legislatures, and the Congress have moved to liberalize these restrictions. Based on research on economies of scale and scope, the experience of the conglomerate merger movement of the 1950s and 1960s, the observed effects of changes in state laws governing branches and holding companies, foreign experience, and experience in other industries that underwent deregulation, banking deregulation is likely to lead to reductions in the number of banks and increases in their efficiency, geographic scope, and product diversification. Such an outcome is consistent with the survival of a large number and variety of financial institutions and need not endanger the safety of the banking system.

In recent years, many of the restrictions on banking activities adopted following the banking collapse of the 1930s have been eroded by improvements in technology and high interest rates, which led to increasing direct competition from unregulated institutions. Beginning in the 1970s, the regulatory agencies, state legislatures, and the Congress have moved to liberalize these restrictions. Based on research on economies of scale and scope, the experience of the conglomerate merger movement of the 1950s and 1960s, the observed effects of changes in state laws governing branches and holding companies, foreign experience, and experience in other industries that underwent deregulation, banking deregulation is likely to lead to reductions in the number of banks and increases in their efficiency, geographic scope, and product diversification. Such an outcome is consistent with the survival of a large number and variety of financial institutions and need not endanger the safety of the banking system.

Through the use of laboratory market methodology, the effect of a futures market on the time path of asset prices is studied and competing models of asset pricing are analyzed. With replication of market conditions, the predictions of a rational expectations equilibrium model are relatively accurate whether or not futures markets are present. However, the presence of futures markets increases the speed with which an efficient equilibrium is achieved. While this more rapid adjustment can increase the variance of spot market prices as they move to equilibrium, this increased variance reflects efficiency gains due to better information.

Through the use of laboratory market methodology, the effect of a futures market on the time path of asset prices is studied and competing models of asset pricing are analyzed. With replication of market conditions, the predictions of rational expectations equilibrium model are relatively accurate whether or not futures markets are present. However, the presence of futures markets increases the speed with which an efficient equilibrium is achieved. While this more rapid adjustment can increase the variance of spot market prices as they move to equilibrium, this increased variance reflects efficiency gains due to better information.

Conclusions concerning trends in natural resource scarcity may depend critically on the choice of scarcity index. Unfortunately, the prevalence of vertical integration in natural resource industries has hindered the use of some otherwise desirable scarcity measures. In this paper duality theory is used to derive an econometric procedure for estimating one such measure, the shadow price of the resource in situ. Empirical results for the Canadian metal mining industry indicate that resource scarcity as measured by this shadow price has decreased substantially over time.

Watts and Zimmerman [1978] tested their theory regarding management preferences over accounting standards using submissions on the General Price Level Discussion Memorandum. We first replicate the Watts-Zimmerman study using the same sample and then compare these results with identical tests, based on a larger sample comprised of Exposure Draft submissions. Several biases are identified in the Watts-Zimmerman test procedures. When corrected, the theory's classificatory power deteriorates significantly on both the DM and ED samples. Alternative measurements of the predictor variables are introduced, as well as additional tests, in an attempt to improve the theory's performance. However, the theory's performance remains unimpressive.

There are several examples in the literature of contingent claims whose payoffs depend on the outcomes of two or more stochastic variables. Familiar cases of such claims include options on a portfolio of options, options whose exercise price is stochastic, and options to exchange one asset for another. This paper derives risk neutral valuation relationships (RNVRs) in a discrete time setting that facilitate the pricing of such complex contingent claims in two specific cases: joint lognormally distributed underlying variables and constant proportional risk aversion on the part of investors, and joint normally distributed underlying variables and constant absolute risk aversion preferences, respectively. This methodology is then applied to the valuation of several interesting complex contingent claims such as multiperiod bonds, multicurrency option bonds, and investment options.

This paper values options on assets whose returns, over a finite interval of time, are generated by a binomial process. It shows that a simple valuation relationship, between the option and the underlying stock, obtains if investors have preference functions that belong to a particular class, even if opportunities to hedge do not exist. One particular application of the theory is in the case where the stock price over a finite interval could increase by an amount, fall by the same amount, or stay at the same level. The results in this paper may be viewed as the foundation of the preference‐based approaches to obtaining a risk neutral valuation relationship.