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Dynamic adverse selection and debt

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  • Gilles Chemla
  • Antoine Faure Grimaud

Abstract

This paper argues that the strategic use of debt favours the revelation of information in dynamic adverse selection problems. Our argument is based on the idea that debt is a credible commitment to end long term relationships. Consequently, debt encourages a privately informed party to disclose its information at early stages of a relationship. We illustrate our point with the financing decision of a monopolist selling a good to a buyer whose valuation is private information. A high level of (renegotiable) debt, by increasing the scope for liquidation, may induce the high valuation buyer to buy early at a high price and thus increase the monopolist's expected payoff. By affecting the buyer's strategy, it may reduce the probability of excessive liquidation. We investigate the consequences of good durability and we examine the way debt may alleviate the ratchet effect.

Suggested Citation

  • Gilles Chemla & Antoine Faure Grimaud, 1996. "Dynamic adverse selection and debt," Economics Working Papers 196, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, revised Dec 1996.
    • Handle: RePEc:upf:upfgen:196
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    Cited by:

    1. Murat Usman, 2004. "Optimal Debt Contracts with Renegotiation," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(4), pages 755-776, December.
    2. Omar Besbes & Dan A. Iancu & Nikolaos Trichakis, 2018. "Dynamic Pricing Under Debt: Spiraling Distortions and Efficiency Losses," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(10), pages 4572-4589, October.
    3. Sofiane Aboura & Emmanuel Lépinette, 2015. "Do banks satisfy the Modigliani-Miller theorem?," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 35(2), pages 924-935.
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    6. João Teixeira, 2014. "Outsourcing with debt financing," Portuguese Economic Journal, Springer;Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestao, vol. 13(1), pages 1-24, April.
    7. Chemla, Gilles, 2004. "Takeovers and the dynamics of information flows," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 575-590, April.
    8. Arping, Stefan & Diaw, Khaled M., 2008. "Sunk costs, entry deterrence, and financial constraints," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 490-501, March.
    9. Usman, Murat, 2008. "Commitment with renegotiable debt contracts and verifiable cash flow," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 99(2), pages 249-251, May.
    10. Arping, Stefan, 2005. "Protective interests and creative destruction," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 14(4), pages 401-431, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Dynamic adverse selection; durable good; ratchet effect; renegotiation; financial constraint; debt;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D42 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Monopoly
    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • L14 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Transactional Relationships; Contracts and Reputation

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