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on Regulation |
| By: | Michael S. Barr |
| Date: | 2026–06–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedgsq:103376 |
| By: | Farhad Billimoria; Paul Simshauser |
| Keywords: | Electricity markets, risk trading, project finance, contract design, energy storage |
| JEL: | D47 D52 D53 G12 Q40 |
| Date: | 2026–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:enp:wpaper:eprg2609 |
| By: | Tabuchi, Takatoshi; Wang, Congcong; Zhu, Xiwei |
| Abstract: | Abstract We consider that heterogeneous firms take one of the following strategies: over-the-counter sales, multiple regions, and delivery in a monopolistically competitive market in a two-region economy. Our findings indicate that the most efficient firms choose to operate in multiple regions, the second most efficient firms choose to deliver, the third most efficient firms choose to sell over-the-counter to consumers in two regions, and the least efficient firms choose to sell over-the-counter to consumers in one region. We show that technological progress increases the share of multiregional firms whose headquarters are located in each region and that the social welfare is higher in a larger region, where a larger market size leads to greater product variety and lower prices. Through numerical simulations, we demonstrate that multiregional firms tend to locate in regions with smaller populations to avoid intense competition and that delivery via spatial price discrimination results in lower welfare than over-the-counter sales by mill pricing, contrary to the literature. |
| Keywords: | multiregional firms, delivery, over-the-counter sales, monopolistic competition, procompetitive effect |
| JEL: | D1 R00 |
| Date: | 2026–05–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:129009 |
| By: | Leonardo Bursztyn; Jan Fasnacht; Benjamin R. Handel; Rafael Jiménez-Durán; Aaron Leonard; Filip Milojević; Christopher Roth; Cass R. Sunstein |
| Abstract: | We review an emerging literature on how non-user externalities—the benefits or harms that product adoption imposes differentially on non-users versus users—shape market outcomes. We first present a unified framework that distinguishes non-user externalities from network effects and classic externalities, such as pollution. A key distinction is that those harmed by classic externalities cannot mitigate harm by joining the externality-producing activity, whereas those harmed by negative non-user externalities can—simply by becoming users. This can expand the harm borne by remaining non-users, generating cascade dynamics that can culminate in product market traps: situations in which individuals would prefer the product not to exist, yet nonetheless choose to adopt it rather than remaining non-users. Using new survey evidence covering 25 product markets, we document that negative non-user externalities are pervasive, that the mechanisms behind them differ systematically across products, and that they generate adoption pressure on non-users. We then discuss how non-user externalities affect welfare analysis, firms’ strategic incentives, and market structure. We conclude by discussing policy responses, including design regulation and collective coordination mechanisms. |
| JEL: | D61 D62 D91 L14 |
| Date: | 2026–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:35279 |
| By: | Caitlin K. Myers; Ezekiel Hooper |
| Abstract: | The U.S. general fertility rate has fallen by 22% since 2007, a sustained decline not readily explained by economic conditions, contraceptive use, housing or childcare costs, or other commonly cited factors. We assess the potential role of a different shock: the diffusion of the smartphone. The U.S. rollout of the iPhone, the first modern smartphone, provides a natural experiment: from June 2007 through February 2011, the device was sold only on AT&T, allowing us to identify its effect from variation in AT&T’s mobile broadband coverage. Entropy-balanced Poisson and synthetic difference-in-differences event studies imply that access to the iPhone reduced births by 4.5–8.0% at ages 15–19 and 3.2–6.6% at ages 20–24, with statistically significant but smaller declines among older cohorts. Placebo analyses applied to Verizon and Sprint’s pre-2011 coverage footprint are null. Taken together, these cohort effects imply that the diffusion of the iPhone deepened the decline in births among women under 30 while suppressing the rise in births among older women. Overall, the diffusion of the iPhone explains 33–52% of the decline in the general fertility rate among women aged 15–44. National-survey evidence on time use and sexual behavior is consistent with the iPhone reducing in-person interactions, increasing pornography use, and reducing sexual frequency. |
| JEL: | J13 J18 O33 |
| Date: | 2026–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:35310 |
| By: | Iqbal, Muhammad; Siddiqui, Danish Ahmed; Noureen, Shabana |
| Abstract: | This study examines the impact of privatization on firm efficiency and performance across various sectors in Pakistan, including Telecom, Textiles, Cement, Chemicals, and Energy. Using a dataset of privatized firms representing over 80% of state-owned entities (1986-2017), the study employs two-stage least squares (2SLS) regression analysis to address potential endogeneity in privatization decisions. The results show that privatization improved return on assets (ROA) in sectors like Telecom and Textiles, while Cement and Chemicals experienced stagnation or decline, highlighting the non-uniform effects of privatization. Furthermore, privatization positively influenced the change in profits/sales and ROA but negatively impacted sales growth. While changes in profits/sales were strongly positively correlated with profitability, firm importance and donor effects had minimal impact. Democratic governance negatively affected sales changes, indicating that external governance factors may limit privatization's benefits. These findings underscore the role of sector-specific conditions and external factors in shaping privatization outcomes. The study's implications suggest that tailored privatization strategies, regulatory strengthening, and social safety nets are crucial for improving outcomes and ensuring a more equitable distribution of benefits. |
| Keywords: | Privatization, Firm Performance, Efficiency, Sectoral Analysis, Regulatory Framework, Economic Development |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:341078 |
| By: | Jarvis, Stephen |
| Abstract: | Large infrastructure projects have important social benefits but can also prompt strong local opposition. I estimate the economic costs of NIMBY (not in my backyard) attitudes and local planning restrictions by studying renewable energy projects. Using data on thousands of permitting applications, I show that wind and solar projects can have highly heterogeneous impacts depending on their characteristics and location. In some cases this includes significant external local costs, and I conduct a hedonic analysis to quantify the impact on nearby property values. I then show that planning officials are particularly sensitive to these local costs, especially when wealthy residents are affected. This often comes at the expense of considering the wider social benefits of these projects. These biases in the permitting process create inefficiencies that increased costs and led to substantial underinvestment in renewable energy. |
| Keywords: | renewable energy; infrastructure; NIMBY; permitting |
| JEL: | R11 R52 Q42 Q58 |
| Date: | 2025–07–31 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:125611 |
| By: | McGuinness, Michael |
| Abstract: | This theoretical manuscript develops a causal architecture for governance and administrative systems, explaining how authority, regulation, and institutional design interact to produce administrative outcomes. It forms part of a thesis‑by‑publication on governance architecture and delegated authority. The paper proposes a structural model linking causal mechanisms of rule formation, execution‑time authority, and institutional adaptation within public administration. |
| Date: | 2026–05–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:squkp_v1 |
| By: | Tirupam Goel; Ulf Lewrick; Isha Agarwal |
| Abstract: | We model a stablecoin issuer that optimises capital, cash and bond holdings under persistent stablecoin flows. Absent regulation, the issuer holds little capital and favours interest-bearing but less-liquid bonds over cash. This exposes coin-holders to default risks and poses systemic spillovers via price impact of bond fire-sales. How can regulation mitigate these risks? We consider capital and liquidity thresholds as usable buffers. They can be breached in stress but discipline issuers by triggering additional redemptions, thus endogenising stablecoin flows. The thresholds work through asymmetric channels. While the liquidity threshold only raises cash holdings, the capital threshold increases both capital and cash. Both thresholds mitigate default and spillover risks, suggesting they are substitutes. However, they are complements for regulators targeting both risks. Using stablecoin flows and US Treasury market depth, we calibrate a two-way mapping that enables regulators to recover capital-liquidity threshold combinations implied by chosen risk targets (and vice-versa). |
| Keywords: | capital regulation, liquidity regulation, stablecoins, crypto, money market funds, financial stability, buffer usability |
| JEL: | G2 G28 C6 |
| Date: | 2026–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bis:biswps:1355 |
| By: | Zahid, Haider; Audi, Marc; Ali, Amjad |
| Abstract: | The fast growth of cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based financial systems creates major difficulties for accounting systems because of their problems with asset classification, asset valuation, and asset disclosure. Companies must use managerial judgment for accounting because specific accounting standards do not exist, which creates problems for international financial reporting standards. The study examines the impact of cryptocurrency regulations on financial reporting quality in businesses that deal with digital assets. The data of 200 firms from financial statements, regulatory reports, and financial databases have been collected for empirical analysis. The results demonstrated that both regulatory strength and regulatory clarity enhance financial reporting quality because enforcement mechanisms that are stronger and regulatory guidance that is clearer lead to better reporting practices. The findings show that well-established regulatory systems create clear rules that decrease financial reporting risks that companies might exploit. The outcomes show that audit quality does not impact financial reporting quality because institutional and regulatory factors have a greater influence over cryptocurrency reporting practices than audit quality. The results suggest that policymakers should emphasize the need for improved regulatory systems and the development of specific digital asset accounting standards. The results show that regulatory design determines the financial reporting requirements that developing digital financial systems need for their digital financial systems. |
| Keywords: | Cryptocurrency Regulation, Financial Reporting Quality, Regulatory Clarity |
| JEL: | E42 G18 M41 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:129042 |
| By: | Deniz Atalar; Banu Demir; Swati Dhingra |
| Abstract: | Can environmental regulation reduce pollution globally, or does it merely shift environmental burdens across countries? We study China's 2017 ban on plastic waste imports, which abruptly closed the world's largest destination market for plastic waste recycled into manufacturing inputs. The ban triggered a major reallocation of global waste flows and provides a rare opportunity to study a central question in the pollution haven literature: when one country tightens environmental policy, where does the displaced environmental burden go? Displaced waste did not flow to the world's weakest regulators. Instead, it was redirected disproportionately towards Turkiye, a country with weaker waste-management outcomes than China and sufficient capacity to absorb part of the displaced trade. Using newly assembled data linking global trade flows, firm-to-firm production networks, waste management practices, and regional air pollution, we trace the consequences of the ban from international trade diversion to firms responses and local environmental outcomes. The dominant environmental mechanism differs from the textbook pollution haven narrative. Cheaper imported plastic waste displaced domestically generated waste. Domestic waste suppliers lost buyers and increasingly disposed of unsold waste through dumping and open burning. Cities more exposed to displaced domestic waste experienced significantly larger increases in particulate air pollution. Embedding these mechanisms in a quantitative model with environmental externalities, we find that economic gains from cheaper imported inputs are modest while estimated damages from local air pollution are substantial, implying negative net welfare effects for Turkiye. Our findings show that environmental regulation can export environmental costs through market displacement, shifting pollution burdens toward countries less equipped to manage them. |
| Date: | 2026–06–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp2191 |
| By: | Khan, Wahaj Ahmed; Siddiqui, Danish Ahmed |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the regulatory and punitive implications of indulgence in money laundering violations and their impact upon global financial connections via de-risking and delinking of financial institutions. Through thematic analysis of some of the most significant enforcement cases, including HSBC, Westpac, Danske Bank, Deutsche Bank, and Westpac, alongside the theory of deterrence and institutionalization, the research examines how financial institutions react to the anti-money laundering (AML) pressure. The study finds that the increasing severity of penalties for compliance, regulatory uncertainty and the risk of a reputational hazard have caused banks to cut off the relationship with their correspondent banks, particularly in regions with high risk and emerging markets. Although these actions are in line with the goals of deterrence to improve compliance. However, they can also lead to financial exclusion through the disruption of remittance flow, trade finance and access to aid for countries such as Nigeria, El Salvador, and Mozambique. The paper suggests that while AML frameworks are vital, a heavy reliance on punitive measures, without reforms that build capacity, could backfire and harm the economies that require the greatest financial integration. It advocates for a balanced regulator who is risk-sensitive, backed with international cooperation and transparency and a spirit of innovation. |
| Keywords: | Anti-Money Laundering, Correspondent Banking, De-linking, Financial Inclusion, Regulatory Penalties, Thematic Analysis |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:341080 |
| By: | Blanchard, Hally (Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, School of Geography and Environment, Oxford, UK); Barbrook-Johnson, Pete (The Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford); Obersteiner, Michael (Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, School of Geography and Environment, Oxford, UK) |
| Abstract: | Mining of the seabed in areas beyond national jurisdiction ('the Area') raises considerable governance questions for the International Seabed Authority as negotiations on mining regulations progress. To operationalize the principles enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea through rules, regulations, and procedures for deep-sea mining, legally consistent decisions on exploitation that balance political and economic interests, environmental protection, and equity must be taken under substantial scientific and economic uncertainty. This article examines the decision-making environment for polymetallic nodule mining through 22 expert interviews and a co-created causal loop diagram. The analysis identifies three reinforcing subsystems shaping the deep-sea mining decision environment: economic and political demand, contestation over socio-ecological governance principles, and the production of knowledge. It also highlights a stewardship dynamic centered on regulatory stringency, thresholds, and adaptive governance. The findings show that knowledge production is a policy arena in itself, and that decision-making is shaped not only by technical uncertainty, but also by contested values, strategic narratives, and feedbacks that reinforce investment, advocacy, and disagreement between stakeholders over risk perception. By mapping these interactions, our research offers a systems-based account of the forces that shape negotiations as a shared reference point for policymakers that might support the design of more adaptive, transparent, and feedback-informed governance of deep-sea mining in the Area. |
| Keywords: | Deep-sea Mining; Polymetallic Nodules; International Seabed Authority; Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction; Marine Governance; Systems Thinking; Causal Loop Diagram |
| Date: | 2026–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:amz:wpaper:2026-15 |
| By: | Celso Brunetti; Christoph Frei |
| Abstract: | We study the rise of nonbank financial intermediation and its implications for systemic risk. We develop a structural network model of banks and nonbank financial institutions (NBFIs) that decomposes intermediation into a capacity channel, driven by bank balance-sheet constraints, and a reliance channel, reflecting NBFI funding reliance. Using U.S. banking confidential supervisory data, we estimate key structural parameters and quantify both channels. We find that fluctuations in bank-NBFI intermediation are primarily explained by the reliance channel, with variation in NBFI fragility emerging as the dominant driver. We show that NBFI intermediation can amplify shocks through funding interconnectedness. |
| Keywords: | bank regulation; nonbank financial intermediation; systemic risk; financial networks; balance-sheet constraints; nonbank financial institution (NBFI) fragility; capacity and reliance channels; supervisory data |
| JEL: | G21 G23 G28 C51 D85 |
| Date: | 2026–05–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedgfe:103340 |