Does option-based compensation have a causal influence on payout policy? To address this question we examine the adoption of mandatory expensing of stock options (via accounting standard FAS123R), a plausible exogenous shock to the use of option-based compensation. As FAS123R applies to all firms, our identification strategy exploits the fact that the reduction in option-based compensation in r...

Commodity merchants use real option models to manage their operations. A central element of such a model is its underlying operating policy. We focus on network contracts for the transport capacity of natural gas pipelines, specific energy conversion assets. Practitioners commonly manage these contracts as portfolios of spread options. Although computationally fast, we show that this approach i...

This paper considers a problem of multi-period supply portfolio selection and execution with demand information updates. A supply portfolio specifies a buyer’s decision on selecting sourcing mix from among a group of suppliers. We develop a framework for optimal supply portfolio selection and execution. Further, we demonstrate that the optimal portfolio selection follows a base-stock policy and...

Tradable permits are generally considered as an efficient instrument to regulate pollution by individual producers. However, uncertainty about changes in or possible discontinuation of the program could make individual farmers reluctant to invest in tradable permits. This article uses the option approach to derive a theoretical model that shows the impact of policy uncertainty on investment dec...