Tano Santos

A theory of markets, institutions, and endogenous preferences

The endogeneity of preferences implies that not only individual preferences—along with technologies, government policies, and the organization of society and markets—determine economic outcomes, but also that the economic, social, legal, and cultural structure of society affects preferences. This paper develops a general equilibrium model of incomplete markets in which preferences are endogenously determined. The key feature in the model is the interplay between the extent of the market, competitive endogenous interactions among individuals, and the heterogenous formation of preferences. We develop our model through an example in which individuals’ attitudes toward risk are formed as a function of the exposure to market risks, market incompletenesses, and non-market uncertainties. The model can easily accommodate the consideration of the formation of other preference parameters, and their relationship with other characteristics of the economic, social, and institutional environment. We discuss and present empirical evidence that supports the implication that the degree of risk aversion responds to market arrangements.

The Sovereign-Bank Diabolic Loop and ESBies

We propose a simple model of the sovereign-bank diabolic loop, and establish four results. First, the diabolic loop can be avoided by restricting banks’ domestic sovereign exposures relative to their equity. Second, equity requirements can be lowered if banks only hold senior domestic sovereign debt. Third, such requirements shrink even further if banks only hold the senior tranche of an internationally diversified sovereign portfolio – known as ESBies in the euro-area context. Finally, ESBies generate more safe assets than domestic debt tranching alone; and, insofar as the diabolic loop is defused, the junior tranche generated by the securitization is itself risk-free.

Managerial Style and Attention

Is firm behavior mainly driven by its environment or rather by the characteristics of its managers? We develop a cognitive theory of manager fixed effects, where the allocation of managerial attention determines firm behavior. We show that in complex environments, the endogenous allocation of attention exacerbates manager fixed effects. Small differences in managerial expertise then may result in dramatically different firm behavior, as managers devote scarce attention in a way which amplifies initial differences. In contrast, in less complex environments, the endogenous allocation of attention mitigates manager fixed effects. Firm owners prefer managers with task-specific expertise only in complex environments.

Institutions and Political Party Systems: The Euro Case

This paper argues that institutions and political party systems are simultaneously determined. A large change to the institutional framework, such as the creation of the euro by a group of European countries, will realign -after a transition period- the party system as well. The new political landscape may not be compatible with the institutions that triggered it. To illustrate this point, we study the case of the euro and how the party system has evolved in Southern and Northern European countries in response to it.