Investment under ambiguity with the best and worst in mind

Recent literature on optimal investment has stressed the difference between the impact of risk and the impact of ambiguity - also called Knightian uncertainty - on investors' decisions. In this paper, we show that a decision maker's attitude towards ambiguity is similarly crucial for investment decisions. We capture the investor's individual ambiguity attitude by applying alpha-MEU preferences to a standard investment problem. We show that the presence of ambiguity often leads to an increase in the subjective project value, and entrepreneurs are more eager to invest. Thereby, our investment model helps to explain differences in investment behavior in situations which are objectively identical

Solving Singular Control from Optimal Switching

Singular stochastic control, Optimal switching, Dynkin’s game, Reversible investment, Smooth fit principle,

The worst case for real options

The problem of the timing of an investment decision under partial information is analyzed in a framework where the firm is ambiguity averse. The analysis yields the description of a robust decision rule for an investment in a finite life project in presence of a stochastic instantaneous return. It is demonstrated that ambiguity aversion may accelerate investment in the short run. Ex post validation of the determined investment policy treats the impact of ambiguity aversion on the proper way of discounting of the profit flow resulting from the project and the fair price of risk associated with ambiguity aversion

On the neutrality of debt in investment intensity

Capital structure, Investment intensity, Investment timing, Real options, G31, G32, G33,