Target the untargeted: essays in unconventional disclosures and policies

This dissertation examines how firms use voluntary disclosures to gain benefits in their product markets. I find that firms strategically announce capacity expansions when facing threats of entry and provide price increase disclosures to likely coordinate prices within their industry. In addition, I find that financial disintermediation is an effective way to stimulate SME financin

Simultaneous scanning tunneling microscopy and synchrotron X-ray measurements in a gas environment

\u3cp\u3eA combined X-ray and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) instrument is presented that enables the local detection of X-ray absorption on surfaces in a gas environment. To suppress the collection of ion currents generated in the gas phase, coaxially shielded STM tips were used. The conductive outer shield of the coaxial tips can be biased to deflect ions away from the tip core. When tunneling, the X-ray-induced current is separated from the regular, ‘topographic’ tunneling current using a novel high-speed separation scheme. We demonstrate the capabilities of the instrument by measuring the local X-ray-induced current on Au(1 1 1) in 800 mbar Ar.\u3c/p\u3