The concept that corporate investment-growth decisions are constrained by a profit opportunities schedule is central to much of the literature on finance and the theory of the firm. These writings suggest that, for a single firm: (1) the profit opportunities schedule is a decreasing function of investment growth (the slope reflecting, inter alia, competitive conditions); (2) the schedule shifts to the right with changes in national income (except for a firm producing income-inferior goods), and (3) the schedule's position (intercept) at a moment in time reflects a host of factors that are summarized by the term “management.”

This paper examines the determinants of underwriters' spreads on tax exempt bond issues. In particular, it investigates the effect on spreads of differences in issue quality, term to maturity, and size. In addition, changing money market conditions and variations in the degree of competition among underwriters of tax exempts are analyzed for their influence on spread behavior. The relationships are studied for virtually all state bond issues sold between July 1, 1959 and December 31, 1965. The principal method of investigation is multiple regression analysis.

A firm which produces a single product, whose production cost is a linear function of the production level and where net price per unit is constant, has a Pre-Tax Earnings function which is a linear function of the production level (see Figure I).

In this paper the results of some new structural estimates of liquidity preference may be found. The justification for presenting them is that they differ from earlier estimates in certain ways. In some cases, the implications of these estimates differ sharply from the implications drawn by other observers on the basis of their estimates.

Broadly speaking there are two models to the problem of asset valuation under uncertainty and aversion to risk. Under one, the certaintyequivalent method, each future return is converted to its certainty equivalent and discounted at the pure rate of interest. Under the other, the risk-adjusted discount rate method, each future return is discounted at an appropriate discount rate. The interrelation and validity of these models of asset valuation have come under discussion in two important works on stock valuation.

There is little question that stock options have value, but there is considerable question as to how stock options should be valued. Persons studying the valuation question and writing in business periodicals have tied the value of the stock option to the expected or the actual appreciation in the value of the stock.