List of tables; List of figures; Preface; Introduction Jeremy Edwards, Julian Franks, Colin Mayer and Stephen Schaefer; Part I. Financial Markets: 1. Do we really know that financial markets are efficient? Lawrence H. Summers; Comment Richard A. Brealey; Part II. Issues in Corporate Finance: 2. Precommitment to equity financing choices in a world of asymmetric information Robert Heinkel and Eduardo Schwartz; Comment Steven M. Fries; 3. Equity issues and offering dilution Paul Asquith and David Mullins Jr.; 4. Effects of asymmetric taxation on the scale of corporate investment Richard C. Green and Eli Talmor; Part III. Banking: 5. Credit rationing and collateral Joseph Stiglitz and Andrew Weiss; Comment Oliver D. Hart; 6. Competitive banking in a simple model Luca Anderlini; Comment David C. Webb; Part International Finance: 7. A cost of capital approach to the taxation of foreign direct investment income Julian Alworth; 8. Costs to crossborder investment and international equity market equilibrium Ian Cooper and Evi Kaplanis.