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This book shows how to combine game theory and option pricing in order to analyze dynamic multiperson decision problems in continuous time and under uncertainty. The basic intuition of the method is to separate the problem of the valuation of payoffs from the analysis of strategic interactions. Whereas the former is to be handled using option pricing, the latter can be addressed by game theory. The text shows how both instruments can be combined and how game theory can be applied to complex problems of corporate finance and financial intermediation. Besides providing theoretical foundations and serving as a guide to stochastic game theory modelling in continuous time, the text contains numerous applications to the theory of corporate finance and financial intermediation, such as the design of debt contracts, capital structure choice, the structure of banking deposit contracts, and the incentive effects of deposit insurance. By combining arbitrage-free valuation techniques with strategic analysis, the game theory analysis of options actually provides the link between markets and organizations

This study analyses the extent and determinants of temporary employment in Switzerland and performs an evaluation of these contracts using data from the first three waves of the Swiss Household Panel (SHP), i.e. for the years 1999 to 2001. It is shown that temporary employment is most common among highly skilled as well as young and older workers. Although the wages of females in temporary employment are lower than those of other female workers, our results show that this wage differential cannot be attributed to the type of contract (i.e. whether temporary or not), but instead to unobservable individual heterogeneity. However, there is no significant wage effect in the male sample. Both the actual and perceived unemployment risk of temporary workers is higher than that of workers holding permanent contracts. Mobility between temporary and permanent jobs is quite high. Nevertheless, a certain persistency within temporary jobs can be observed. With regard to job satisfaction, temporary workers are more likely to report a higher level of general job satisfaction than workers with permanent contracts. However, males working an a temporary basis are often less satisfied with their wages than other workers. No significant differences between contract types can be detected in the probability of participating in job-related training. An international comparison based an data from the 1997 International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) reveals that the determinants of temporary employment in Switzerland are similar to those in other countries. It is also noted that, in a cross-national context, the level of unemployment has an effect on the extent of temporary employment within a country. Interestingly, employment protection legislation has no significant impact.