Destructive Effects of Constructive Ambiguity in Risky Times

Unclear bailout policy, underinvestment and calls for bankers? responsibility are some of the observations from the recent financial crisis. The paper explains underinvestment as an inefficient equilibrium. Under ambiguous bailout policy agents suffer from a lack of information with regards to the insolvency resolution methods. Beliefs of bankers regarding whether an insolvent bank is liquidated, may differ from those of depositors even if bankers and depositors possess absolutely symmetric information about the economy. It is shown that such an asymmetry in beliefs results in underinvestment if the investment climate is characterized by high aggregate risk. The paper suggests policy implications aimed at the reduction of anxiety of agents and at aligning their beliefs to restore efficiency.