A Theory of Debt Based on the Inalienability of Human Capital

S-Tier
Journal: Quarterly Journal of Economics
Year: 1994
Volume: 109
Issue: 4
Pages: 841-879

Authors (2)

Oliver Hart (not in RePEc) John Moore (University of Edinburgh)

Score contribution per author:

4.022 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Consider an entrepreneur who needs to raise funds from an investor, but cannot commit not to withdraw his human capital from the project. The possibility of a default or quit puts an upper bound on the total future indebtedness from the entrepreneur to the investor at any date. We characterize the optimal repayment path and show how it is affected both by the maturity structure of the project return stream and by the durability and specificity of project assets. Our results are consistent with the conventional wisdom about what determines the maturity structure of long-term debt contracts.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:oup:qjecon:v:109:y:1994:i:4:p:841-879.
Journal Field
General
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-26