The effect of power imbalances on incentives to make non-contractible investments

B-Tier
Journal: European Economic Review
Year: 2013
Volume: 61
Issue: C
Pages: 169-185

Score contribution per author:

0.670 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

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

Abstract

We use an experiment to study the effect of ex-post sharing rules on relationship-specific investments in an incomplete contracting context. We find that no power structure can induce first-best investments and that equally productive partners reach more efficient outcomes with a balanced power structure (i.e., equal sharing of returns) than with an asymmetric one. In addition, we find evidence for behavioural effects: partners make higher investments and reach higher efficiency levels than own-payoff maximisation would suggest. This behaviour is in line with a model where decision-makers care about social efficiency. It is not consistent with inequity-averse preferences.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:eecrev:v:61:y:2013:i:c:p:169-185
Journal Field
General
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-25