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Optimal Contract under Moral Hazard with Soft Information

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  • Guillaume Roger

Abstract

I study a model of moral hazard with soft information: the agent alone observes the stochastic outcome of her action; hence the principal faces a problem of ex post adverse selection. With limited instruments the principal cannot solve these two problems independently; the ex post incentive for misreporting interacts with the ex ante incentives for effort. This affects the shape and properties of the optimal contract, which fails to elicit truthful revelation in all states. In this setup audit and transfer become strategic complements; this is rooted in the nonseparability of the problem.

Suggested Citation

  • Guillaume Roger, 2013. "Optimal Contract under Moral Hazard with Soft Information," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 5(4), pages 55-80, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejmic:v:5:y:2013:i:4:p:55-80
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/mic.5.4.55
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Guillaume Roger, 2013. "Moral Hazard with Discrete Soft Information," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 89(287), pages 545-555, December.
    2. Shalpegin, Timofey, 2020. "Collaborative product development: Managing supplier incentives for key component testing," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 285(2), pages 553-565.
    3. Guillaume Roger, 2016. "A Revelation Mechanism for Soft Information under Moral Hazard," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 18(5), pages 752-763, October.
    4. Versano, Tsahi, 2021. "Silence can be golden: On the value of allowing managers to keep silent when information is soft," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(2).
    5. Keeyoung Rhee, 2021. "Optimal Contracts under Moral Hazard and Costly Lying," Korean Economic Review, Korean Economic Association, vol. 37, pages 115-140.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • D86 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Economics of Contract Law

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