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Contracting with Imperfect Commitment and Noisy Communication

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Author Info
Helmut Bester ()
Roland Strausz ()

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Abstract

This paper provides new analytical tools for studying principal{agent problems with adverse selection and limited commitment. By allowing the principal to use general communication devices we overcome the literature's common, but overly restrictive focus on one{shot, direct communication. In addition, general communication devices solve two fundamental probems of contracting with imperfect commitment: First, they allow us to identify the `local downward' incentive constraints as the relevant ones if the agent's preferences satisfy a single{crossing property. Second, we show how one may restrict the cardinality of the message spaces of the communi- cation device. An example illustrates our arguments and the suboptimality of one-shot, direct communication.

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Paper provided by Departmental Working Papers in its series Papers with number 017.

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  4. Dewatripont, Mathias, 1988. "Commitment through Renegotiation-Proof Contracts with Third Parties," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 55(3), pages 377-89, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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    • Robert J. Aumann & Sergiu Hart, 2002. "Long Cheap Talk," Discussion Paper Series dp284, Center for Rationality and Interactive Decision Theory, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, revised Nov 2002. [Downloadable!]
  8. Ben-Porath, Elchanan, 1998. "Correlation without Mediation: Expanding the Set of Equilibrium Outcomes by "Cheap" Pre-play Procedures," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 80(1), pages 108-122, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  17. Ben-Porath, Elchanan, 2003. "Cheap talk in games with incomplete information," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 108(1), pages 45-71, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  18. Bester, Helmut & Strausz, Roland, 2001. "Contracting with Imperfect Commitment and the Revelation Principle: The Single Agent Case," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 69(4), pages 1077-98, July.
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  22. Forges, Francoise M, 1986. "An Approach to Communication Equilibria," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 54(6), pages 1375-85, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  23. Kay Mitusch & Roland Strausz, 2005. "Mediation in Situations of Conflict and Limited Commitment," Journal of Law, Economics and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 21(2), pages 467-500, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  24. Hajime Miyazaki, 1977. "The Rat Race and Internal Labor Markets," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 8(2), pages 394-418, Autumn. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  28. M. Dewatripont & E. Maskin, 1995. "Contractual Contingencies and Renegotiation," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 26(4), pages 704-719, Winter. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Vasiliki Skreta, 2005. "Sequentially Optimal Mechanisms," UCLA Economics Online Papers 342, UCLA Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  2. Helmut Bester, 2009. "Externalities, communication and the allocation of decision rights," Economic Theory, Springer, vol. 41(2), pages 269-296, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Shirley J. , HO, 2007. "R&D Outsourcing Contract with Information Leakage," Discussion Papers (ECON - Département des Sciences Economiques) 2007026, Université catholique de Louvain, Département des Sciences Economiques. [Downloadable!]
  4. Helmut Bester & Daniel Krähmer, 2008. "Exit Options in Incomplete Contracts with Asymmetric Information," Discussion Papers 251, SFB/TR 15 Governance and the Efficiency of Economic Systems, Free University of Berlin, Humboldt University of Berlin, University of Bonn, University of Mannheim, University of Munich. [Downloadable!]
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