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Dynamic Contracting with Limited Commitment and the Ratchet Effect

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  • Gerardi, Dino

Abstract

We study dynamic contracting with adverse selection and limited commitment. A firm (the principal) and a worker (the agent) interact for potentially infinitely many periods. The worker is privately informed about his productivity and the firm can only commit to short-term contracts. The ratchet effect is in place since the firm has the incentive to change the terms of trade and offer more demanding contracts when it learns that the worker is highly productive. As the parties become arbitrarily patient, the equilibrium outcome takes one of two forms. If the prior probability of the worker being productive is low, the firm offers a pooling contract and no information is ever revealed. In contrast, if this prior probability is high, the firm fires the unproductive worker at the very beginning of the relationship.

Suggested Citation

  • Gerardi, Dino, 2018. "Dynamic Contracting with Limited Commitment and the Ratchet Effect," CEPR Discussion Papers 12699, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:12699
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Doval, Laura & Skreta, Vasiliki, 0. "Optimal mechanism for the sale of a durable good," Theoretical Economics, Econometric Society.
    4. Juan Beccuti, 2020. "On the Optimality of Price-posting in Rental Markets," Diskussionsschriften dp2007, Universitaet Bern, Departement Volkswirtschaft.
    5. Ekmekci, Mehmet & Maestri, Lucas, 2019. "Reputation and screening in a noisy environment with irreversible actions," MPRA Paper 100885, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Suehyun Kwon, 2019. "Revelation Principle with Persistent Correlated Types: Impossibility Result," CESifo Working Paper Series 7782, CESifo.
    7. Ekmekci, Mehmet & Maestri, Lucas, 2022. "Wait or act now? Learning dynamics in stopping games," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Dynamic contracting; Limited commitment; Ratchet effect;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D80 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - General
    • 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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