Prize Structure and Information in Tournaments: Experimental Evidence

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Prize Structure and Information in Tournaments: Experimental Evidence

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Freeman, Richard B.
Gelber, Alexander M.

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Abstract

This paper examines behavior in a tournament in which we vary the tournament prize structure and the information available about participants' skill at the task of solving mazes. The number of solved mazes is lowest when payments are independent of performance; higher when a single, large prize is given; and highest when multiple, differentiated prizes are given. This result is strongest when we inform participants about the number of mazes they and others solved in a pre-tournament round. Some participants reported that they solved more mazes than they actually solved, and this misreporting also peaked with multiple differentiated prizes.

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Paper provided by University Library of Munich, Germany in its series MPRA Paper with number 12156.

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Date of creation: 05 Dec 2008
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Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:12156

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
D01 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles
J33 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Compensation Packages; Payment Methods

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

NEP-ALL-2008-12-21 (All new papers)
NEP-CBE-2008-12-21 (Cognitive & Behavioural Economics)
NEP-CTA-2008-12-21 (Contract Theory & Applications)
NEP-EXP-2008-12-21 (Experimental Economics)
NEP-LAB-2008-12-21 (Labour Economics)

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