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Limited liability and the risk–incentive relationship

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  • Jörg Budde
  • Matthias Kräkel

Abstract

Several empirical findings have challenged the traditional view on the trade-off between risk and incentives. By combining risk aversion and limited liability in a standard principal-agent model the empiri- cal puzzle on the positive relationship between risk and incentives can be explained. Increasing risk leads to a less informative performance signal. Under limited liability; the principal may optimally react by in- creasing the weight on the signal and; hence; choosing higher-powered incentives.
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  • Jörg Budde & Matthias Kräkel, 2011. "Limited liability and the risk–incentive relationship," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 102(2), pages 97-110, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jeczfn:v:102:y:2011:i:2:p:97-110
    DOI: 10.1007/s00712-010-0183-7
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    Cited by:

    1. Subhasish M. Chowdhury & Alexandros Karakostas, 2020. "An experimental investigation of the ‘tenuous trade-off’ between risk and incentives in organizations," Theory and Decision, Springer, vol. 88(1), pages 153-190, February.
    2. Ralf Ewert & Rainer Niemann, 2010. "Limited Liability, Asymmetric Taxation, and Risk Taking - Why Partial Tax Neutralities can be Harmful," CESifo Working Paper Series 3301, CESifo.
    3. Dohmen, Thomas & Non, Arjan & Stolp, Tom, 2021. "Reference points and the tradeoff between risk and incentives," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 813-831.
    4. Ralf Ewert & Rainer Niemann, 2011. "Haftungsbeschränkungen, Verlustverrechnungsbeschränkungen und die Bereitschaft zur Risikoübernahme," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 63(63), pages 94-131, January.
    5. Eric S. Chou & Chien-Lung Chen, 2015. "Can Agents Be Better Off with Pay Caps?," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 117(4), pages 1069-1090, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Moral hazard; Limited liability; Risk–incentive relationship; D82; D86;
    All these keywords.

    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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