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Self-Enforcing Contracts with Persistence

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  • Fuchs, William
  • Dumav, Martin
  • Lee, Jangwoo

Abstract

We show theoretically that, in the presence of persistent productivity shocks, the reliance on selfenforcing contracts due to limited legal enforcement may provide a possible rationale why countries with the worse rule of law might exhibit: (i) higher aggregate TFP volatilities, (ii) larger dispersion of firm-level productivity, and (iii) greater wage inequality. We also provide suggestive empirical evidence consistent with the model’s aggregate implications. Finally, we relate the model’s firm-level implications to existing empirical findings.

Suggested Citation

  • Fuchs, William & Dumav, Martin & Lee, Jangwoo, 2022. "Self-Enforcing Contracts with Persistence," CEPR Discussion Papers 16888, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:16888
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Dynamic moral hazard; Productivity; Relational contracts; Persistence; Limited commitment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C73 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Stochastic and Dynamic Games; Evolutionary Games
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • D86 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Economics of Contract Law
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • L14 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Transactional Relationships; Contracts and Reputation

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