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Incentivizing irreversible investment

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  • Livdan, Dmitry
  • Nezlobin, Alexander

Abstract

Existing dynamic investment models that show that a manager can be incentivized to implement the optimal investment policy rely on the assumption that the firm is operating in an ever-expanding product market. This paper presents an analytically tractable, discrete-time, neoclassical model with irreversible investment and the possibility of unfavorable demand events. We show that even when the principal is uninformed about changes in demand for the firm’s output, there exists a performance measurement system that leads to goal congruent investment incentives for the manager. If the principal can observe the unfavorable demand events, then goal congruence can be achieved using very simple accrual accounting rules, such as straight-line depreciation.

Suggested Citation

  • Livdan, Dmitry & Nezlobin, Alexander, 2022. "Incentivizing irreversible investment," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 110531, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:110531
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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/110531/
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    iIrreversible investment; goal congruence; performance measurement; residual income;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G31 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Capital Budgeting; Fixed Investment and Inventory Studies
    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting
    • M52 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Compensation and Compensation Methods and Their Effects

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