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Turf Wars

Author

Listed:
  • Herrera, Helios

    (HEC Montreal)

  • Reuben, Ernesto

    (New York University, Abu Dhabi)

  • Ting, Michael M.

    (Columbia University)

Abstract

Turf wars commonly occur in environments where competition undermines collaboration. We develop a game theoretic model and experimental test of turf wars. The model explores how team production incentives ex post affect team formation decisions ex ante. In the game, one agent decides whether to share jurisdiction over a project with other agents. Agents with jurisdiction decide whether to exert effort and receive a reward based on their relative performance. Hence, sharing can increase joint production but introduces competition for the reward. We find that collaboration has a non-monotonic relationship with both productivity and rewards. The laboratory experiment confirms the model's main predictions. We also explore extensions of the basic model, including one where each agent's productivity is private information.

Suggested Citation

  • Herrera, Helios & Reuben, Ernesto & Ting, Michael M., 2014. "Turf Wars," IZA Discussion Papers 8585, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
  • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8585
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    turf war; bureaucracy; jurisdiction; competition; information withholding;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • D74 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design

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