Work for Image and Work for Pay
Standard economic models with complete information predict a positive, monotonic relationship between pay and performance. This prediction does not always hold in experimental tests: offering a small payment may result in lower performance than not offering any payment. We test experimentally two main explanations that have been put forward for this result: the "incomplete contract" hypothesis views the payment rule as a signal given to subjects on purpose of the activity. The "informed principal" hypothesis views it as a signal concerning the characteristics of the agent or of the task. The incomplete contract view appears to offer the best overall explanation for our results. We also find that high-powered monetary incentives do not "crowd out" intrinsic motivation, but may elicit "too much" effort when intrinsic motivation is very high.
Year of publication: |
2011-09-10
|
---|---|
Authors: | Dessi, Roberta ; Rustichini, Aldo |
Institutions: | Toulouse School of Economics (TSE) |
Saved in:
freely available
Saved in favorites
Similar items by person
-
Over-Confidence, Shame and Investments
Dessi, Roberta, (2014)
-
When to Pay More: Incentives, Culture and Status in Principalā Agent Interactions
Dessi, Roberta, (2013)
-
Dessi, Roberta, (2015)
- More ...