Pay-What-You-Want (PWYW) pricing schemes are becoming increasingly popular in a wide range of industries. We develop a model incorporating self-image into the buyer's utility function and introduce heterogeneity in consumption utility and image-sensitivity, which generates different purchase...

In this paper we propose a unified framework for testing weak separability. We present a new three-step procedure, which is a joint test of necessary and sufficient conditions that takes account of the possibilities of both measurement error and incomplete adjustment. We illustrate the...

Using non-parametric weak separability tests that are extended to allow for measurement errors in the data, a broad group of UK monetary assets is found to be weakly separable from consumer goods and leisure over the larger part of the nineties. Financial innovations have made assets with...

This paper presents a novel way to analyze the organization of public hospitals by applying the property rights approach to organizations (PRA) to the problem. It is proposed that while PRA is suitable for the analysis of all hospitals it is especially so for public hospitals.The analysis...

We survey the literature on the effects of public sector outsourcing. Guided by theory, we systematically arrange services according to the type and magnitude of their contractibility problems. Taken as a whole, the empirical literature indicates that public sector outsourcing generally reduces...

This paper investigates why all-inclusive travel packages are offered at some hotels but not at others. By using the theory of transaction cost, it is argued that all-inclusive contracts mitigate a hold-up problem and that the severity of this problem varies with regards to the hotel’s...

Why are coordination problems common when public sector organizations share responsibilities, and what can be done to mitigate such problems? This paper uses a multi-task principal-agent model to examine two related reasons: the incentives to coordinate resource allocation and the difficulties...

How does costly communication affect organizational coordination? This paper develops a model of costly communication based on the weakest-link game and boundedly rational agents. Solving for the stochastically stable states, we find that communication increases the possibilities for efficient...

Persistent budget deficits are commonly blamed on irresponsible governments. However, even if the government is fiscally responsible, the agents in charge of implementing the budget may be less concerned about fiscal discipline. According to the survey data analyzed in this paper, such conflicts...

Central government bailouts of local governments are commonly viewed as a recipe for local fiscal indiscipline, as local governments learn that the center will come to the rescue in times of trouble. Little is known however about whether such tendencies can be dampened if assistance is...