We show that the joint liability lending contracts derived in <link rid="b4">Ghatak (2000)</link> violate an "ex post" incentive-compatibility constraint which says that the amount of joint liability cannot exceed the amount of individual liability. We derive and characterise optimal separating joint liability...

We look at an economic environment where borrowers have some information about the nature of each other's projects that lenders do not. We show that joint-liability lending contracts, similar to those used by credit cooperatives and group-lending schemes, will induce endogenous peer selection in...

There are numerous empirical studies that exploit variation in policies over space and time in the U.S. federal system. If state policy making is purposeful action responsive to economic and political conditions within the state then it is necessary to identify and control for the forces that...

This paper presents a simple model to evaluate alternative payment schemes for tax inspectors in the presence of corruption. The authors consider problems of both moral hazard, whic h arises because taking bribes cannot be observed without costly monitoring, and adverse selection, since not all...

This paper examines the motivation for States to intervene in the provisions that their citizens make for ill-health. The author examines arguments that relate to imperfect information and a kind of misperception which he calls evaluator relativity. He identifies ex post regret as being the...

Economies that experience rapid growth also experience major changes in their consumption patterns, particularly for consumer durables. This paper studies the diffusion of durables in Taiwan between 1977 and 1991. The authors focus on the link between household accumulation of durables and...

The aim of the New Political Economy is to understand important issues that arise in the policy sphere. <link rid="fn2">-super-1 </link> It is not, as is occasionally hinted, an effort by economists to colonise political science. Rather, the main concern is to extend the competence of economists to analyse issues that...