This note describes the effects on human capital formation of rank-order tournaments offering identical prizes to a given number of the ranked contestants. This compensation scheme is thought to resemble the selection processes in different areas of the public administration, particularly in...

We consider a two group contest over a group specific public good comparing two situations: (i) where all players act independently; and (ii) where the players of each group cooperate. This comparison leads us to the conclusion that it is possible for one group to contribute more (and have a...

This paper proposes an alternative to standard cardinal tournaments. The analysis contrasts "hybrid" cardinal tournaments to standard cardinal tournaments and piece rates. It shows that providing for partial insurance against common uncertainty via a hybrid tournament (in which the weights on...

This study aims to investigate the impact of privatization on the degree of cooperation and competition in a mixed duopoly market. In this market, one semipublic firm and one private firm determine the level of two types of effort: the cooperative effort made to enlarge the total market size and...

The present paper studies the provision of big and inefficient public investments in proprietary states. By means of these investments, whose rate of return is either nil or negative, an incumbent dictator can transfer resources to his/her supporters and obtain a head-start advantage in the...

This study aims to investigate the impact of privatization on the degree of cooperation and competition in a mixed duopoly market. In this market, one semipublic firm and one private firm determine the level of two types of effort: the cooperative effort made to enlarge the total market size and...

This note reflects on the key parameter of the popular logistic quantal-response equilibrium in order to set some common guidelines on its empirical interpretation. It is stressed that the estimated model must be in harmony with the experimental design, because the estimation results on mu prove...