We consider the learning curve in an industry with free entry and exit and price-taking firms. A unique equilibrium exists if the fixed cost is positive. Although equilibrium profits are zero, mature firms earn rents on their learning, and if costs are convex, no firm can profitably enter after...

Holmstrom (1982) has shown that a non-budget-balancing contract induces a team of risk-neutral agents to choose the first-best effort levels. This is not generally true when agents are risk averse. Furthermore, a "massacre" contract, which punishes all but one agent when the outcome is low, can...