This paper examines the role of hierarchies in the organization of human‐capital‐intensive production. We develop an equilibrium model of hierarchical organization and provide empirical evidence based on confidential data on thousands of law offices. The equilibrium assignment of individuals...

Policymakers have hoped that vehicle inspection and maintenance programs would generate air quality improvements at low cost. Existing programs have been unsuccessful because they have failed to provide consumers with incentives to maintain their vehicles so as to have low in-use emissions. This...

We investigate how the contractibility of actions affecting the value of an asset affects asset ownership. We examine this by testing how on-board computer (OBC) adoption affects truck ownership. We develop and test the proposition that adoption should lead to less ownership by drivers,...

This paper examines the demand for on-board computers in trucking, distinguishing between their incentive- and resource-allocation-improving capabilities. I find that monitoring's incentive benefits are high when perquisite-taking is attractive to drivers, driver effort is important, and...