We develop a theoretical framework for comparing incentives, labor productivity and the allocation of effort in public versus private enterprises. We incorporate "socializing", an activity which yields utility for workers and affects a firm's output, into a multitask model of work organization....

We study the design of incentives in a firm in which cooperation among workers is important. Since cooperation is not observed, the firm is unable to reward workers for it. Workers may, nonetheless, cooperate because they derive direct utility from cooperation. This utility is endogenously...