This paper discusses some recent evidence exploring job characteristics and labor market conditions upon contract form. We find that there is a great deal of heterogeneity in observed employment contracts in the US, some of which may be explained by firms Nous analysons, dans cet article, le...

In this paper, I investigate the relationship between methods of pay, including piece rates and bonuses, and the level and variance of wages using longitudinal data from the NLSY (1988-1990). Results using OLS and fixed-effects show that piece rate workers earn a premium compared to other...

This paper analyzes abuse of authority in a principal-supervisor-agent hierarchy under moral hazard. We characterize the optimal contracts when the supervisor takes advantage of his authority by blackmailing the agent. We show that the optimal policy for the principal is to deter abuse of...

How can governments reap the potential benefits of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in the provision of infrastructure? Private sector involvement in the provision of public goods is long-standing, often relying on franchises or concessions. More recently, PPPs have risen in prominence,...

The ratchet effect undermines firms' ability to pay workers a steady piece rate. Using examples from the nineteenth-century British textile industry, this paper studies the different strategies firms and workers used to enforce piece rates. The strategies depended upon the emotional responses of...

Alors que de nombreux travaux se sont penchés sur l'optimalité du recours aux partenariats public-privé ou sur les enjeux posés par la structure d'attribution des risques entre les parties, les difficultés d'exécution des contrats de partenariats public-privé n'ont fait jusqu'à présent...

La régulation par contrat est souvent présentée comme une alternative à une régulation externe passant par une autorité sectorielle indépendante. Le propos de ce texte est de présenter les avantages et les inconvénients de ces deux modes de régulation et d’insister sur leur...