I present a study of ownership of firms under government rent seeking. Using its control of regulated inputs, a government agency extracts rents from a manager who undertakes an investment. Such a government rent seeking activity leads to a typical hold-up problem. Government ownership is shown...

Many empirical studies find a partial negative effect of market integration on cooperation in traditional poor small-scale farmer communities in developing countries, blaming an erosion of collective action enhancing norms (Social Capital). This paper takes the empirical analysis one step...

This paper analyzes private precautions against crime when the value of the property to be protected is private information. Within a framework in which potential criminals can choose between various crime opportunities, we establish that decentralized decision-making by potential victims may...

Ein Haus ist eine Anschaffung fürs Leben und teuer. Dafür wird gespart - jeder Raum bis ins kleinste Detail geplant. Der Traum vom Eigenheim ist jedoch schnell ausgeträumt, wenn der Bauherr nicht richtig versichert ist. Mit Baubeginn ist er für Schäden, die auf der Baustelle entstehen,...

The current study investigates a tripartite incentive contract between an innovator supplying an intellectual asset, a professional assigned to productive tasks, and a consulting firm specializing in matching ideas and professionalskills. A rather simple pure tripartite partnership implements...

In this study we analyze the evolution of ownership, control, and performance in German founding-family-owned firms over the last century. We begin by identifying German family-owned stock companies (Aktiengesellschaften) founded before World War I and still in existence in 2003 with sales...

Etablierte Demokratien westlichen Typs, wie etwa die DemokratieformDeutschlands, zeichnen sich durch handlungsrechtliche Systemstrukturen aus, diegraduell unterschiedlich große Verteilungsspielräume für politischeEntscheidungsträger enthalten. Dieser Sachverhalt steht in engemZusammenhang...

The new institutional economics offers a bold and simple argument for how states promoted commercial expansion in early modern Europe. Focused on the importance of secure property rights for reducing transaction costs, commerce expands much as an engine burns fuel more efficiently and creates...

The ability to cooperate in collective action problems — such as those relating to the useof common property resources or the provision of local public goods — is a key determinant ofeconomic performance. In this paper we discuss two aspects of collective action problemsin developing...