Combining theoretical work with careful historical description and analysis of new data sources, History Matters makes a strong case for a more historical approach to economics, both by argument and by example. Seventeen original essays, written by distinguished economists and economic...

Principal-agent models usually invoke the strong assumption that the parties know ex ante for sure whether a variable is verifiable or not. In this paper we assume that only the probability of verification is known, and that this probability is endogenously determined. We analyze a...

Why does individual performance pay seem to prevail in human capital intensive industries? We present a model that may explain this. In a repeated game model of relational contracting, we analyze the conditions for implementing peer dependent incentive regimes when agents possess indispensable...

Should workers be given jobs where they have joint responsibility for tasks, or should tasks be separated into different jobs with individual responsibility? Or, if there are more tasks than workers, how should tasks optimally be grouped together? And to what extent should workers be allowed to...

In many tournaments it is the contestants themselves who determine reward allocation. Labor-union members bargain over wage distribution, and many firms allow self-managed teams to freely determine internal resource allocation, incentive structure, and division of labor. We analyze, and test...

This paper focuses on the consequences of cross-border banking and entry of multi-national banks (MNBs) for banking supervision and regulation. When a MNB expands internationally with subsidiaries, the MNB operates under the legislation of several countries - both the home country and the host...