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Full-Text Articles in Economic Theory
Nonbinding Goals In Teams: A Real Effort Coordination Experiment, James Fan, Joaquin Gómez-Miñambres
Nonbinding Goals In Teams: A Real Effort Coordination Experiment, James Fan, Joaquin Gómez-Miñambres
ESI Publications
Problem definition: We investigate the impact of nonbinding (wage-irrelevant) goals, set by a manager, on a team of workers with “weak-link” production technology. Can nonbinding goals improve team production when team members face production complementarity? Academic/practical relevance: Nonbinding goals are easy to implement and ubiquitous in practice. These goals have been shown to improve individual performance, but it remains to be seen if such goals are effective in team production when there is production complementarity among workers. Methodology: We first develop a theoretical model where goals act as reference points for workers’ intrinsic motivation to complete the …
Experimenting With Contests For Experimentation, Cary Deck, Erik O. Kimbrough
Experimenting With Contests For Experimentation, Cary Deck, Erik O. Kimbrough
ESI Publications
We report an experimental test of alternative rules in innovation contests when success may not be feasible and contestants may learn from each other. Following Halac, Kartik, and Liu (in press), the contest designer can vary the prize allocation rule from Winner‐Take‐All (WTA) in which the first successful innovator receives the entire prize to Shared in which all successful innovators during the contest duration share in the prize. The designer can also vary the information disclosure policy from Public in which at each period, all information about contestants' past successes and failures is publicly available, to Private, in which contestants …
Informed Entry In Auctions, Diego Aycinena, Hernán Bejerano, Lucas Rentschler
Informed Entry In Auctions, Diego Aycinena, Hernán Bejerano, Lucas Rentschler
ESI Publications
We examine entry decisions in first-price and English clock auctions with participation costs. Potential bidders observe their value and report maximum willingness to pay (WTP) to participate. Entry occurs if revealed WTP (weakly) exceeds the randomly drawn participation cost. We find no difference in WTP between auction formats, although males have a higher WTP for first-price auctions. WTP is decreasing in the number of potential bidders, but this reduction is less than predicted and small in magnitude.
An Experimental Investigation Of Simultaneous Multi-Battle Contests With Complementarities, Cary Deck, Sudipta Sarangi, Matt Wiser
An Experimental Investigation Of Simultaneous Multi-Battle Contests With Complementarities, Cary Deck, Sudipta Sarangi, Matt Wiser
ESI Publications
This paper reports the results of laboratory experiments that are designed to test theoretical predictions in a multi-battle contest with value complementarities among the battles. The specific setting is a game of Hex where control of each region is determined by a Tullock contest and the overall winner is determined by the combination of claimed regions. We find that in a game with only a few regions, aggregate behavior across regions is largely consistent with the theoretical predictions. However, examining individual level behavior suggests that bidders are not behaving in accordance with the model, but often pursue specific winning combinations. …
Double Bubbles In Assets Markets With Multiple Generations, Cary Deck, David Porter, Vernon L. Smith
Double Bubbles In Assets Markets With Multiple Generations, Cary Deck, David Porter, Vernon L. Smith
ESI Publications
We construct an asset market in a finite horizon overlapping-generations environment. Subjects are tested for comprehension of their fundamental value exchange environment and then reminded during each of 25 periods of the environment's declining new value. We observe price bubbles forming when new generations enter the market with additional liquidity and bursting as old generations exit the market and withdrawing cash. The entry and exit of traders in the market creates an M shaped double bubble price path over the life of the traded asset. This finding is significant in documenting that bubbles can reoccur within one extended trading horizon …