Speeding up Bureaucrats by Greasing Them - An Experimental Study -

In the experiment two bureaucrats independently can grant a permit with the profit of the private party depending on when the permit is given. Whereas one bureaucrat can only veto the project, the second one has additional discretion in granting the permit earlier or later. We speak of greasing when the private party assigns a higher reward to the second bureaucrat. More specifically, the procedural rules are those of ultimatum bargaining with two responders of whom one can delay agreement. The experimental data suggest that greasing bureaucrats is moderately e±cient in speeding them up.