Managers often use tournaments which motivate workers to compete for the top, compete to avoid the bottom, or both. In this paper we compare the effectiveness and efficiency of the corresponding incentive schemes. To do so, we utilize optimal contracts in a principal-agent setting, using a...

The present thesis examines if and to what extent microeconomic theory can explain the observable behavior of individuals in competitive environments. On the basis of self-compiled datasets from (professional) sports competitions as well as a widely broadcasted TV quiz-show two research...

We utilize a laboratory experiment to compare effort provision under optimal tournament contracts with different distributions of prizes which motivate agents to compete to be first, avoid being last, or both. We find that the combined tournament contract incorporating both incentives at the top...