Oliver Hart and Bengt Holmström have been awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for their contributions to contract theory. In this paper, we provide a brief introduction to the field of contract theory and we discuss some of the laureates' central contributions.

We consider a two-stage principal-agent model with limited liability in which a CEO is employed as agent to gather information about suitable merger targets and to manage the merged corporation in case of an acquisition. Our results show that the CEO systematically recommends targets with low...

We consider a two-stage principal-agent model with limited liability in which a CEO is employed as agent to gather information about suitable merger targets and to manage the merged corporation in case of an acquisition. Our results show that the CEO systematically recommends targets with low...

Der Kornkammer des Ostens, namentlich Russland, der Ukraine und Kasachstan, wird aufgrund riesiger Flächen- und Ertragspotenziale eine zunehmende Bedeutung für die Weltgetreidemärkte zugesprochen. Allerdings blockieren widersinnige Markt- und Handelspolitiken, anhaltende betriebliche...

Житнице Востока, а именно России, Украине и Казахстану, обладающим громадным земельным и урожайным потенциалом, приписывается все большее значение для мировых...

Because of its enormous land and yield potentials, the breadbasket of the East, i.e. Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan are increasingly important for world grain markets. However, counterproductive market and trade policies, continual farm-level productivity gaps and deficits in marketing...

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis regarding strategic interaction under expectation-based loss-aversion. First, we develop a coherent framework for the analysis by extending the equilibrium concepts of K szegi and Rabin (2006, 2007) to strategic interaction and demonstrate how to...

This paper analyses the welfare effects of microfinance and inflation in developing countries. Therefore, we introduce a moral hazard problem into a monetary search model with money and credit. We show how access to basic financial services affects households' decisions to borrow, to save and to...

We analyze the doping behavior of heterogeneous athletes in an environment of private information. In a n-player strategic game, modeled as an all-pay auction, each athlete has private information about his actual physical ability and choses the amount of performance-enhancing drugs. The use of...