This paper reports the results of experiments designed to test the theory of the optimal composition of prizes in contests. In the aggregate the behavior of subjects is consistent with that predicted by the theory, but we find that such aggregate results mask an unexpected compositional effect...

This paper reports the results of experiments designed to test the theory of the optimal composition of prizes in contests. We find that while in the aggregate results mask an unexpected compositional effect on the individual level. While theory predicts that subject efforts are continuous and...