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Incomplete Information, Incentive Compatibility, and the Core

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  • Vohra, Rajiv

Abstract

We consider an exchange economy in which agents possess private information at the time of engaging in state contingent contracts. While com-munication of private information is permitted, the true information state is not verifiable. The enforcement of contracts is, therefore, limited by incentive com-patibility constraints. We formalize a notion of the core for such an economy. Our analysis can be viewed as an attempt to incorporate incentive compatibility in Wilson's [1978] coarse core, or as an attempt to introduce coalitional contracts in the Holmstrom-Myerson [1983] notion of incentive efficiency. While there are some special cases in which the incentive compatible core is non-empty, our main result shows that this is not generally true.
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  • Vohra, Rajiv, 1999. "Incomplete Information, Incentive Compatibility, and the Core," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 86(1), pages 123-147, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jetheo:v:86:y:1999:i:1:p:123-147
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    JEL classification:

    • C71 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Cooperative Games
    • C72 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Noncooperative Games
    • D51 - Microeconomics - - General Equilibrium and Disequilibrium - - - Exchange and Production Economies

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