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Optimal Incentive Contracts and Information Cascades

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  • Praveen Kumar
  • Nisan Langberg

Abstract

We examine information aggregation regarding industry capital productivity from privately informed managers in a dynamic model with optimal incentive contracts. Information cascades always occur if managers enjoy limited liability: when beliefs regarding productivity become endogenously extreme (optimistic or pessimistic), learning stops. There is no learning if initial beliefs are extreme, or if agency conflicts are severe. In contrast to the literature, cascades occur even when signals have unbounded precision or when there are rich action spaces. Relaxing limited liability constraints is not sufficient to avoid cascades; we provide sufficient conditions for efficient information aggregation through incentive contracts.

Suggested Citation

  • Praveen Kumar & Nisan Langberg, 2014. "Optimal Incentive Contracts and Information Cascades," The Review of Corporate Finance Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 3(1-2), pages 123-161.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:rcorpf:v:3:y:2014:i:1-2:p:123-161.
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    JEL classification:

    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights

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