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Warranties, Durability, and Maintenance: Two-sided Moral Hazard in a Continuous-Time Model

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  • Philip H. Dybvig
  • Nancy A. Lutz

Abstract

Double moral hazard in continuous time generates the familiar warranty pattern with full coverage for an initial block of time. The more complete the warranty, the better the producer's durability incentives and the worse the consumer's maintenance incentives. Using continuous time highlights the need for some warranty bound to avoid reaching the first-best as an unreasonable limit. Early in the paper, an exogenous bound is used, while later the bound arises endogenously from the possibility of abuse and repair. A quadratic example shows that the warranty's duration depends on the relative severity of the two moral hazard problems.

Suggested Citation

  • Philip H. Dybvig & Nancy A. Lutz, 1993. "Warranties, Durability, and Maintenance: Two-sided Moral Hazard in a Continuous-Time Model," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 60(3), pages 575-597.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:restud:v:60:y:1993:i:3:p:575-597.
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Nian Yang & Jun Yang & Yu Chen, 2018. "Contracting in a Continuous-Time Model with Three-Sided Moral Hazard and Cost Synergies," Graz Economics Papers 2018-06, University of Graz, Department of Economics.
    2. Chen, Xu & Li, Ling & Zhou, Ming, 2012. "Manufacturer's pricing strategy for supply chain with warranty period-dependent demand," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 40(6), pages 807-816.
    3. Lutz, Nancy A. & Padmanabhan, V., 1998. "Warranties, extended warranties, and product quality," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 463-493, July.
    4. Heidrun Jander & Robert Kahlenberg & Jürgen Graßhoff, 2006. "Gewährleistungsmanagement im Entstehungszyklus eines Fahrzeugs: Weiterentwicklung des Target Costing-Konzeptes bei BMW Motorrad," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 58(1), pages 128-148, February.
    5. Helmut Bester & Daniel Krähmer, 2008. "Delegation and incentives," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 39(3), pages 664-682, September.
    6. Junhong Chu & Pradeep K. Chintagunta, 2009. "Quantifying the Economic Value of Warranties in the U.S. Server Market," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 28(1), pages 99-121, 01-02.
    7. Tsoulouhas, Theofanis, 1999. "Do tournaments solve the two-sided moral hazard problem?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 275-294, November.
    8. Giorgio Coricelli & Luigi Luini, 1999. "Double Moral Hazard: an Experiment on Warranties," CEEL Working Papers 9901, Cognitive and Experimental Economics Laboratory, Department of Economics, University of Trento, Italia.
    9. Li, Kunpeng & Chhajed, Dilip & Mallik, Suman, 2005. "Design of Extended Warranties in Supply Chains," Working Papers 05-0128, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, College of Business.
    10. Jun Yang, 2010. "Timing of Effort and Reward: Three-Sided Moral Hazard in a Continuous-Time Model," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 56(9), pages 1568-1583, September.
    11. Aidan Hollis, 1996. "Exclusivity Restrictions in Markets with Adverse Selection: The Case of Extended Warranties," Working Papers ecpap-96-03, University of Toronto, Department of Economics.
    12. Lutz, Nancy A., 1995. "Ownership rights and incentives in franchising," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 2(1-2), pages 103-131, October.
    13. Tatyana Chesnokova, 2007. "Return policies, market outcomes, and consumer welfare," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 40(1), pages 296-316, February.
    14. Boom, Anette, 1998. "Product risk sharing by warranties in a monopoly market with risk-averse consumers," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 241-257, January.
    15. Jianhua Ma & Xingzheng Ai & Wen Yang & Yanchun Pan, 2019. "Decentralization versus coordination in competing supply chains under retailers’ extended warranties," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 275(2), pages 485-510, April.
    16. Eleonora Fichera & James Banks & Matt Sutton, 2014. "Health behaviours and the patient-doctor interaction: The double moral hazard problem," Economics Discussion Paper Series 1415, Economics, The University of Manchester.
    17. Shiou Shieh, 1996. "Price and Money‐Back Guarantees as Signals of Product Quality," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(3), pages 361-377, September.
    18. D Vandegrift, 2001. "Quality‐Assuring Price And Breach Of Express Or Implied Warranty," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 19(2), pages 186-196, April.
    19. Lu, Zhen & Shang, Jennifer, 2019. "Warranty mechanism for pre-owned tech products: Collaboration between E-tailers and online warranty provider," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 119-131.
    20. Alena Podaneva & Pierre Picard, 2023. "Facility Management Services in UK Hospitals: in-house or outsourcing," DEM Discussion Paper Series 23-15, Department of Economics at the University of Luxembourg.
    21. McClure, James & Kumcu, Erdogan, 2008. "Promotions and product pricing: Parsimony versus Veblenesque demand," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 105-117, January.

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