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The Ratchet Effect Re-examined: A Learning Perspective

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  • Bhaskar, Venkataraman

Abstract

We study dynamic moral hazard where principal and agent are symmetrically uncertain about job difficulty. Since effort is unobserved, shirking leads the principal to believe that the job is hard, increasing the agent's continuation value. So deterring shirking requires steeper incentives, which induce the agent to over-work today, since he can quit if the principal believes that the job is easy. With continuous effort choices, no interior effort is implementable in the first period. The agent's continuation value function is non-differentiable and convex, since the principal makes the agent indifferent between his discrete (participation) choices in the second period. The problem can be solved if the agent's participation decision is made continuous, or if there are long-term commitments, and we provide conditions for the first order approach to work. However, the impossibility result recurs in other agency models that combine discrete and continuous choices.

Suggested Citation

  • Bhaskar, Venkataraman, 2014. "The Ratchet Effect Re-examined: A Learning Perspective," CEPR Discussion Papers 9956, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:9956
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    Cited by:

    1. Bhaskar, V. & Mailath, George J., 2019. "The curse of long horizons," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 74-89.
    2. Pollrich, Martin & Schmidt, Robert, 2014. "An optimal incentive contract to avert firm relocation," VfS Annual Conference 2014 (Hamburg): Evidence-based Economic Policy 100314, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    3. Cetemen, Doruk & Hwang, Ilwoo & Kaya, Ayça, 2020. "Uncertainty-driven cooperation," Theoretical Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 15(3), July.
    4. repec:bdp:wpaper:2014004 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Sofia Moroni, 2016. "Experimentation in Organizations," Working Paper 5876, Department of Economics, University of Pittsburgh.
    6. Martin Pollrich & Robert Schmidt, 2015. "Unobservable investments, limited commitment, and the curse of firm relocation," BDPEMS Working Papers 1, Berlin School of Economics.
    7. Sofia Moroni, 2019. "Experimentation in Organizations," Working Paper 6631, Department of Economics, University of Pittsburgh.
    8. Arie, Guy, 2016. "Dynamic costs and moral hazard: A duality-based approach," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 1-50.
    9. Cardella, Eric & Depew, Briggs, 2016. "Testing for the Ratchet Effect: Evidence from a Real-Effort Work Task," IZA Discussion Papers 9981, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Cardella, Eric & Depew, Briggs, 2018. "Output restriction and the ratchet effect: Evidence from a real-effort work task," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 182-202.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Ratchet effect; Moral hazard; Learning; Envelope theorem; First-order approach;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • D86 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Economics of Contract Law

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