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Innis Lecture: Can the Theory of Incentives Explain Decentralization?

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  • POITEVIN, Michel

Abstract

This survey presents within a single model three theories of decentralization of decision-making within organizations based on private information and incentives. Renegotiation, collusion, and limits on communication are three sufficient conditions for decentralization to be optimal.

Suggested Citation

  • POITEVIN, Michel, 2000. "Innis Lecture: Can the Theory of Incentives Explain Decentralization?," Cahiers de recherche 2000-13, Universite de Montreal, Departement de sciences economiques.
    • Handle: RePEc:mtl:montde:2000-13
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/1866/337
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    11. Faure-Grimaud, Antoine & Laffont, Jean-Jacques & Martimort, David, 1999. "The endogenous transaction costs of delegated auditing," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(4-6), pages 1039-1048, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Nobuo Akai & Masayo Hosoi & Yukihiro Nishimura, 2009. "Fiscal Decentralization And Economic Volatility: Evidence From State‐Level Cross‐Section Data Of The Usa," The Japanese Economic Review, Japanese Economic Association, vol. 60(2), pages 223-235, June.
    2. Chukwuma Agu & Vincent A. Onodugo, 2009. "Capacity, Proximity and the Limitations of Infrastructure Services Decentralisation for Poverty Reduction," Journal of Infrastructure Development, India Development Foundation, vol. 1(2), pages 153-178, December.
    3. Otto H. Swank & Bauke Visser, 2015. "Learning from Others? Decision Rights, Strategic Communication, and Reputational Concerns," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 7(4), pages 109-149, November.
    4. Dongsoo Shin & Roland Strausz, 2014. "Delegation and dynamic incentives," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 45(3), pages 495-520, September.
    5. D. Paul Newman & Kirill E. Novoselov, 2009. "Delegation to Encourage Communication of Problems," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(4), pages 911-942, September.
    6. Fangzheng Zhu & Yuexiang Lu, 2022. "Carbon Emission Reduction Effect of China’s Financial Decentralization," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-22, November.
    7. Stefan Ambec & Michel Poitevin, 2016. "Decision-making in organizations: when to delegate and whom to delegate," Review of Economic Design, Springer;Society for Economic Design, vol. 20(2), pages 115-143, June.
    8. Theilen, Bernd, 2009. "Decentralization and the Gains from Monitoring," Working Papers 2072/42863, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Department of Economics.
    9. Ashwin Kambhampati & Carlos Segura‐Rodriguez, 2022. "The optimal assortativity of teams inside the firm," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 53(3), pages 484-515, September.
    10. Kei Kawakami, 2016. "Posterior renegotiation-proofness in a two-person decision problem," International Journal of Game Theory, Springer;Game Theory Society, vol. 45(4), pages 893-931, November.
    11. Timothy Van Zandt, 2008. "The Interplay Between Incentives and Communication Complexity in Mechanism Design," 2008 Meeting Papers 480, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    12. Theilen Bernd, 2009. "Monitoring Gains and Decentralization," The B.E. Journal of Theoretical Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 9(1), pages 1-26, September.
    13. Jelovac, Izabela & Macho-Stadler, Ines, 2002. "Comparing organizational structures in health services," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 501-522, December.
    14. Canton, Joan & De Cara, Stéphane & Jayet, Pierre-Alain, 2009. "Agri-environmental schemes: Adverse selection, information structure and delegation," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(7), pages 2114-2121, May.
    15. Fiocco, Raffaele & Scarpa, Carlo, 2011. "The regulation of interdependent markets," SFB 649 Discussion Papers 2011-046, Humboldt University Berlin, Collaborative Research Center 649: Economic Risk.
    16. Peter Klibanoff & Michel Poitevin, 2022. "A theory of (de)centralization," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 24(3), pages 417-451, June.
    17. Andreas Roider, 2006. "Delegation of Authority as an Optimal (In)Complete Contract," Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 162(3), pages 391-411, September.
    18. Pérez, Jessica Helen & Iranzo Sancho, Susana, 2012. "Determinants of Decentralization within the Firm: Some Empirical Evidence from Spanish Small and Medium- Sized Enterprise," Working Papers 2072/211755, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Department of Economics.
    19. Ashwin Kambhampati & Carlos Segura-Rodriguez, 2020. "The Optimal Assortativity of Teams Inside the Firm," PIER Working Paper Archive 20-018, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania.
    20. Morasch, Karl, 2003. "Deciding about (de-)centralization of industrial policy: Delegation by a central authority vs. bargaining of regional governments," Working Papers in Economics 2003,3, Bundeswehr University Munich, Economic Research Group.
    21. Bag, Parimal K. & Wang, Peng, 2021. "Income tax evasion and audits under common and idiosyncratic shocks," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 99-116.
    22. Dilip Mookherjee, 2008. "The 2007 Nobel Memorial Prize in Mechanism Design Theory," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 110(2), pages 237-260, June.
    23. Enis Kayis & Feryal Erhun & Erica L. Plambeck, 2013. "Delegation vs. Control of Component Procurement Under Asymmetric Cost Information and Simple Contracts," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 15(1), pages 45-56, April.
    24. Sandonis, Joel & Yermukanova, Binur, 2024. "Tax motivated vertical FDI and transfer pricing," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    25. Dasgupta, Amil & Maug, Ernst, 2022. "Delegation chains," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 118852, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    organizational design; ivate information; decentralization;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design

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