Logo image
Contracting on Ambiguous Prospects
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Contracting on Ambiguous Prospects

Massimiliano Amarante, Mario Ghossoub and Edmund Phelps
The Economic journal (London), Vol.127(606), pp.2241-2262
11/2017
DOI: 10.1111/ecoj.12381

View Online

Abstract

We study contracting problems where one party perceives ambiguity about the relevant contingencies. We show that the party who perceives ambiguity has to observe only the revenue/loss generated by the prospect object of negotiation, but not the underlying state. We, then, introduce a novel condition (vigilance), which extends the popular monotone likelihood ratio property to settings featuring ambiguity. Under vigilance, optimal contracts are monotonic and, thus, produce the right incentives in the presence of both concealed information and hidden actions. Our result holds irrespectively of the party's attitude towards ambiguity. Sharper results obtain in the case of global ambiguity‐loving behaviour.

Details

Logo image