Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/77515 
Year of Publication: 
2012
Series/Report no.: 
Working Paper No. 99
Publisher: 
University of Zurich, Department of Economics, Zurich
Abstract: 
Authority and power permeate political, social, and economic life, but empirical knowledge about the motivational origins and consequences of authority is limited. We study the motivation and incentive effects of authority experimentally in an authority- delegation game. Individuals often retain authority even when its delegation is in their material interest - suggesting that authority has non-pecuniary consequences for utility. Authority also leads to over-provision of effort by the controlling parties, while a large percentage of subordinates under-provide effort despite pecuniary incentives to the contrary. Authority thus has important motivational consequences that exacerbate the inefficiencies arising from suboptimal delegation choices.
Subjects: 
organizational behavior
incentives
experiments and contracts
JEL: 
C92
D83
D23
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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