Does a Short-Term Increase in Incentives Boost Performance?

Authors:

Angelova, Vera (TU Berlin)
Giebe, Thomas (Linnaeus University)
Ivanova-Stenzel, Radosveta (TU Berlin)

Abstract:

If agents are exposed to continual competitive pressure, how does a short-term variation of the severity of the competition affect agents’ performance? In a real-effort laboratory experiment, we study a one-time increase in incentives in a sequence of equally incentivized contests. Our results suggest that a short-term increase in incentives induces a behavioral response but does not boost total performance.

Keywords:

contest; tournament; real-effort; experiment; contract theory; forward-looking

JEL-Classification:

C91; D91; J22; J33; L02; M05

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Does a Short-Term Increase in Incentives Boost Performance?
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