Bargaining and hold-up: the role of arbitration
分析了仲裁作为完全契约替代品的作用，通过模型展示仲裁员的存在能减少事后敲竹杠行为，从而增强事前投资激励，并指出最优仲裁员应确保工人获得合理份额以平衡双方谈判力。
This paper analyses arbitration as a surrogate for complete contracts. We embed this idea in a simple model of a long-term relationship between a firm and its workforce, in which they can make productive-enhancing, relationship-specific investments, and then negotiate over the division of the resultant surplus. It is shown that the mere presence of the arbitrator (in the background of negotiations) may enhance investment incentives ex ante by minimizing each party’s ability to engage in hold-up behaviours ex post. Furthermore, we highlight notably that the partners should optimally commit to call an arbitrator ensuring a compromise by awarding a reasonable share of the surplus to the worker. Indeed, this type of arbitrator would harmonize the parties’ bargaining powers and then weight their investment incentives optimally.