Contracts as Reference Points
提出合同为交易关系提供参照点，影响当事人的应得感；当一方感到被亏待时，会消极履约。灵活合同虽能适应不确定性，但会导致效率损失，这解释了长期合同和雇佣合同的优势。
We argue that a contract provides a reference point for a trading relationship: more precisely, for parties' feelings of entitlement. A party's ex post performance depends on whether he gets what he is entitled to relative to outcomes permitted by the contract. A party who is shortchanged shades on performance. A flexible contract allows parties to adjust their outcomes to uncertainty but causes inefficient shading. Our analysis provides a basis for long-term contracts in the absence of noncontractible investments and elucidates why "employment" contracts, which fix wages in advance and allow the employer to choose the task, can be optimal.