Relational Contracts and the Nature of Market Interactions

Martin Brown (), Armin Falk () and Ernst Fehr ()

No 897, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Abstract: We provide evidence that long-term relationships between trading parties emerge endogenously in the absence of third party enforcement of contracts and are associated with a fundamental change in the nature of market interactions. Without third party enforcement, the vast majority of trades are initiated with private offers and the parties share the gains from trade equally. Low effort or bad quality is penalized by the termination of the relationship, wielding a powerful effect on contract enforcement. Successful long-term relations exhibit generous rent sharing and high effort (quality) from the very beginning of the relationship. In the absence of third-party enforcement, markets resemble a collection of bilateral trading islands rather than a competitive market. If contracts are third party enforceable, rent sharing and long-term relations are absent and the vast majority of trades are initiated with public offers. Most trades take place in one-shot transactions and the contracting parties are indifferent with regard to the identity of their trading partner.

Keywords: relational contracts; implicit contracts; market interaction; involuntary unemployment; repeated transaction; fairness preferences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D2 D4 C7 C9 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2003-10
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Journal Article: Relational Contracts and the Nature of Market Interactions (2004)
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