Opportunistic Behaviour in Subcontracting with Asset Specificity and Asymmetric Information: the Interwar British Road-haulage Industry

P. Scott and C. Reid

Working Papers from Portsmouth University - Department of Economics

Abstract: This paper examines the nature of subcontracting in the interwar road haulage industry. This new industry was dominated by very small-sclae hauliers, requiring a market-making intermediary to arrange full and return loads so as to avoid capacity underutilisation and the duplication of services. Freight clearing houses rapidly emerged to fulfil this role, subcontracting business to independent hauliers. However, many subcontractors found that they had entered contracts that strongly favoured the clearing houses.

Keywords: ASYMETRIC INFORMATION; SUBCONTRACTING; ROADS (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J00 L91 N74 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 25 pages
Date: 1998
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:fth:portec:113

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Working Papers from Portsmouth University - Department of Economics U.K.; University of Portsmouth; Department of Economics, Locksway Road, Milton, Southsea Hants PO4 8JF, UK. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Thomas Krichel ().