Contract Research in Design

Promises in contract design

In this paper, we propose a new channel of contract design to boost efficiency. If deviating from one's own words induces a self-imposed moral burden, the optimal contracting procedure with regard to cheap talk shall assign the responsibility for installing the nonbinding promise in the contract to whoever has the residual right to break such promise, in the spirit of Grossman and Hart (1986) a...

Smart Contract Templates: foundations, design landscape and research directions

In this position paper, we consider some foundational topics regarding smart contracts (such as terminology, automation, enforceability, and semantics) and define a smart contract as an agreement whose execution is both automatable and enforceable. We explore a simple semantic framework for smart contracts, covering both operational and non-operational aspects. We describe templates and agreeme...

"Design by Contract" + "Componentware" = "Design by Signed Contract"

The main goal of "Design by Contract" is to improve correctness and robustness of software systems. For this purpose, the interfaces of classes or modules are augmented with precise specifications containing assertions. By means of these assertions, a supplier of a service imposes contractual obligations that his clients have to fulfill. " Componentware " introduces a new software development p...

Contract Research Activity (cro)

Contract Design in Insurance Groups

In many rural settings, informal mutual support networks have evolved into semiformal insurance groups, such as funeral societies. Using detailed panel data for six villages in Ethiopia, we can distinguish two types of contracts, in terms of whether payments are only made at the time of death or savings are accumulated by the group based on premiums paid ex-ante. We characterize these contracts...