In this paper, we provide an axiomatic characterization of social welfare functions for uncertain incomes. Our most general result is that a small number of reasonable assumptions regarding welfare orderings under uncertainty rule out pure ex ante as well as pure ex post evaluations. Any social welfare function that satisfies these axioms should lie strictly between the ex ante and the ex post ...

The paper considers a hold-up model where only one of n future trading opportunities will prove to be efficient, and where ex post renegotiation of the ex ante contract cannot be prevented. As the environment becomes more complex (n→S ), the outcome under any message-contingent long-term contract converges to that of the ‘‘incomplete contracting’’ model where trade is contractible ex post, but ...

This paper studies two disclosure regimes when a firm with superior private information must rely on a strategic certifier to disclose credibly its prospects. In the ex ante (ex post) disclosure regime, the firm must decide on whether to hire the certifier before (after) observing the certifier's noisy assessment. Endogenously determined certification fees can actually cause the disclosure prob...

Hold-up risks can be mitigated by creating asymmetric information about the investment using information control. In this paper, we study the investment level and welfare achievable with information control and the information structure that implements them. Our main result identifies a separation between information that creates ex-ante investment incentive and information that causes ex-post ...

In this paper we endogenize the point in time where an agent (and the principal) observe the realization of an additional signal: before the agent’s effort choice (ex ante information) or after (ex post information). We show that there is no difference between incentive and decision problems if the signal is uninformative about the agent’s effort: ex ante information is never worse and – if the...

BACKGROUND The introduction of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) has improved the diagnosis and treatment of malaria. However, any successful control of malaria will depend on socio-economic factors that influence its management in the community. Willingness to pay (WTP) is important because consumer responses to prices will influence utilization of services and revenues collected. Also the consume...

In addition to penalties imposed for breaches of statutory duties in the event of workplace accidents involving physical harms, New Zealand’s Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 also provides for penalties where accidents have not occurred. Ordinary negligence rules are ex post in that both an accident and harm must occur before liability accrues, whereas ex ante liability rules create lia...

We study repeated irreversible investment. We assume that ex ante ownership rights are incomplete and ex post property allocation is endogenous. In a stage game, principal can renege on ex ante contract with agents (investors). To capture that ownership rights depend on prior arrangements, we introduce a dynamic game, in which player ex ante ownership shares are equal to their ex post shares in...

This paper develops a trade model in which two heterogeneous firms located in two different countries make their productivity choices by choosing their optimal R&D investment levels and then make a mode choice between exporting, licensing and FDI under Cournot competition in an open economy. The ex-ante difference in the cost efficiency of two firms will lead to difference combinations of ex-po...

it is essential to consider policy assessment in policy cycle. however, ex-ante evaluation has been rarely reviewed in the policy evaluation literature. in the article, a five-phase process of ex-ante evaluation of science and technology policies in policy cycle using grounded theory is offered. for this purpose, through literature review, ten keywords were searched and finally, having chosen 5...