Dynamic Contracting with Many Agents

Abstract

We analyze dynamic capital allocation and risk sharing between a principal and many agents, who privately observe their output. The state variables of the mechanism design problem are aggregate capital and the distribution of continuation utilities across agents. This gives rise to a Bellman equation in an infinite dimensional space, which we solve with mean-field techniques. We fully characterize the optimal mechanism and show that the level of risk agents must be exposed to for incentive reasons is decreasing in their initial outside utility. We extend classical welfare theorems by showing that any incentive-constrained optimal allocation can be implemented as an equilibrium allocation, with appropriate money issuance and wealth taxation by the principal.

Reference

Stéphane Villeneuve, Bruno Biais, Hans Gersbach, Jean-Charles Rochet, and Ernst-Ludwig von Thadden, “Dynamic Contracting with Many Agents”, TSE Working Paper, n. 24-1511, February 2024.