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Journal of Political Economy Vol. 114 No. 1 2006

Distinguishing Limited Liability from Moral Hazard in a Model of Entrepreneurship

Anna L. Paulson1; Robert M. Townsend2,1; Alexander Karaivanov3

1 Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago · 2 University of Chicago · 3 Simon Fraser University

Abstract

We present and estimate a model in which the choice between entrepreneurship and wage work may be influenced by financial market imperfections. The model allows for limited liability, moral hazard, and a combination of both constraints. The paper uses structural techniques to estimate the model and identify the source of financial market imperfections using data from rural and semiurban households in Thailand. Structural, nonparametric, and reduced‐form estimates provide independent evidence that the dominant source of credit market imperfections is moral hazard. We reject the hypothesis that limited liability alone can explain the data.

DOI
10.1086/498917
Volume
114
Issue
1
Pages
100-144
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

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