The Value of Relationships: Evidence from a Supply Shock to Kenyan Rose Exports

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Macchiavello, Rocco; Morjaria, Ameet
• 署名单位: University of Warwick; Northwestern University
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0002-8282
• DOI: 10.1257/aer.20120141
• 发表日期: 2015
• 页码: 2911-2945
• 关键词: incentive contracts; selection; industry; credit; CHOICE

摘要

This paper provides evidence on the importance of reputation in the context of the Kenyan rose export sector. A model of reputation and relational contracting is developed and tested. A seller's reputation is defined by buyer's beliefs about seller's reliability. We show that (i) due to lack of enforcement, the volume of trade is constrained by the value of the relationship; (ii) the value of the relationship increases with the age of the relationship; and (iii) during an exogenous negative supply shock deliveries are an inverted-U shaped function of relationship's age. Models exclusively focusing on enforcement or insurance considerations cannot account for the evidence.