Monitoring with No Moral Hazard: The Case of Small Vessel Commercial Fishing

Abstract

This paper examines the role of the skipper as a monitor of crew members on fishing boats. In contrast to the usual (principal-agent) approach, there is no moral hazard. Each worker's output is variable and average performance is not known. A monitor is hired to estimate average performance. A theory and test of share differentials between monitors and workers is developed. Monitoring is treated as a sequential sampling experiment. Share differentials depend on worker-specific output variability, size of labor force, and average team output. Empirical results using Oregon fishing data offer strong support for the model.