Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/20410 
Year of Publication: 
2004
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 1171
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
In this paper we analyze the frequently observed phenomenon that (i) some members of a team ("black sheep") exhibit behavior disliked by other (honest) team members, who (ii) nevertheless refrain from reporting such misbehavior to the authorities (they set up a "wall of silence"). Much cited examples include hospitals and police departments. In this paper, these features arise in equilibrium. An important ingredient of our model are benefits that agents receive when cooperating with each other in a team. Our results suggest that asymmetric teams where these benefits vary across team members are especially prone to the above mentioned phenomenon.
Subjects: 
teams
misbehavior
wall of silence
asymmetric information
JEL: 
D82
C73
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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