Contest functions: Theoretical foundations and issues in estimation

• Published in: International journal of industrial organization Vol. 31; no. 3; pp. 211 - 222
• Main Authors: Jia, Hao, Skaperdas, Stergios, Vaidya, Samarth
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.05.2013; Elsevier Sequoia S.A
• Subjects: Advertising; Classification; Conflict; Econometrics; Economic theory; Estimating techniques; Game theory; Industrial organization; Litigation; Mathematical functions; Rent-seeking; Stochastic processes; Studies; Tournaments; D74; M37; Conflict; Litigation; L41; Rent-seeking; Tournaments; L23; Advertising; D72; C72

Contest functions (alternatively, contest success functions) determine probabilities of winning and losing as a function of contestants' effort. They are used widely in many areas of economics that employ contest games, from tournaments and rent-seeking to conflict and sports. We first examine...