The Marshal Puzzle:Based on Risk Sharing and Incentives

There is a tradition in the theory of land tenancy contracts that fixed-rent tenancy is better than sharecropping in resource allocation.But in reality,sharecropping has been existing as an institutional arrangement.This paper analyzes the theory of land tenancy contracts normatively under the condition of incomplete information.The results indicate that sharecropping will cause efficiency loss and lead to a second best equilibrium.However,if risks and incentives are considered,both landlords and tenants will prefer sharecropping.