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Wealth effects, distribution, and the theory of organization | Patrick Legros

plegros.net

How wealth distribution shapes the very structure of organizations is an underexplored frontier — and this work reveals why who owns what determines how firms are built from the ground up.

Theory of the FirmWealth EffectsIncomplete Contracts TheoryPrincipal-Agent Problem
Wealth effects, distribution, and the theory of organization | Patrick Legros

Theory Briefing

  • Legros's research links wealth inequality directly to how organizations form, challenging the idea that firm structure is purely efficiency-driven.
  • Wealth effects mean that capital-constrained agents accept worse contracts, skewing organizational design toward those who already hold assets.
  • Distribution of resources across individuals shapes incentive structures inside firms, connecting macro inequality to micro organizational theory.