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Im Mittelpunkt dieser Schrift steht ein stochastisches vektorielles Entscheidungsmodell zur Losung des Interessenkonfliktes zwischen den beiden Entscheidungstragern Principal und Agent, das mit den aus der Vektoroptimierung bekannten Kompromimodellen gelost wird. Die Ausfuhrungen verdeutlichen die Zusammenhange zwischen spieltheoretischen und multikriteriellen Entscheidungsmodellen exemplarisch an einem Principal-Agent-Ansatz. Ergebnisse und Bedeutung der Principal-Agent-Theorie fur betriebswirtschaftliche Entscheidungen werden ausfuhrlich an einem investitionstheoretischen Anwendungsbeispiel illustriert.

Most of those who have debated whether Karl Marx's explanations are primarily holistic or individualistic have failed to take into account that, for him, the parameters of both "the" individual & "agency" are historically & socially variable. As "agents," individuals may be heavily constrained representatives of a collectivity rather than either "free" agents or "historic" agents (conscious producers of social change). Here, Marx's theories of individuation & agency are interrelated & critiqued with regard to various modes of production. It is concluded that his theories are psychological as well as sociological, & that they continue to be among the most useful available. Modified AA

Due to a lack of time and expertise, policy makers often rely on others, such as bureaucrats, experts, or advisers, when policy decisions have to be made. A nontrivial problem is that those who possess information have a vested interest in the policy outcome; this gives them an incentive to manipulate or conceal information. In this book, we examine a penalty for lying and the power to replace an advisor as a means of restraining information providers from information manipulation. We argue that these two institutional arrangements may not always help a policy maker to attain a better decision (Chapters 2 and 3). Inasmuch as consequences of policies are complicated and difficult to foresee, small groups like committees often assist policy makers to collect information, deliberate over policies, and devise policy recommendations. As information is not for free, committee members must be motivated to collect it. We shed some light on how deliberation affects committee members' incentives to gather the costly information, and thus the quality of collective decision-making (Chapter 4). Outside the political arena, agency problems between politicians and voters also exist. In Chapter 5, we examine how elections play their role of disciplining and selecting politicians and how policy choices are made when politicians differ in their motivations in running for political office.