Jumping the Gun: Imperfections and Institutions Related to the Timing of Market Transactions

Abstract

This paper concerns the difficulties associated with establishing a time at which a market will operate. The authors first describe the experience of several dozen markets and submarkets, from entry-level professional labor markets in the United States, Canada, England, and Japan to the (American) market for postseason college football bowls. The difficulties these markets have experienced in coordinating the timing of transactions have been decisive in determining how they are organized today. The paper develops a framework in which to address the timing of transactions and the tendency observed in many of these markets for transactions to become earlier and earlier. Copyright 1994 by American Economic Association.