Agency costs

The agency costs are a type of costs that are associated with the agent theory principal and themed in the concept of asymmetric information occurs. They are the difference between the costs of an ideal solution (complete information) and those of the real solution (with imperfect information ).

A general distinction can be made between three components:

1. Control costs: They represent the principal's efforts to reduce his own information disadvantage.
2. Signaling costs (guarantee costs): They represent the agent's efforts to reduce information asymmetries.
3. Residual costs / remaining loss of welfare: Deviation from the ideal state with symmetrical information, costs of the missed optimum.

swell

• Joachim Paul : Introduction to General Business Administration , Gabler, 1st edition, 2006, ISBN 3834903361 , page 54/55 (including further references, including Arnold Picot / Helmut Dietl / Egon Franck)