AEA Papers and Proceedings
ISSN 2574-0768 (Print) | ISSN 2574-0776 (Online)
Control of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations
AEA Papers and Proceedings
vol. 113,
May 2023
(pp. 182–85)
Abstract
Blockchain technology has facilitated the emergence of a new type of organizational form, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). In contrast to corporations and other types of business organizations, DAOs do not have managers or directors with formal decision rights. Instead, the members of DAOs collectively make decisions by voting on proposals. The governance process is encoded and executed via smart contracts, negating the need for centralized leadership. We examine the control of DAOs by analyzing 10,639 proposals across 151 DAOs. We find that rather than democratizing decision-making, a small number of entities, often three or fewer, exert control over most decisions.Citation
Appel, Ian, and Jillian Grennan. 2023. "Control of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations." AEA Papers and Proceedings, 113: 182–85. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20231119Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D23 Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
- D86 Economics of Contract: Theory
- G34 Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Voting; Proxy Contests; Corporate Governance