小费的性质与合约安排

本文运用新制度经济学以及微观经济学理论，结合实际观察所得，对旅游业中的小费制度进行了经济学解释。基本结论是，小费是企业对难以完全清晰界定或降低而留在公共领域里的产权(先占权利)的一种间接定价，目的在于降低企业因交易而面临的机会成本，其多样化的合约安排则是交易费用约束下企业降低交易费用努力的理性选择。相应的政策建议是，作为一项过渡性制度安排，我国旅游业中的导游应实行强迫性小费制度。

The Nature of the Tip and Contract Arrangement

Applying the theories of new institutional economics, microeconomics,combined with actual observation, this article focuses on the repast and tourist industry to bring forward the economic explanation of tip system. It is a basic conclusion that tip is a kind of indirect price of property rights (priority rights) in the public area which enterprises are difficult to define clearly or reduce completely. The purpose of tip lies in reducing the opportunity cost and the variety of contract arrangement becomes a rational choice to decrease the transaction cost under the restriction of it. Therefore, it is suggested that in our country the mandatory tip system should be implemented for the tour guides in the tourist industry as a transitional system arrangement.