ABSTRACT This article analyzes the effect of private military and security companies (PMSCs) on levels of civilian casualties in Iraqi governorates from 2004 to 2007. Within a principal-agent framework, we argue that the capacity to monitor and evaluate PMSC performance is conditioned by the availability of performance-related information. Crucially, PMSC corporate structure impacts the information available to the employer. Differences in PMSCs’ corporate structure (e.g., whether a firm is publicly traded or closed ownership) influences the disclosure of different levels of information about a firm’s performance. A closed ownership PMSC is opaque, obstructing access to information. Publicly traded PMSCs, by contrast, have legal obligations to release information on corporate performance, policies, and contracts. Closed ownership PMSCs are correlated with increases in the likelihood of civilian casualties while publicly traded PMSCs have no effect on civilian casualties.

中文翻译：

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私营军事和保安公司，公司结构和伊拉克的暴力程度

摘要本文分析了2004年至2007年期间，私营军事和安全公司（PMSC）对伊拉克各省平民伤亡水平的影响。在委托代理框架下，我们认为，监测和评估PMSC绩效的能力取决于与性能有关的信息的可用性。至关重要的是，PMSC公司结构会影响可供雇主使用的信息。PMSCs公司结构的差异（例如，公司是公开交易还是封闭所有权）会影响有关公司绩效的不同级别信息的披露。封闭所有权的PMSC是不透明的，从而阻碍了信息的访问。相比之下，公开交易的PMSC具有发布公司绩效，政策和合同信息的法律义务。