Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
acceptedVersion
Publication Date
12-2019
Abstract
We study how career and wage incentives affect labor productivity through self-selection and incentive effect channels using a two-stage field experiment in Malawi. First, recent secondary school graduates were hired with either career or wage incentives. After employment, a half of workers with career incentives randomly received wage incentives, and a half of workers with wage incentives randomly received career incentives. Career incentives attract higher-performing workers than wage incentives, but do not increase productivity conditional on selection. Wage incentives increase productivity for those recruited through career incentives. Observable characteristics are limited in explaining selection effects of entry-level workers.
Keywords
Career Incentive, Wage Incentive, Internship, Self-selection, Labor Productivity
Discipline
Economics | Labor Economics
Research Areas
Applied Microeconomics
Publication
Review of Economics and Statistics
Volume
102
Issue
5
First Page
839
Last Page
851
ISSN
0034-6535
Identifier
10.1162/rest_a_00854
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press (MIT Press): 12 month embargo
Citation
KIM, Hyuncheol; KIM, Seonghoon; and KIM, Thomas.
The role of career and wage incentives in labor productivity: Evidence from a two-stage field experiment in Malawi. (2019). Review of Economics and Statistics. 102, (5), 839-851.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soe_research/2320
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1162/rest_a_00854