Performance Pay and Multi-dimensional Sorting: Productivity, Preferences and Gender This paper studies the impact of incentives on worker self-selection in a controlled laboratory experiment. In a first step we elicit subjects’ productivity levels. Subjects then face the choice between a fixed or a variable payment scheme. Depending on the treatment, the variable payment is either a piece rate,...

This paper explores how the ability of coworkers affects individual productivity. I study a seafood-processing plant in Vietnam, where workers process fish individually and are compensated based on own output. Input (steamed fish) is allocated in groups (worktables), which on average consists of four workers. Managers keep track of each group’s progress to ensure that input is allocated accordi...

Polyomavirus T antigens share a common N-terminal sequence that comprises a DnaJ domain. DnaJ domains activate DnaK molecular chaperones. The functions of J domains have primarily been tested by mutation of their conserved HPD residues. Here, we report detailed mutagenesis of the polyomavirus J domain in both large T (63 mutants) and middle T (51 mutants) backgrounds. As expected, some J mutant...

Managers often use tournaments which motivate workers to compete for the top, compete to avoid the bottom, or both. In this paper we compare the e¤ectiveness and e¢ ciency of the corresponding incentive schemes. To do so, we utilize optimal contracts in a principal-agent setting, using a Lazear-Rosen type model that predicts equal e¤ort and e¢ ciency levels for the three mechanisms with the app...

This paper uses German evidence to address two questions about corporate governance. The effects of ownership on corporate governance have received much recent attention, but very little of this has been devoted to the appropriate way to measure firm ownership. The results of this paper show that the conclusions reached about the effects of ownership on corporate governance can depend criticall...

This paper uses German evidence to address two questions about corporate governance. The effects of ownership on corporate governance have received much recent attention, but very little of this has been devoted to the appropriate way to measure firm ownership. The results of this paper show that the conclusions reached about the effects of ownership on corporate governance can depend criticall...

Motivating Agents: How Much Does the Mission Matter? Economic theory predicts that agents will work harder if they believe in the “mission” of the organization. Well-identified estimates of exactly how much harder they will work have been elusive, however, because agents select into jobs. We conduct a real effort experiment with participants who work directly for organizations with clear missio...

Using nationally representative survey data for Finnish employees linked to register data on their wages and work histories we find wage effects of high involvement management (HIM) practices are generally positive and significant. However, employees with better wage and work histories are more likely to enter HIM jobs. The wage premium falls substantially having accounted for employees’ work h...

This paper presents numerical experiments solving complex robust portfolio optimization problems. The models we study are motivated by realistic considerations, and are in principle combinatorially difficult; however we show that using modern optimization methodology one can solve large, real-life cases quite efficiently. We consider classical mean-variance problems [M52], [M59] and closely rel...