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Performance Pay and Productivity

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Author Info
Edward P. Lazear

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Abstract

Much of the theory in personnel economics relates to effects of monetary incentives on output, but the theory was untested because appropriate data were unavailable. A new data set for the Safelite Glass Corporation tests the predictions that average productivity will rise, the firm will attract a more able workforce, and variance in output across individuals at the firm will rise when it shifts to piece rates. In Safelite, productivity effects amount to a 44-percent increase in output per worker. This firm apparently had selected a suboptimal compensation system, as profits also increased with the change.

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Publisher Info
Article provided by American Economic Association in its journal American Economic Review.

Volume (Year): 90 (2000)
Issue (Month): 5 (December)
Pages: 1346-1361
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Handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:90:y:2000:i:5:p:1346-1361

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Edward P. Lazear & Sherwin Rosen, 1981. "Rank-Order Tournaments as Optimum Labor Contracts," NBER Working Papers 0401, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  2. Charles Brown, 1992. "Wage Levels and Method of Pay," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 23(3), pages 366-375, Autumn. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Baker, George P, 1992. "Incentive Contracts and Performance Measurement," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 100(3), pages 598-614, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Seiler, Eric, 1984. "Piece Rate vs. Time Rate: The Effect of Incentives on Earnings," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 66(3), pages 363-76, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Beth J. Asch, 1990. "Do incentives matter? The case of Navy recruiters," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, ILR School, Cornell University, vol. 43(3), pages 89-106, February.
  6. Paarsch, Harry J. & Shearer, Bruce, 1997. "Fixed Wages, Piece Rates, and Intertemporal Productivity: a Study of tree Planters in British Columbia," Cahiers de recherche 9702, Université Laval - Département d'économique. [Downloadable!]
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  7. Kandel, Eugene & Lazear, Edward P, 1992. "Peer Pressure and Partnerships," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 100(4), pages 801-17, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  8. Robert W Drago & John S. Heywood, 1995. "The Choice of Payment Schemes: Australian Establishment Data," Working papers _006, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. [Downloadable!]
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  9. Lazear, Edward P, 1986. "Salaries and Piece Rates," Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 59(3), pages 405-31, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Fama, Eugene F, 1991. "Time, Salary, and Incentive Payoffs in Labor Contracts," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 9(1), pages 25-44, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Booth, A-L & Frank, J, 1997. "Performance Related Pay," Discussion Papers 364, Centre for Economic Policy Research, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University.
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  12. Charles Brown, 1990. "Firms' Choice of Method of Pay," NBER Working Papers 3065, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Charles Brown, 1990. "Firms' choice of method of pay," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, ILR School, Cornell University, vol. 43(3), pages 165-182, February.
  14. Goldin, Claudia, 1986. "Monitoring Costs and Occupational Segregation by Sex: A Historical Analysis," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 4(1), pages 1-27, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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