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Do Firms Have Short Memories?

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  • Andrew Healy

    (Loyola Marymount University, ahealy@lmu.edu)

Abstract

When deciding what salary to offer an employee, a firm needs to predict that employee's future productivity. One piece of information that a firm can use to predict productivity is the employee's past performance record. Classical theory predicts that firms will effectively use the available information to choose an appropriate salary offer. Evidence from baseball contracts indicates, however, that memory-based biases influence salary offers. Consistent with insights from psychology and behavioral economics, salaries are affected too much by recent performance compared with past performance. All organizations do not suffer equally from short memories. The teams that achieve the most with the money that they spend also use past performance data most effectively.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew Healy, 2008. "Do Firms Have Short Memories?," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 9(4), pages 407-424, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jospec:v:9:y:2008:i:4:p:407-424
    DOI: 10.1177/1527002507310440
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. James Alm & William H. Kaempfer & Edward Batte Sennoga, 2012. "Baseball Salaries and Income Taxes," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 13(6), pages 619-634, December.
    2. Vincenzo Carrieri & Andrew M. Jones & Francesco Principe, 2020. "Productivity Shocks and Labour Market Outcomes for Top Earners: Evidence from Italian Serie A," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 82(3), pages 549-576, June.
    3. James Alm & William H. Kaempfer & Edward Batte Sennoga, 2012. "Baseball Salaries and Income Taxes: The "Home Field Advantage" of Income Taxes on Free Agent Salaries," Working Papers 1209, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    4. Henrickson, Kevin E. & Langrill, Ryan, 2013. "Spatial Econometrics In Nonspatial Settings," Review of Applied Economics, Lincoln University, Department of Financial and Business Systems, vol. 9(1-2), January.
    5. Kenneth H. Brown & Lisa K. Jepsen, 2009. "The Impact of Team Revenues on MLB Salaries," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 10(2), pages 192-203, April.

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    Keywords

    limited memory; wages; baseball;
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