The Motivation Crowding Effect suggests that external intervention via monetary incentives
or punishments may undermine, and under different identifiable conditions strengthen …

This paper surveys recent developments in the literature on efficiency wage theories of
unemployment. Efficiency wage models have in common the property that in equilibrium …

We synthesize two related literatures on firm-level drivers of wage inequality. Studies of rent
sharing that use matched worker-firm data find elasticities of wages with respect to value …

It is widely believed that current disparities in economic, political, and social outcomes reflect
distinct institutions. Institutions are invoked to explain why some countries are rich and …

This paper presents an economic institution which enabled 11th-century traders to benefit
from employing overseas agents despite the commitment problem inherent in these …

Modern Labor Economics: Theory and Public Policy, now in its fourteenth edition, continues
to be the leading text for one-semester courses in labor economics at the undergraduate …

This paper analyzes the relationship between employee satisfaction and long-run stock
returns. A value-weighted portfolio of the “100 Best Companies to Work For in America” …

Employees are motivated intrinsically as well as extrinsically. Intrinsic motivation is crucial
when tacit knowledge in and between teams must be transferred. Organizational forms …

The research for which George Akerlof, Michael Spence, and I are being recognized is part
of a larger research program which today embraces a great number of researchers around …

What happens if an employer cuts wages by one cent? Much of labor economics is built on
the assumption that all the workers will quit immediately. Here, Alan Manning mounts a …