Productivity

The Agricultural Wage Gap: Evidence from Brazilian Micro-data

A key feature of developing economies is that wages in agriculture are below those of other sectors.

Journal Article
1 Jan 2020

Wage Fariness in a Subcontracted Labor Market

Labor market subcontracting is a global phenomenon. Basu et al.

Journal Article
1 Dec 2019

The Ties that Bind: Implicit Contracts and the Adoption of Management Technology in the Firm

Lemos and Scur (2019) investigate how implicit contracts between firm managers and employees are linked to the adoption of productivity-enhancing organizational practices.

Working Paper
1 Nov 2019

Social Networks and Search Frictions in Day Labour Markets

In South Asia, three quarters of ultra-poor households report casual labour as the dominant form of income. In urban areas, short-term construction jobs are found through social connections or by going to a “labour stand”, essentially an intersection where low-skilled labourers wait each morning for employers looking to hire for a day or two.

Research Project
1 Oct 2019

Household Matters: Revisiting the Returns to Capital among Female Micro-entrepreneurs

Multiple field experiments report positive financial returns to capital shocks for male and not female microentrepreneurs. But these analyses overlook the fact that female entrepreneurs often reside with male entrepreneurs.

Journal Article
1 Sep 2019

Understanding Team Composition and Productivity in Factories

This project examines workers and team leaders working in garment factories in Pakistan to understand what characteristics are correlated with productivity and whether the search for and composition of teams is efficient.

Research Project
1 Jul 2019

Measuring Productivity: Lessons from Tailored Surveys and Productivity Benchmarking

Atkin et al. use tailored surveys and benchmarking in the flat-weave rug industry to better understand the shortcomings of standard productivity measures. Quantity-based productivity (TFPQ) performs poorly because of variation in product specifications across firms.

Journal Article
1 May 2019

Electricity Reliability and Small Business Performance: Evidence from Pakistan

This project seeks to leverage an existing relationship with a large private utility company in Pakistan to rigorously evaluate the effects of energy quality on small business' outcomes.

Research Project
22 Nov 2018

Interfirm Relationships and Business Performance

In this paper published in The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Cai and Szeidl (2018) organized business associations for the owner-managers of young Chinese firms to study the effect of business networks on firm performance.

Journal Article
1 Aug 2018

Market Competition, Management Practices and Performances of SMEs in Burkina Faso

This study analyses the relationship between management practices and SMEs performances and the effect of the level of market competitiveness on upgrading management practices.

Research Project
1 Jun 2018

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