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Student leadership experience and job accessibility: An experiment from China

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  • Cai, Guowei
  • Deng, Weiguang
  • Li, Xue

Abstract

Understanding the relationships between different signals that indicate the characteristics of workers and firms is essential to improving job matching efficiency. Using a field experiment, we investigate student leadership experience premiums and explore the relationships between signals reflecting personal qualities and signals reflecting vacancy-related qualities. We find that, first, there is no universal causal effect of student leadership experience on job accessibility in China. Second, student leadership experience complements other personal qualities for individuals majoring in science and engineering. Third, student leadership experience is a complementary factor for small firms. Fourth, higher-level student leaders enjoy a larger premium in job accessibility. Finally, student leaders are not preferred by high-paying positions but favored by positions with large payment variances.

Suggested Citation

  • Cai, Guowei & Deng, Weiguang & Li, Xue, 2023. "Student leadership experience and job accessibility: An experiment from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:78:y:2023:i:c:s1043951x23000238
    DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2023.101938
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Student leadership experience; Job access; Matching efficiency; Signals; Field experiment; China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • M12 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Personnel Management; Executives; Executive Compensation
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • J53 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Labor-Management Relations; Industrial Jurisprudence

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