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The gift of being chosen

Author

Listed:
  • Natalia Montinari

    (Lund University)

  • Antonio Nicolò

    (University of Manchester)

  • Regine Oexl

    (University of Innsbruck)

Abstract

We report evidence from an experiment where an employer selects one of two workers to perform a task for a fixed compensation. Workers differ in their ability. The employer’s payoff depends on the worker’s ability and on a non-contractible effort that the worker exerts once employed. We find that selected workers exert an effort higher than the minimum enforceable one. When the employers can send a free-text form message to the selected worker, workers with low ability exert significantly higher effort than the workers with high ability. The difference in effort overcompensates the difference in ability.

Suggested Citation

  • Natalia Montinari & Antonio Nicolò & Regine Oexl, 2016. "The gift of being chosen," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 19(2), pages 460-479, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:expeco:v:19:y:2016:i:2:d:10.1007_s10683-015-9449-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s10683-015-9449-9
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    Cited by:

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    3. Balletta, Luigi & Modica, Salvatore, 2018. "Selection by committee: Anonymity and gratitude," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(4), pages 511-517.
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    5. Singh, Prakarsh & Masters, William A., 2017. "Impact of caregiver incentives on child health: Evidence from an experiment with Anganwadi workers in India," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 219-231.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gift exchange; Gratitude; Empathy wage; Communication; Experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D2 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations

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