This chapter surveys the contributions of laboratory experiments to labor economics. We
begin with a discussion of methodological issues: when (and why) is a lab experiment the …

We present a meta-analytic review of the literature on sex differences in the trust game (174
effect sizes) and the related gift-exchange game (35 effect sizes). Based on parental …

We study worker behavior in an efficiency-wage environment in which coworkers' wages
can influence a worker's effort. Theoretically, we show that an increase in workers' …

Financial advisors seek to accurately measure individuals' risk preferences and provide
sound personalized investment advice. Both advice tasks are increasingly offered through …

We investigate the impact of wage comparisons for worker productivity. We present three
studies which all use three-person gift-exchange experiments. Consistent with Akerlof and …

We study how different payment modes influence the effectiveness of gift exchange as a
contract enforcement device. In particular, we analyze how horizontal fairness concerns …

This paper analyzes the effect on performance and earnings of delegating the wage choice
to employees. Our results show that such delegation significantly increases effort levels …

In this paper, we investigate how social comparison information about referent others (ie,
learning what similar others do, and how they are treated) affects reciprocal relationships …

Previous studies examining intra-firm wage dispersion and firm performance have focused
on wage levels. The authors of this study argue that for purposes of comparing wage …

Social relations are predominantly influenced by an exchange paradigm whereby the logic
of reciprocity shapes behaviour. If the notion of exchange instrumentalism is common across …