Stars—employees with disproportionately high and prolonged (a) performance,(b) visibility,
and (c) relevant social capital—have garnered attention in economics, sociology, and …

Hiring inexperienced workers generates information about their abilities. If this information is
public, workers obtain its benefits. If workers cannot compensate firms for hiring them, firms …

We study the impact of skilled immigrants on the employment structures of US firms using
matched employer-employee data. Unlike most previous work, we use the firm as the lens of …

This paper views hiring as a contextual bandit problem: to find the best workers over time,
firms must balance “exploitation”(selecting from groups with proven track records) with …

Two leading economists develop a theory explaining the demand for and supply of liquid
assets. Why do financial institutions, industrial companies, and households hold low …

The debate over the extent and causes of rising inequality of American incomes and wages
has now raged for at least two decades. In this paper, we will make four arguments. First, the …

Online markets for remote labour services allow workers and firms to contract with each
other directly. Despite this, intermediaries—called outsourcing agencies—have emerged in …

This chapter surveys recent advances in personnel economics. We begin by presenting
evidence showing substantial and persistent productivity variation among workers in the …

We show that reference letters from former employers alleviate information frictions in a low-
skill labor market, improving applicant screening and gender equity. A resume audit study …

Digitization is transforming the market for books. Lower marginal costs have reduced prices
by 10–15% in the past four years, and digitization has given creators the ability to circumvent …