Publications

November–December 2023
Article

Look the Part? The Role of Profile Pictures in Online Labor Markets

By: Isamar Troncoso and Lan Luo

Profile pictures are a key component of many freelancing platforms, a design choice that can impact hiring and matching outcomes. In this paper, we examine how appearance-based perceptions of a freelancer’s fit for the job (i.e., whether a freelancer "looks the part"... View Details

Keywords: Freelancers; Gig Workers; Demographics; Prejudice and Bias; Selection and Staffing; Jobs and Positions; Analytics and Data Science

Article

How Market Power Affects Dynamic Pricing: Evidence from Inventory Fluctuations at Car Dealerships

By: Ayelet Israeli, Fiona Scott-Morton, Jorge Silva-Risso and Florian Zettelmeyer

This paper investigates empirically the effect of market power on dynamic pricing in the presence of inventories. Our setting is the auto retail industry; we analyze how automotive dealerships adjust prices to inventory levels under varying degrees of market power. We... View Details

Keywords: Dynamic Pricing; Market Power; Pricing; Price Discrimination; Inventory Production; Marketing; Price; Competitive Strategy; Auto Industry; Retail Industry

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August 2023
Article

Surveying the Landscape of Labor Market Threat Perceptions from Migration: Evidence from Attitudes toward Sub-Saharan African Migrants in Morocco

By: Matt Buehler, Kristin E. Fabbe and Eleni Kyrkopoulou

Morocco, once primarily known as a country of emigration and transit to Europe, has become a destination country for migrants, the majority of whom are from sub-Saharan Africa. Using an original nationally representative survey of 2,700 respondents, together with data... View Details

Keywords: Migration; North Africa; Morocco; Sub-Saharan African Migrants; Middle East; Immigration; Perception; Developing Countries and Economies; Labor; Morocco

July 2013
Article

Voice Pitch and the Labor Market Success of Male Chief Executive Officers

By: Christopher Parsons, W. Mayew and M. Venkatachalam

A deep voice is evolutionarily advantageous for males, but does it confer benefit in competition for leadership positions? We study ecologically valid speech from 792 male public-company Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and find that CEOs with deeper voices manage... View Details

Keywords: Success; Leadership Style; Personal Characteristics; Management Teams

25 Jan 2016
Working Paper Summaries

Racial Discrimination in the Sharing Economy: Evidence from a Field Experiment

Keywords: by Benjamin G. Edelman, Michael Luca & Daniel Svirsky; Tourism; Travel; Technology

July 2012
Article

The IKEA Effect: When Labor Leads to Love

By: Michael I. Norton, Daniel Mochon and Dan Ariely

In four studies in which consumers assembled IKEA boxes, folded origami, and built sets of Legos, we demonstrate and investigate boundary conditions for the IKEA effect—the increase in valuation of self-made products. Participants saw their amateurish creations as... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Product; Valuation; Labor

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10 Oct 2014
News

Ending Gender Discrimination Requires More than a Training Program

Awards

Russell Sage Foundation Presidential Authority Grant: “The Labor Market and Political Effects of Automation” Research Grant (with Sydnee Caldwell)

By: Marco E. Tabellini

Recipient of the 2020 Russell Sage Foundation Presidential Authority Grant in the Future of Work program for “The Labor Market and Political Effects of Automation” with Sydnee Caldwell. View Details

March 2022
Background Note

The Labor Market as COVID Recedes: A Great Resignation or a Great Realization?

By: Joseph B. Fuller, William R. Kerr and Ria Mazumdar

Keywords: Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Macroeconomics; Economic Sectors; Economy; United States

December 2022
Supplement

Freelancer, Ltd. Case Supplement

By: Christopher Stanton, Karim R. Lakhani, Jin Hyun Paik and Nina Cohodes

Over the course of the 2010s, the rapid advancement of mobile technologies and the rise of online freelancing platforms seemed to portend a radical transformation of labor markets into on-demand, flexible talent pools. Even though several Fortune 500 companies,... View Details

Keywords: Labor Markets; Freelancers; Change Management; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Globalized Firms and Management; Human Capital; Employment; Digital Platforms; Global Range; Adoption; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Growth and Development Strategy; Computer Industry; Electronics Industry; Employment Industry; Information Industry; Australia; United States; Philippines

11 Apr 2024
In Practice

Why Progress on Immigration Might Soften Labor Pains

company and drawing upon native and foreign talent as befits their local situation. While the employment-based and family reunification pathways are distinct, the tight labor market makes them more alike.... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

September 2020 (Revised July 2022)
Technical Note

Algorithmic Bias in Marketing

By: Ayelet Israeli and Eva Ascarza

This note focuses on algorithmic bias in marketing. First, it presents a variety of marketing examples in which algorithmic bias may occur. The examples are organized around the 4 P’s of marketing – promotion, price, place and product—characterizing the marketing... View Details

July 2024
Case

Freelancer, Ltd.

By: Christopher Stanton, Karim R. Lakhani, Jin Hyun Paik and Nina Cohodes

Over the course of the 2010s, the rapid advancement of mobile technologies and the rise of online freelancing platforms seemed to portend a radical transformation of labor markets into on-demand, flexible talent pools. Even though several Fortune 500... View Details

Keywords: Freelancers; Labor Markets; Internet and the Web; Digital Platforms; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Human Capital; Change Management; Globalized Firms and Management; Employment; Global Range; Employment Industry

1989
Chapter

Labor Market Distortions as a Case for Export Subsidies: Comment on Katz and Summers

By: K. A. Froot

Keywords: Trade; Employment; Policy; Government and Politics

24 Oct 2013
Working Paper Summaries

When $3+$1 > $4: The Effect of Gift Salience on Employee Effort in an Online Labor Market

Keywords: by Duncan Gilchrist, Michael Luca & Deepak Malhotra

2011
Working Paper

The 'IKEA Effect': When Labor Leads to Love

By: Michael I. Norton, Daniel Mochon and Dan Ariely

In a series of studies in which consumers assembled IKEA boxes, folded origami, and built sets of Legos, we demonstrate and investigate the boundary conditions for what we term the "IKEA effect&"—the increase in valuation of self-made products. Participants saw their... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Labor; Resource Allocation; Valuation