We study the behavior of managers who share workers across teams to weather absenteeism shocks. Relationships have some smoothing value, but many potentially beneficial transfers are left unrealized. We simulate the gains to increased relationship formation and find that the firm could reduce worker misallocation and increase productivity substantially by spurring relationship formation.

pdf | Journal of the European Economic Association (forthcoming)

Do talented managers match with productive workers, or with those who are struggling to perform? We find negative assortative matching of managers and workers. Despite supermodularity of production, "misallocating" managerial skill in this way may be optimal for firms who value buyer relationships.

pdf | Review of Economics and Statistics (forthcoming)

Individuals who enjoyed greater access to elite bureaucratic jobs invested more in schooling and achieved better labor market outcomes.

pdf | American Economic Journal: Applied Economics (forthcoming)

Temperature shocks during the in utero period significantly contribute to the adult mental health disease burden in Africa.

pdf | blog | Economic Development and Cultural Change (forthcoming)

Worker satisfaction depends critically on how expectations are set by firms. Migrant workers experienced large losses in subjective wellbeing when randomized improvements in hostel living conditions were more modest than expected.

pdf | Journal of Public Economics (forthcoming)

What makes a good manager good? We let the data tell us -- and find that hard-to-observe things like attention and control have large effects on productivity, and are drastically undervalued in manager pay.

pdf | Review of Economic Studies, 2023, 90:4

Soft skills training on-the-job boosts worker productivity and generates large returns for the firm.

pdf | Journal of Political Economy, 2023, 131:8

Cash transfers mitigate a large fraction of the negative impact of early life shocks on educational attainment and employment outcomes.

pdf | Economic Journal, 2022, 132(645)

Can policy protect against the often devastating human impacts of environmental shocks? We study this question by leveraging data from a situation in which a tornado tore through an area involved in a double-blind cluster-randomized controlled trial of at-birth vitamin A supplementation in Bangladesh.

pdf | Journal of Development Economics, 2022, 158

We ask whether information can be delivered without negative consequences to mental health. We randomly assigned individuals to receive Covid-19 information through text messages, a pre-recorded audio message, or phone calls. Phone calls were effective at engaging individuals. They improved Covid-19 knowledge and reduced depression and anxiety; the amount of information delivered does not account for this effect.

pdf | Journal of Development Economics, 2021, 152

Performance monitoring works because managers can better target skill investments in their workers. But skills depreciate, so failing to refresh training can result in dilution of productivity impacts over time.

pdf | june 2022 | R&R, Journal of Political Economy

An anatomy of the incredible, flexible organization -- how a leading auto manufacturer responds to the ever-increasing complexity of production associated with the introduction of new models on the shop floor.

pdf | march 2023 | R&R, Journal of Political Economy

Enabling worker voice through a two-way, anonymous, SMS-based technology decreases absenteeism and turnover, despite infrequent usage. Our findings suggest a substantial option value of voice, which can promote positive workplace behaviors even when workers do not directly avail themselves of the technology.

pdf | september 2021 | R&R, Economic Journal

Rapport between managers and workers matters for organizational performance. We show that when managers and their teams are more matched on gender identity, quick-service restaurants can take better advantage of demand shocks.

pdf | november 2023 (NEW!)

Managerial soft skills training improves productivity, but misallocation can substantially dampen its impacts.

pdf | supplemental appendix | june 2023 (NEW!)

Parents' preferences to personally provide care for their children during the critical years following a severe health shock drive persistent changes in labor supply and income -- evidence from childhood cancers in Denmark.

pdf | may 2023 (NEW!)