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Kathryn L. Shaw
Former Editor, Behavioural and personnel economics

Stanford University and National Bureau of Economic Research, USA, and IZA@LISER, Luxembourg

World of Labour role

Former Editor, Author

Current position

Ernest C. Arbuckle Professor of Economics, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University

Research interest

Labor economics, personnel economics

Website

http://bit.ly/Shaw_Stanfordpage

Positions/functions as a policy advisor

Council of Economic Advisors, Executive Office of the President, Member (Senate confirmed, June 2000) 1999-2001

Past positions

Professor of Economics, Carnegie Mellon University

Qualifications

PhD Economics, Harvard University, 1981

Selected publications

  • “The Value of Bosses.” Journal of Labor Economics (Forthcoming) (with E. Lazear and C. Stanton).

  • “How Does Information Technology affect Productivity? Plant-Level Comparisons of Product Innovation, Process Improvement and Worker Skills.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 122:4 (2007): 1721-1758 (with A. Bartel and C. Ichniowski).

  • “Personnel Economics: The Economist’s View of Human Resources.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 21:4 (2007): 91-114 (with E. Lazear).

  • “The Effects of Human Resource Management Practices on Productivity.” American Economic Review 86 (1997): 291-313 (with C. Ichniowski and G. Prennushi).

  • “The Dynamics of Franchise Contracting: Evidence from Panel Data.” Journal of Political Economy 107 (1999): 1041-1080 (with F. Lafontaine).

Article(s)

  • Bosses matter: The effects of managers on workers’ performance

    What evidence exists on whether bad bosses damage workers’ performance, or good bosses enhance it?

    Kathryn L. Shaw, January 2019
    A good boss can have a substantial positive effect on the productivity of a typical worker. While much has been written about the peer effects of working with good peers, the effects of working with good bosses appear much more substantial. A good boss can enhance the performance of their employees and can lower the quit rate. This may also be relevant in situations where it is challenging to employ incentive pay structures, such as when quality is difficult to observe. As such, firms should invest sufficiently in the hiring of good bosses with skills that are appropriate to their role.
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