Peer Effects in the Workplace: Evidence from Random Groupings in Professional Golf Tournaments
Top Cited Papers
- 1 September 2009
- journal article
- Published by American Economic Association in American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
- Vol. 1 (4), 34-68
- https://doi.org/10.1257/app.1.4.34
Abstract
This paper uses random assignment in professional golf tournaments to test for peer effects in the workplace. We find no evidence that playing partners' ability affects performance, contrary to recent evidence on peer effects in the workplace from laboratory experiments, grocery scanners, and soft fruit pickers. In our preferred specification, we can rule out peer effects larger than 0.043 strokes for a one stroke increase in playing partners' ability. Our results complement existing studies on workplace peer effects and are useful in explaining how social effects vary across labor markets, across individuals, and with the form of incentives faced. (JEL D83, J44, L83)Keywords
This publication has 5 references indexed in Scilit:
- Social Preferences and the Response to Incentives: Evidence from Personnel Data*The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2005
- Peer effects in medical schoolJournal of Public Economics, 2005
- Drive for Show and Putt for Dough?: An Analysis of the Earnings of PGA Tour GolfersJournal of Sports Economics, 2005
- Self-Confidence and Personal MotivationThe Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2002
- Network Effects and Welfare Cultures*The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2000