Information and Employee Evaluation: Evidence from a Randomized Intervention in Public Schools

S-Tier
Journal: American Economic Review
Year: 2012
Volume: 102
Issue: 7
Pages: 3184-3213

Authors (4)

Jonah E. Rockoff (not in RePEc) Douglas O. Staiger (Dartmouth College) Thomas J. Kane (not in RePEc) Eric S. Taylor (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

2.011 = (α=2.01 / 4 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We examine how employers learn about worker productivity in a randomized pilot experiment which provided objective estimates of teacher performance to school principals. We test several hypotheses that support a simple Bayesian learning model with imperfect information. First, the correlation between performance estimates and prior beliefs rises with more precise objective estimates and more precise subjective priors. Second, new information exerts greater influence on posterior beliefs when it is more precise and when priors are less precise. Employer learning affects job separation and productivity in schools, increasing turnover for teachers with low performance estimates and producing small test score improvements. (JEL D83, I21, J24, J45)

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aecrev:v:102:y:2012:i:7:p:3184-3213
Journal Field
General
Author Count
4
Added to Database
2026-01-29