Score contribution per author:
α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count
This study relates the increase in the U.S. top wages to the increasing prominence of headhunters. Headhunters improve the matching between firms and employees via two channels: screening of candidates and passive on-the-job search. I incorporate headhunters in the labor market framework of random search with two-sided heterogeneity. The calibrated model shows that headhunters can account for 32% of the increase in the top 10% wage share in the U.S. from 1970 to 2010, with 19% due to improvements in matching between workers and firms. I provide supporting micro evidence for CEO compensation, as well as cross-country evidence on headhunter hires/fees and top income growth. (Copyright: Elsevier)