Allocating labor across small firms: Experimental evidence on information constraints

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Development Economics
Year: 2024
Volume: 171
Issue: C

Authors (5)

Hardy, Morgan (New York University Abu Dhabi) Kim, Seongyoon (not in RePEc) McCasland, Jamie (not in RePEc) Menzel, Andreas (not in RePEc) Witte, Marc (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

0.804 = (α=2.01 / 5 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

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

Abstract

We document interest in labor reallocation among small firm owners in Ghana; 60% and 41%, respectively, self-report willingness to hire or work for the average local firm owner. Firm owners also exhibit high willingness-to-pay for information on a random subset of hiring firms and jobseeking firm owners during a Becker–Degroot–Marschak exercise. Conditionally random variation in access to this information generates immediate labor adjustments within and between firms, though rarely of firm owners themselves, and impacts firm closure 5-months post-intervention. Our findings suggest that labor market information of this kind is both valuable and actionable in our context.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:deveco:v:171:y:2024:i:c:s0304387824000944
Journal Field
Development
Author Count
5
Added to Database
2026-01-25