title: Peer effects on worker output in the laboratory generalize to the field.
abstract: We compare estimates of peer effects on worker output in laboratory experiments and field studies from naturally occurring environments. The mean study-level estimate of a change in a worker's productivity in response to an increase in a co-worker's productivity (γ) is γ̑ = 0.12 (SE = 0.03, n(studies) = 34), with a between-study standard deviation τ = 0.16. The mean estimated γ̑-values are close between laboratory and field studies (γ̑(lab) - γ̑(field) = 0.04, P = 0.55, n(lab) = 11, n(field) = 23), as are estimates of between-study variance τ(2) (τ̑(lab)(2) - τ̑(field)(2) = -0.003, P = 0.89). The small mean difference between laboratory and field estimates holds even after controlling for sample characteristics such as incentive schemes and work complexity (γ̑(lab) - γ̑(field) = 0.03, P = 0.62, n(samples) = 46). Laboratory experiments generalize quantitatively in that they provide an accurate description of the mean and variance of productivity spillovers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section, Firestone Library, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Herbst
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section, Firestone Library, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA. National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), 53113 Bonn, Germany. amas@princeton.edu.
authors.forename: Alexandre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mas
mesh_terms: D004526:Efficiency; D006801:Humans; D007753:Laboratories; D010379:Peer Group; D017132:Workplace / Q000523:psychology*