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on Human Capital and Human Resource Management |
| By: | Ben Weidmann; Yixian Xu; David J. Deming |
| Abstract: | We show that the ability to lead groups of humans is predicted by leadership skill with Artificially Intelligent agents. In a large pre-registered lab experiment, human leaders worked with AI agents to solve problems. Their performance on this 'AI leadership test' was strongly correlated with their causal impact on human teams, which we estimate by repeatedly randomly assigning leaders to groups of human followers and measuring team performance. Successful leaders of both humans and AI agents ask more questions and engage in more conversational turn-taking; they score higher on measures of social intelligence, fluid intelligence, and decision-making skill, but do not differ in gender, age, ethnicity or education. Our findings indicate that AI agents can be effective proxies for human participants in social experiments, which greatly simplifies the measurement of leadership and teamwork skills. |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2508.02966 |
| By: | Ardito, Chiara (University of Turin); Berton, Fabio (European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC)); Pacelli, Lia (University of Turin); Zanatta, Marina (University of Torino) |
| Abstract: | We analyse the long-term impact of hiring subsidies on both job and employment security. The subsidy that we examine was introduced in Italy through the 2015 Budget Law, with the goal of promoting open-ended contracts. We employ a non-linear difference-in-differences (NL-DiD) approach within a duration framework, using high-frequency, population-wide linked employer-employee administrative data from a large Italian region. Causal results on job security indicate that the subsidy’s protective effect is short-lived. Excess separations from subsidised jobs peak in the exact same month in which the monetary incentive expires. No long-term protective effect of the subsidy is observed regarding employment security. These results hold across a wide range of worker and firm characteristics, showing surprisingly little heterogeneity. One notable exception concerns firm size. Furthermore, the expiration of subsidies disproportionately affects workers with low human capital. Our findings suggest that hiring subsidies are not effective in promoting either job or employment security for beneficiaries and that this raises questions about the efficacy of this common and costly policy, particularly when offered unconditionally. |
| Keywords: | Italy, job and employment security, hiring subsidies, non-linear DiD, duration model |
| JEL: | H2 J2 J3 J6 L2 |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18024 |
| By: | Choudhury, Prithwiraj; Khanna, Tarun; Makridis, Christos A.; Schirmann, Kyle |
| Keywords: | hybrid work; remote work; work-from-home; field experiment; productivity; employee engagement |
| JEL: | J23 J24 O10 O33 |
| Date: | 2025–02–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:128764 |
| By: | Caliendo, Marco (University of Potsdam); Cobb-Clark, Deborah A. (University of Sydney); Huber, Katrin (University of Potsdam); Pfeifer, Harald (BIBB); Uhlendorff, Arne (CREST); Wagner, Sophie (University of Potsdam) |
| Abstract: | We examine how gender shapes managers' decisions regarding on-the-job training using a discrete choice experiment embedded in a representative survey of German firms. While previous research has focused on employees' demand for it, we make a contribution by studying firms' supply of training. In our vignette study, 1, 144 managers evaluate hypothetical candidate profiles that differ by gender, age, competence, job mobility, and training characteristics. We find that women are somewhat more likely than men to receive training offers. The exceptions are that female managers are more reluctant to choose young women for training, while male managers favor male candidates for fully employer-funded training. These patterns persist across various model specifications and remain robust when controlling for observable manager characteristics. Heterogeneity analyses reveal that female managers are more reluctant to offer training to women when they operate in competitive product markets, male-dominated industries, and firms without collective bargaining agreements. More broadly, our results highlight that managers influence not only how much training is undertaken, but also how training opportunities are distributed among employees. |
| Keywords: | human capital investment, manager decisions, gender differences, training |
| JEL: | J24 J16 M53 |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18019 |
| By: | Jean-Victor Alipour |
| Abstract: | I study how the rise in working from home (WFH) affects the gender division of paid and unpaid labor (caregiving, domestic tasks). Identification uses differences in individuals' exposure to the Covid-induced WFH shock, measured by the WFH feasibility of their job in 2019. Using panel data from the German SOEP, I estimate 2SLS models that instrument realized WFH in 2022 with WFH feasibility. Results show that WFH reduces paid hours and increases domestic work and leisure (including sleep) among women. Men's time use remains largely unchanged, partly because WFH induces moves toward larger, more distant homes, offsetting commuting time savings. Within-couple analyses confirm that the Big Shift to WFH intensifies gender gaps in paid and unpaid work, particularly caregiving. I find that gender norms, bargaining power, and childcare demands interact with WFH in ways that reinforce the unequal division of labor. |
| Keywords: | work from home, time use, unpaid work, division of labor, gender norms, bargaining power |
| JEL: | J16 J22 J13 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12052 |