The theory of linguistic relativity—the idea that our language influences our thinking— has a long history in the humanities. Speakers of different languages may systematically think and behave differently. This phenomenon has only recently attracted attention from economists. This paper provides the first comprehensive review of this nascent literature. First we explain the linguistic relativi...

We document a set of time use patterns in both time series and cross sections. To explain these facts, we propose and estimate a model of time allocation that emphasizes the role of home production technology. We find it necessary to consider both labor-augmenting technology and total factor productivity in home production. Based on the estimated model, we study the effects of proportional tax ...

Does the lack of peers contribute to the observed gender gap in entrepreneurial success? A random sample of customers of India’s largest women’s bank was offered two days of business counseling, and a random subsample was invited to attend with a friend. The intervention significantly increased participants’ business activity, but only if they were trained with a friend. Those trained with a fr...

Many companies survey employees about their managers yet it is unclear whether this information is, or should be used to evaluate and compensate managers. Data from a high-tech firm reveals that survey measures are associated with employees’ lower attrition, higher promotions, higher salary increases, and higher engagement, but have only a limited relation to subjective performance scores. The ...

We study the effect of outdoor air pollution on the productivity of indoor workers at a pear-packing factory. Increases in fine particulate matter (PM2.5), a pollutant that readily penetrates indoors, leads to significant decreases in productivity, with effects arising at levels below air quality standards. In contrast, pollutants that do not travel indoors, such as ozone, have little, if any, ...

Despite the ongoing dialogue on facilitating mobility between the European Union and the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries, very little is known about the magnitude and characteristics of migration from these countries. We find that EaP migrants experience worse labor market outcomes than other migrant groups, but current and potential migrants hold qualifications in those areas were skill sh...

Did nineteenth century technology reduce demand for skilled workers in contrast to modern technology? I obtain direct evidence on human capital investments and the returns to skill by using micro-data on individual weavers and an engineering production function. Weavers learned substantially on the job. While mechanization eliminated some tasks and the associated skills, it increased returns to...

I address the spread and wage implications of schooling mismatches, given the possible lack of synchronisation in the education system-labour market relationship. My main contribution is in studying the role of unobserved heterogeneity in the overand under-education phenomena, by drawing on a matched employer-employee panel. I find that the identification of the key parameters is made difficult...

Intergenerational Education Transmission: Neighborhood Quality and/or Parents’ Involvement? We develop a model that analyzes the impact of residential neighborhood and parents’ involvement in education on children’s educational attainment and test it using the UK National Child Development Study. We find that the better the quality of the neighborhood, the higher the parents’ involvement in chi...

Occupational segregation by gender is prevalent and can explain some of the gender wage gap. I empirically investigate a possible explanation for this segregation: the gender difference in preferences for competition, which in recent experimental studies has been found to affect economic outcomes. My findings suggest that women’s greater distaste for competition decreases educational achievemen...