Applied Microeconomics
Applied Microeconomics
The Applied Microeconomics research group unites researchers working on a broad array of topics within such areas as labour economics, economics of education, health economics, family economics, urban economics, environmental economics, and the economics of science and innovation. The group operates in close collaboration with the CAGE Research Centre.
The group participates in the CAGE seminar on Applied Economics, which runs weekly on Tuesdays at 2:15pm. Students and faculty members of the group present their ongoing work in two brown bag seminars, held weekly on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 1pm. Students, in collaboration with faculty members, also organise a bi-weekly reading group in applied econometrics on Thursdays at 1pm. The group organises numerous events throughout the year, including the Research Away Day and several thematic workshops.
Our activities
Work in Progress seminars
Tuesdays and Wednesdays 1-2pm
Students and faculty members of the group present their work in progress in two brown bag seminars. See below for a detailed scheduled of speakers.
Applied Econometrics reading group
Thursdays (bi-weekly) 1-2pm
Organised by students in collaboration with faculty members. See the Events calendar below for further details
People
Academics
Academics associated with the Applied Microeconomics Group are:
Research Students
Events
CWIP (CAGE Work in Progress) Workshop - Sonia Bhalotra
TITLE: Identifying Managerial Skill (joint with: Ben Weidmann (Harvard), Joe Vecci (Gothenburg), Farah Said (Lahore), David Deming (Harvard))
ABSTRACT: We know that managers matter but we do not know how to prospectively identify good managers. We demonstrate the potential of using repeated random assignment to identify the causal contribution managers make to teams, and the measurable skills associated with this. We randomly assign managers to multiple teams, and predict team performance based on the team’s endowment of productive skill. Some managers consistently cause their teams to exceed predicted performance. Managerial skills are roughly as important to team outcomes as worker productivity. Good managers score higher on measures of allocative skill, and there are no differences in managerial skill across gender, age and ethnicity. We experimentally evaluate different methods of manager selection. People who select into managerial roles are typically not better managers than those appointed by lottery. However, selecting managers based on allocative skill dramatically improves team performance.