This website uses cookies.

By clicking the "Accept" button or continuing to browse our site, you agree to first-party and session-only cookies being stored on your device to enhance site navigation and analyze site performance and traffic. For more information on our use of cookies, please see our Privacy Policy.

  1. Home
  2. Journals
  3. American Economic Review: Insights
  4. Forthcoming Articles
  5. Promotions and Productivity: The Role of Meritocracy and Pay Progression in the Public Sector

Promotions and Productivity: The Role of Meritocracy and Pay Progression in the Public Sector

  • Erika Deserranno
  • Philipp Kastrau
  • Gianmarco León-Ciliotta
American Economic Review: Insights (Forthcoming)

Abstract

We study promotion incentives in the public sector through a field experiment with the Ministry of Health in Sierra Leone. The experiment introduces exogenous variation in the meritocracy of promotions from health worker to supervisor positions and in health workers’ perceptions of pay progression upon promotion. Ten months later, our findings reveal that enhancing the meritocratic nature of promotions leads to a 22% increase in health workers’ productivity. Greater perceived pay progression in a meritocratic system boosts productivity by 23%, whereas in a less meritocratic system, it decreases productivity by 27%. This reduction is consistent with a negative morale effect.

Downloads